More than 1.5 million students experienced homelessness in the 2017-18 school year, but teachers receive little guidance on how to support them. Earl Edwards provides K-12 (particularly high school) teachers with an overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and concrete recommendations for how to better support youth experiencing…

The authors tell a story of the effects of state and national immigration policies on one teenage girl, and use that situation to call for change that will benefit her and similarly situated students in U.S. schools. The girl was brought to the U.S. when she was a toddler, attended American schools, never returned to or visited her native Mexico,…

Students with disabilities, especially those with non-apparent conditions, are entering universities in growing numbers. Yet more and more students are going off to college unprepared to manage their disabilities, in part because their high schools are overburdened, understaffed, and uninformed to identify and support them. A recent survey of…

The authors report the findings of the 41st Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools. The annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools is unique because it's not an advocacy poll, but rather a thoughtful study of Americans' current perceptions of their public schools. Each…

Many teachers perceive an erosion of their professionalism since "A Nation at Risk" appeared, and they have felt that erosion accelerating since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act. Myriad factors contribute to this climate so contrary to teacher professionalism: poor funding, poor parenting, overstuffed classrooms, low-quality…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not going away. In fact, it might not even undergo more than minor modifications before it comes up for reauthorization in a couple of years. The nomination of Margaret Spellings to replace Rod Paige as U.S. secretary of education foretells not only a single-minded focus on test-based accountability but also an…

In this article, the author tells the story of one school and how the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has been affecting its teachers and the educational opportunities and outcomes of its students. Roosevelt High School, located in North Portland, Oregon, has the most ethnically diverse student population in what is the largest school district in…

In the face of growing sentiment against career and technical education, the author asks readers to take a hard look at the advisability of limiting high school students' options. The viability of high school vocational education--now called Career and Technical Education (CTE)--is once again being questioned. The current federal Administration…