Alex Jones’ decision in 2012 to get a mohawk was hardly a casual one. The Black high school teacher in Camden, NJ was determined to “break the stereotypes of white supremacy culture” – starting with his hair. “I got it because it was stylish,” said Jones, who also served as principal of Camden High School from 2016 to 2019, “but I kept it because I thought it made me more relatable to the students and cool.” Jones, 39, admits the haircut shocked some families of his students of color – “I woul

“We don’t want cultural awareness once a year for 28 days,” says Anthony Beckford, a community organizer in New York City who spearheaded the petition. “It should be a year-in, year-out endeavor.” A growing number of voices are demanding a new approach to teaching Black history in the nation’s K-12 institutions, where the subject is often only focused on during Black History Month in February. The New York Legislature, for instance, is considering a mandatory full-year Black history curriculum;

Chris Christie banked one of his biggest policy proposals as governor of New Jersey on one idea: that a new type of charter school with the ability and mandate to construct better facilities would transform the Camden City School District from one of the worst-performing, most corrupt systems in the state to one that successfully educates kids in one of the poorest cities in America. Nearly a decade after Christie won approval for that idea, the district is under state control and improving its

When Denmark became the first of 22 European countries to reopen schools on April 15, students were told that wearing face masks was optional. But not everything went back to the way it had been before COVID-19. Recess for Danish children now requires social distancing, and elementary school-aged students have been divided into groups of five to limit interactions. Games include “shadow tag” instead of actual touching and ball games are prohibited. Students stay in one room for the entire day;

There Aren't Enough Black Teachers in the US — and We Desperately Need to Change That Darius Wagner, a Black 15-year-old student at St. Mark's School in Southborough, MA, is determined to go into politics one day. As the head of the Black Lives Union at his school, he is dedicated to broaching difficult conversations regarding race as well as building unity within the student body. Highly motivated and a self-proclaimed history and literature buff, Darius excelled as a young student at Uncommo