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SF's OKs new ethnic studies class: Will teachers follow the curriculum?
San Francisco is replacing a controversial ethnic studies curriculum with a middle-of-the-road curriculum. Will teachers teach it?

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 222 min read


If you aren't teaching kids to read and do math, you don't care about 'equity'
"Equity" talk is meaningless, if adults aren't held accountable for teaching students to read and do math.

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 172 min read


Getting math wrong
New York is telling teachers to adopt trendy math ideas that failed in California.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 4, 20253 min read


DEI dominoes wobble in California
Ethnic studies mandates based on racism, colonialism and Marxism are being rejected, even at the University of California and San Francisco schools.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 29, 20253 min read


Genghis Khan was a nice guy. Israel is evil. SF parents push back on 'ethnic studies' mandate
San Francisco parents are resisting a year-long ethnic studies classes that focuses on left-wing politics.

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 3, 20253 min read


Algebra wins big in San Francisco -- but will kids learn times tables?
San Francisco schools should offer algebra in eighth grade, said 84 percent of voters in Tuesday's election. It was a stunning rejection...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 7, 20242 min read


SF brings back 8th-grade algebra, admits 'equity math' failed
Algebra will return to San Francisco middle schools, reports Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle. The school board's vote Tuesday...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 15, 20242 min read


'Algebra for none' fails in San Francisco
The goal was equity. The result: Meh. Frustrated by high failure rates in eighth-grade algebra, San Francisco Unified decided in 2015 to...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 14, 20232 min read


Ukrainian refugee girl flees unsafe San Francisco school
Yana and her mother fled Ukraine and found a new home with an aunt in San Francisco -- until the 13-year-old girl started Marina Middle...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 22, 20233 min read


Exodus: Achievers' families are leaving
As many New York City middle schools end selective admissions, middle- and upper-middle-class parents are considering private schools or...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 26, 20232 min read


No shows
Students just aren't showing up in many school districts, writes Steven Hayward on Powerline. Chronic absenteeism -- missing 10 percent...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 14, 20221 min read


How to help students succeed: It's not about exam schools
In A Tale of Two High Schools, Renu Mukherjee, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, looks at San Francisco's Lowell High School,...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 11, 20222 min read
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