Before Social and Emotional Learning became widely recognized as a critical component of teen lives, Marisa Fogelman was well ahead of the curve. Fogelman spent two decades developing a curriculum that integrated SEL with California state standards for traditional subject matter, and put her holistic academic philosophy into practice as co-founder of the School of Universal Learning (SOUL), a charter school for students in grades 6-12. SOUL was perhaps the first school in San Diego County to...

This is the second in a two-part series. Read the first part here. Providing preschool at the earliest stages of a child’s development can help close the achievement gap in learning for many low-income children because what’s at stake is a lack of solid preparation for kindergarten and beyond. It begins with family poverty. If parents can’t afford to provide early childhood education for their children, those kids are likely to lag behind their wealthier peers for years. “Having that oppor...

This is the first in a two-part series. Check back with IVN San Diego next week for the next column More than 50 years have passed since the groundbreaking Equality of Educational Opportunity Coleman Report was published, yet it remains relevant today. The 750-page Coleman Report, led by James Coleman, was mandated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and – although not without controversy – is still the go-to document for evidence-based education policy. Before the Coleman Report was released, ...

This is the second installment of a two-part series on Gompers Preparatory Academy in Southeast San Diego. Read the first installment here. The Gompers community has made its position clear. About 80 students, teachers, alumni and community members staged a protest Oct. 27 at the district office, demanding that the San Diego Unified School District reverse its recent decision to eliminate on-loan agreements for four top Gompers Preparatory Academy charter school employees. The on-loan agreeme...

This is the first in a two-part series on Gompers Preparatory Academy in Southeastern San Diego. Read the second installment here. Fifteen years ago, I had the privilege of sitting in the boardroom when San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Education authorized the conversion of Gompers Middle School to an independent charter school. This was a turbulent time, with Alan Bersin as superintendent, a teachers union in revolt and a dysfunctional school board. In this midst of this tumult ca...

This is Part Two of a two-part series on racism and the education system. Read Part One here. ‍ Data supporting the direct link between family income and student achievement rely mostly on test scores as the primary indicator of success. By that measure, the evidence is indisputable that schools in wealthy neighborhoods out-perform schools located in less affluent communities. In a class-based society, systemic racism in public education results in policies that serve to discriminate against t...

This is Part One of a two-part series on racism and the education system. Part Two will be published on Monday, Sept. 28. The education system is “particularly effective at reproducing racial inequality” and is one of the best examples of structural racism in our society, said author Robin DiAngelo, in a recent talk presented by San Diego’s National Conflict Resolution Center. DiAngelo, author of “White Fragility,” was featured with Ibram X. Kendi, author of “How to be an Antiracist,” in the A...