By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black One of the recurring education headlines over the last year has been America’s unprecedented teacher shortage — especially as Black teachers quit at previously unseen rates. Plenty of experts have ideas about how to end the mass exodus of educators from the classroom, but Eric Duncan, the assistant director […]
Author Archives: Maya Pottiger Word in Black
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Meet the experts making college admissions easier for Black kids
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black No matter who you are or where you live, navigating the college admissions process can be stressful and overwhelming. Most high school seniors are just trying to enjoy homecoming and football games on top of their other after school responsibilities — they may have a part-time job or help […]
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Black students with disabilities deserve better school experiences
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black From the lack of proper diagnosis and support for students with dyslexia and ADHD to the stigmatization of disorders like autism and Down syndrome, students with disabilities are not treated equally in our education system. And Black students with disabilities often have extremely different — and more difficult — […]
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What Message Do Book Bans Send to Black Students?
by Maya Pottiger, Word In Black From bills being introduced to prohibit the teaching of “The 1619 Project” by Nikole Hannah-Jones to “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison being pulled off shelves, book bans are rising in the United States at unprecedented rates. Over the past two years, most bans are targeting books about the LGBTQ+ experience and […]
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The ‘invisible tax’ on Black teachers
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black It’s called the “invisible tax” — the expectation that Black teachers will take the lead on all things Black — from organizing school-wide Black History Month events to being the entry point to the school system for families of color. Except now it’s not so invisible anymore — and […]
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These are the top books Black teachers request for their classrooms
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black As with the start of every school year, teachers put out requests for help with classroom supplies, through Amazon lists, DonorsChoose projects, and other avenues. Books have been among the top requested items for teachers across the country every year since the 2018/2019 school year, according to an analysis […]
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Black homeschoolers set the record straight
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black Long before the current boom — back in October 1990 when Black folks thought it was “just a White Flight thing” — Joyce Burges started homeschooling her son. At 14 years old, he was pushed out of school only two months into the semester. “They pretty much kicked us […]
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Black families report high unmet demand, barriers to entry for after-school programs
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black For the last 18 years, Youth Empowerment Solutions, or YES, has enabled kids in Michigan to make a difference in their community. The program, run out of the University of Michigan, was created in 2004 out of a need to improve public safety and reduce crime and violence, especially […]
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What Black homeschooling parents want you to know
By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black When Jania Otey started researching public schools in 2008 to enroll her son, she was disappointed with her options. She started connecting with people in her church community who were homeschooling, and she and her husband decided to give it a try. “There are some really good schools out […]
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School Discipline in Black and White
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black Even in a school year derailed by a pandemic, Black students were disciplined at higher rates than white students across the country. Using statewide discipline data from the 2019-2020 school year, Word in Black analyzed which students in California, Georgia, Maryland, Texas, and Washington state were facing higher rates […]
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America’s school lunch program is failing Black students
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black From mushy fish sticks and fries to mystery meat burgers and soggy broccoli, public school lunches in the United States aren’t exactly known as a culinary delight. But these free and reduced-price school lunch meals — as well as a breakfast to start the day — keep millions of […]
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Here’s How We Bring Black Students Back to School
By Maya Pottiger, Word In Black Between mass shootings, anti-LGBTQ bills, burned-out teachers, diverse books being banned, and the school-to-prison pipeline, as well as drill-and-kill standardized-test-driven instruction, is it any wonder some students aren’t feeling like showing up to school anymore? Sprinkle the educational disruptions from COVID-19 on top, and it’s understandable that thousands of […]