A year ago this month, COVID-19 meant the closure of youth sports in New Jersey and the end of my competitive cheer coaching career. December 2020 marked my retirement as a cheer coach. I felt such mixed emotions: joy to have made such incredible memories as well as sadness around…

“She didn’t realize the severity of using such a term.” That was the first response I received nearly two weeks after an adult coach — and a mother of an athlete — used the “N word” in the cheer gym where my 13-year-old daughter trained. For more than 10 days…

Not a day goes by without hearing from some marketer discussing the importance of reaching the holy grail of audiences — 16- to 25-year-olds. Millennials, Gen Zs, and now Gen Alphas are who we all want to successfully inform and drive to action. Chock full of disposable income, still developing…

The “science of reading,” the very foundations of Reading First and programs like it, is experiencing a renaissance these days. No matter what we wish to call it, these foundational elements of literacy again capture the hearts and minds of countless schools and families looking for literacy skills to improve…

What is the future of the federal investment in reading instruction? — As states and educators increasingly call for an embrace (or is it re-embrace?) of the “science of reading” in classrooms across the nation, we need to ask an important question. What is the future of the federal investment in reading instruction? It’s been a decade and a half since we…

During the Obama-Biden Administration, there was much talk about teacher quality, closing the achievement gap, and ensuring our communities have the systems in place to drive the levels of improvement we have sought for so long. …

We need a history education czar. Or more specifically, the US Department of Education does. For decades now, we have been quick to name federal “czars” to oversee specific issues that are critical to the times. We’ve had poverty czars and AIDS czars. Climate czars and border czars. Homelessness czars…

What are the essential elements of good reading instruction? — In recent months, the “science of reading” has returned to center stage for the educators of young children. For most, we understand that the reading proficiency of fourth-graders is one of the strongest indicators of student success in middle and high school, as well as in college and career. …

Sadly, it is time to officially announce my retirement. And to borrow from New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig, I can proudly proclaim that I, too, am the “luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Last week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the end of all indoor youth…