Category: What’s Happening

Turning Stories Into Proof: How To Make Narrative Count As Data In Schools

Narrative is not the soft side of education. It is evidence. It is the living pulse inside the data we claim to honor. When a student finally asks a peer for help, when a family sees independence taking root at home, when a young person takes a step forward that no scoreboard will ever measure, those moments are the data. The job is not to shrink stories to fit spreadsheets. The job is to structure the story so clearly, so precisely, so truthfully, that no one can deny its weight. Story becomes measurement. Observation becomes evidence. Growth becomes visible.

Tracking Gen-Ed Minutes as Inclusion Proof: Who We Believe Our Children Are

In every school building, there is a quiet arithmetic that tells the truth long before any mission statement does. It is not the language on the walls, not the slogans about excellence or equity. It is the simple count of where a child spends their minutes. Those minutes do not lie. They testify. For students with IEPs, general education minutes are not a small technical detail in a long document. They are a declaration of belief. They reveal whether a system sees a child as a full member of the learning community or as a visitor, escorted in and out of spaces where other children are presumed to belong by default. If we claim to believe in equity, then we must count the minutes where that equity is either practiced or denied. The minutes tell the story. Tracking them is how we decide to stop lying to ourselves about who our schools are truly built for.

Community Partners Are Multipliers

Partnerships work best when they are local, accountable, and organized. Build a partner database that centers Black-owned and community-owned businesses, secures MOUs and DSAs that comply with FERPA, matches students by IEP supports and interests, tracks paid hours and outcomes, and publishes a quarterly dashboard. System beats heroics.

Gil’s Arena Became The Arena: My Mixed Feelings, The Business Logic, The Blueprint For Keeping Your Name

Gil’s Arena becoming The Arena is the trade every creator faces. Scale asks for control. Distribution asks for a piece. The only way to grow without losing yourself is to design independence on paper. Keep the marks in your house. Keep the episode library. Set vetoes on casting, cuts, and sponsors. Finance growth with recoupable guarantees and time‑boxed terms so expansion does not erase identity. That is how you partner for muscle and still keep your name.

When the Safety Net Frays: What Federal Layoffs Mean for Special Education

The U.S. Department of Education has begun laying off 466 employees during the federal shutdown, which is about one fifth of the agency’s remaining staff. Several offices that protect civil rights and support students with disabilities are among the hardest hit. Reports indicate that the Office of Special Education Programs is dropping from about 200 … Continue reading When the Safety Net Frays: What Federal Layoffs Mean for Special Education →

Rewriting the Narrative: Changing the Language of Special Education

Language in Special Education is not neutral. Terms like “case manager” and “caseload” mirror the criminal justice system, not a learning community. This is a clear connection between SPED and carceral culture. I choose Advocate and Student Roster, because our students are people, not files. Change the language, change the culture.

Disagreement Should Not Equal Death

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is not about agreeing with him. I rarely did. It is about what happens when we normalize killing as a response to disagreement. Kirk was not a civil rights leader or a voice for the oppressed, but celebrating his death sets a dangerous precedent. History shows us that when violence becomes acceptable, it eventually targets those fighting for justice. Debate should test ideas, not end lives. If we cheer today, we risk creating a culture where tomorrow even voices we value can be silenced.

Why I Do Not Support the West Coast Health Alliance Split From the CDC

I do not support stepping away from CDC guidance. Regional rulebooks create confusion for families and clinicians, jeopardize insurance coverage that follows ACIP, strain pharmacies and EHR systems, and deepen polarization. Use the alliance to translate and advocate, secure state coverage tied to ACIP, and push to restore independent national standards so science travels with people across state lines.