Good reading comprehension comes only with practice. The basic aspects of reading, such as word recognition, phonetics and fluency, can be mastered in just a few years. However, throughout this process reading comprehension must be emphasized. Students may be able to eloquently repeat the words that the see on a page all day, but without reading comprehension skills, they're unable to fully understand the content, predict what will happen next, recognize characters, gain insi

The theme of Black History Month in 2017 was “The Crisis in Black Education.” In order to give our readers a sense of the scope of that crisis, we interviewed educators with a range of opinions on the topic. Sharif El-Mekki, principal of a 7th- to 12th-grade school in Philadelphia with a predominately African American student body, believes that the lack of African American male teachers is a critical problem in his community. He wants his students to see black males in leade

Just over half of 2016 graduates from Shelby County Schools went on to some sort of college training, according to a new report spotlighting whether Memphis students are preparing for the work of the future. In all, 56 percent of the district’s 6,905 graduates enrolled in post-secondary education, compared to 63 percent statewide. And the percentage of students going on to community college — a big push under the state’s free tuition initiative known as Tennessee Promise — wa

The latest and greatest trends in how students approach the college search process. #college #technology

By seeing students as more than their grades, we can enable them to reach their potential. Our schools in the United States operate primarily as meritocracies: Grades are earned, students are tracked into achievement groups, and awards and rewards are provided for those who perform satisfactorily. If a child isn’t performing at an expected level (for whatever reasons) negative descriptors are often assigned to that child, like “non-proficient reader,” “failing student,” or “p