It’s time we recognize that students fall behind not because of inherent character flaws, but because our education policies for the past two decades have focused on implementing tough standards while failing to build support systems that address the societal factors that create barriers to academic success.

Standards-based reform creates an inherent system of winners and losers by raising the bar and assessing who makes the cut. Supports-based reforms provide and strategically align the needed resources so each student has the opportunity to reach that bar—and surpass it.

 A new study released by UCLA's Civil Rights Project shows that while student enrollment in Massachusetts public schools is growing ever more diverse, the schools themselves are becoming increasingly segregated along race and class lines.

If you're in the D.C. area on Thurs. May 9th, we have a treat for you! There will be a free screening of "The New Public," a film by Jyllian Gunther that follows four years in the life of Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School (BCAM). In a post-screening discussion, talk with filmmaker Jyllian Guntehr; Michael Rebell from the Campaign for Educational Equity; Carlos Rojas from Youth on Board; BCAM educator Lyntonia Coston; and AFT's Sabrina Stevens.

Mass school closings have become a hallmark of today's dominant education policy agenda. But rather than helping students, these closures disrupt whole communities. And as U.S. Department of Education data suggests, the most recent rounds of mass closings in Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia disproportionately hurt Black and low-income students.

New York City is caught in a college prep crisis: Budget cuts and pressure to perform well on high-stakes tests is limiting the ability K-12 public schools to prepare students for college. This puts a financial strain on new college students who must spend precious tuition dollars on remedial classes re-learning what they should have been taught for free in high school.

Great news coming out of Arkansas on the school discipline front! A soon-to-be-signed bill is heading to the governor's desk that will make big changes in how the state gathers, examines and acts on school discipline data. Under the new law, the state Department of Education will submit a report each year to the State Board of Education containing district-level data on suspensions, expulsions and referrals to law enforcement. The Department will provide districts with strategies and resources for implementing positive discipline reforms.