Author name: Munzir Forbiz

The School District of Philadelphia, like other districts across the nation, is facing a teacher and staff shortage as the coronavirus pandemic hits the two-year mark. At Thursday evening’s school board meeting, district officials put a number on the staffing challenge, while board members approved two measures aimed at addressing the problem. At the start of

Recently I was informed by my employer that, because of an executive order signed by Gov. Spencer Cox on Jan. 31, I could take up to sixteen hours of personal leave to work as a substitute teacher in one of Utah’s public schools. Curious, I decided to examine substitute teacher pay where I live, in

How politics and the pandemic put schools in the line of fire Test scores are down, and violence is up. Parents are screaming at school boards, and children are crying on the couches of social workers. Anger is rising. Patience is falling. For public schools, the numbers are all going in the wrong direction. Enrollment is down.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona challenged schools to keep their focus on getting struggling students back on track Thursday, while acknowledging that the disruption caused by the latest wave of COVID cases has exhausted the country’s educators. “I know you’re tired, I know you’re stretched,” Cardona said in a speech delivered Thursday from the Department of Education, where

Research shows that more spending, if properly targeted, improves achievement for traditionally underserved students Two prominent economists testified this week in the landmark Pennsylvania fair school funding case that research shows increased resources, if properly targeted, can improve academic achievement and life success for traditionally underserved students. Both Rucker Johnson, a professor at the University

Fewer students are heading into the teaching field, according to American College Testing (ACT) records. The ACT test measures a high school student’s readiness for college and provides colleges with necessary data. ACT reports 7% of Alabama’s 2012 graduating class who took the ACT, selected Education as their planned major. That number dropped to almost

Melanie Hester could see her fifth graders were confused. A history lesson she was teaching about Native Americans asked the students to think about how they could honor the cultural history of the land where the United States now stands. “Where are the Native Americans now?” her students wanted to know. In the past, the

“You’re smart, you’re Asian, you’re queer and nonbinary, and you were raised by a single mom. Colleges will love you.” That’s the message I heard from friends even years before applying to college. In high school, advisers chimed in, too; they made it seem like it was a cool thing to be from a marginalized

As a school psychologist, I’ve spent most of my time providing counseling for students and making sure those considered academically or behaviorally at risk get the services they’re entitled to. It has been rewarding, but also frustrating, as I watched as students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined. I will never forget a 2019 encounter involving