Paris

I remember the first time I lost a student. It was a Saturday morning, and I had slept late.  I woke up warm and comfortable, the late morning sun streaming in through the blinds, my partner sleeping peacefully next to me. I rolled over to unplug my phone from its charger, noticing the time and …

Colonists

My favorite person at the charter school was the janitor, Davis Green. Davis was the only adult in the school building that went by his first name. With Davis, it was never “Mr. Green,” It was always Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis was well into his seventies, with a dark complexion, graying hair, slight build, stooped …

The pipeline

I never understood the school-to-prison pipeline until I began working in a charter school. I think it’s harder to see it in a traditional public school. At my traditional public school, the halls are loud, boisterous, chaotic, joyful. There are art projects and motivational posters on the walls (“Welcome to our school!” “Be kind!” “Recycle!”), …

Red

My charter school believed in an “extended day” schedule. This meant that I was contracted to be at school from 7:00 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon, which worked out to be 47 and a half hours of contracted work a week. Most of this was face time with students - I received …

The silenced

Transitioning to work at a traditional public school has highlighted that I sustained a significant amount of trauma from my time working in a charter school. I still have panic attacks. I still have nightmares. I still panic when I hear loud noises. I still assume the worst when I’m addressed by administration, even though …

Unchartered territory

I remember going on road trips in a pre-mobile technology era and playing the “license plate game” for entertainment. I’m sure you know the one I’m talking about - this is the game where you stare out the window for hours on end to see how many different license plates you can spot. I was …

My back-to-school wish list

I wish for politicians that prioritize public schools. Not charters, not vouchers. Public. Schools. I wish for politicians that lead by positive example - politicians that my kids can look up to, rather than fear. I wish for an end to ICE raids, so that my kids don’t have to live with the constant fear …

Bread and circuses

At my school... We couldn’t afford to air condition all of the classrooms in the building.  We couldn’t afford to turn the boiler on when the weather turned cold. We couldn’t afford to provide students with school supplies. We couldn’t afford projectors for the classrooms. We couldn’t afford textbooks or class sets of novels. We …

Words

The first time I read Toni Morrison, I believed. The second time I read Toni Morrison, I understood. The third time I read a book by Toni Morrison, I saw. I saw the face of my student as Pecola Breedlove, praying for blue eyes, unaware of her own inner strength and beauty. Today I mourn …

Pop-pop-pop

The first time I heard gunshots in the neighborhood outside of my classroom, I was planning the next week’s lessons. Off in the distance and getting closer, I heard that telltale pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. I did what seemed logical at the time - I closed my window, crawled across my classroom floor, and called upper-level …