Leonard Webb, School to Prosperous Pathways Specialist

Assessments based on timed tests, essays and multiple-choice questions may examine students’ discipline-specific knowledge, but authentic assessments that challenge students to show what they know and apply their skills to real-world scenarios make education relevant.

A six-year-old in handcuffs.

That sentence stopped me cold.

The New York Times and San Antonio Express-News investigation into police in Texas schools found officers tackling and body-slamming kids a fraction of their size, handcuffing children as young as six, and arresting and jailing teenagers, much of it over minor misbehavior.

Some cops shocked kids with Tasers, weapons Texas bans in its juvenile detention facilities but somehow permits in its public schools. Weapons the United Nations has determined are torture devices.

Read that again. The state won't allow a Taser to be used on an incarcerated child, but it will allow one in an elementary school hallway.

The purpose of school is to help young people develop their skills, their strengths, and their confidence, to help them grow into their purpose in the world.

Not to terrorize them. Not to teach them that the adults in the building are a threat. Not to hand a child their first trauma and call it discipline.

I am furious.

These kids will carry what was done to them for years. The very least we owe them is to refuse to look away.

Texas School Police Pepper-Sprayed, Tackled and Tasered Students School officers across the state turned to heavy-handed tactics on children, often in response to minor misbehavior, our investigation shows.

A bill doesn’t become a law overnight.

At every step, decisions are made that shape support for babies and families, like child care, mental health care and Early Head Start.

If you’ve ever wanted to speak up but weren’t sure where to start, this is it. Understanding the process makes it easier to make an impact.

Know someone who’d find this helpful? :

How a Bill Becomes a Law This advocacy tool describes the process of how a bill becomes a law at the federal level (much like the School House Rocks song, “I am a Bill").

As the school year winds down or is over, whether you were new hire or grizzled vet, take the time for a reset.

We're not going to go into the 2026-2027 school year saying, "This is going to be my year!" We're NOT gonna do a whole lotta talking. We have turned the start of the school year into a New Years Resolution. We already know most New Years Resolutions fail as do most new school year resolutions fail.

If you truly want to get better, go deeper, be happy, and achieve more with your goals and targets this year, here's what I recommend...

Get crystal clear on your goals and objectives
Develop a plan on what to focus on right NOW
Create a specific system for ex*****on of your goals

I am sharing a free resource to get you back on track have clarity, strategy, and action when it comes to our goals.

If you're ready to get specific, strategic and SMART with your goal setting this year, I have the first of my many resources for those interested in being part of an inspiring community.

5 Pillars of Reflection - 26 for 2026 Journal · Inspiring Leadership in School Your 5 pillars faith, family, finances, fun, fitness Self-paced Journal for reflection. 26 reflections to strategize, start, restart, and remind you of your pur

Somewhere along the way, schools stopped teaching students how to function in the real world and focused almost exclusively on how to test well.

We removed classes like child development, home economics, shop, financial literacy, and agriculture… then turned around and questioned why so many young adults feel unprepared for adulthood, relationships, parenting, finances, and emotional stability.

This article is about recognizing that many of the classes we dismissed were actually teaching responsibility, self-sufficiency, emotional intelligence, and real-life survival skills.

Perhaps the real issue isn’t that parents suddenly cared less. What if the lack of preparedness that we see now is a result of schools no longer teaching some of the things that mattered most.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What classes do you believe schools should bring back?

We Took the Wrong Classes Out of Schools I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the classes schools removed over the years and how many of the problems we see today are connected to those decisions. Somewhere along the way, we decided certain classes were unnecessary.

To create physically and emotionally safe environments for all students, school leaders must remove harmful policies and practices and instead adopt evidence-based approaches such as restorative justice that can be used to build and repair relationships while also holding students accountable for their actions.