Rebecca Joseph

Mr. Seigman was my 11th grade AP Biology teacher. For an entire year of biology, he had us adopt a piece of land in a project called Plot Lab. My lab partner and I had to conduct a series of tests and observations all year long to track the biological...

Superintendent John Deasy this week announced plans to adjust pre-approved changes to the graduation standards for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the country. This choice partially delays a brave plan LAUSD school board members passed in 2005 to raise graduation...

More and more high school seniors are not receiving a definitive decision from many colleges they applied to this year. Instead, they are being placed on waitlists. This means the waiting game continues for many students beyond the national college acceptance day of May 1, as students and families hold...

This is an incredibly emotional time of year as high school seniors receive their college admissions notifications. Most receive great news that they have been accepted to their dream college or to several awesome colleges from which they must choose one to accept. Others get wait-listed -- the limbo of...

My first year of teaching I was a potential lemon.

I entered the classroom 20 years ago with good intentions but no training. I knew I wanted to work with urban kids, and I got hired the week before the school year started. I wanted to do well, but...

Mrs. Jones* missed 100 school days two years in a row. She was a good teacher when she was there, but she had a second job. Ms. Marcus had no classroom management, and her students ran around the room and did no work. A social studies teacher, Mr. Cali took...

When I met Juliana just before the winter holidays, I was impressed. The first in her family to apply to college, Juliana hopes to attend a University of California campus next year. I met Juliana while volunteering at a college outreach program in her neighborhood. She was telling the younger...

This is the time of year to make exciting summer plans for your child, especially for rising juniors and seniors. Colleges expect kids to use their summers productively aside from academics, test readiness, and family vacations. Powerful, creative summer plans reveal leadership and initiative and can help tip a student...

Do or did you have an unhappy college freshman home for the winter holidays? Going away to college is stressful for many kids (and, yes, parents, too). Creating a new life away from home can be daunting, and stress is normal. Learning new academic and living norms is difficult for...