Meredith W. Dodson

Boring is good when we’re talking about what really matters: How our kids learn.

I can’t stop, won’t stop, seeing her positive, peaceful face.

The right wants us to believe that a teen who showed up at a Wisconsin rally with an AR-15 and shot three people is a peacekeeper who deserves to be celebrated, but an unarmed mom driving away from a Minnesota rally was a domestic terrorist who deserved to die.

BREAKING: Wife of Renee Good, Becca Good, has just released a statement. : “First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family. This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. In fact, kindness radiated out of her. Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine. Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole. Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles. What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy. And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever. We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine. On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns. Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way. We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.”

Great teachers change lives for the better. They see more in their students than the students see in themselves - and they teach to it.

So, CBS News decided not to air this 25 yr veteran federal agent pointing out all the ways the ICE agent was in the wrong for shooting Renee Good, on its broadcast (I wonder why🤨). At least it’s online. Reshare.

I’m absolutely astounded that Americans can see an unmarked vehicle with “agents” that don’t identify themselves shoot an American citizen - a mother with stuffed animals inside her car - and just say, “Oh well, she should have just complied.” I’m logging off this app for the rest of the day. America is going to crap faster than I could have ever imagined.

The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. George Orwell, 1984

I believe this deeply: local government can change — and parents can drive that change. I’m bringing kids & families’ voices into charter reform. What would make SF gov work better for SF families? 👇

Five years ago, I was barely following city politics. Then the pandemic made one thing painfully clear: SF was failing kids & families. That wake-up call led me (with other parents) to launch @SFParents.

Honored to be selected as 1 of 31 members of @sfgov’s new Charter Reform Working Group — taking a hard look at how our city government actually works, and who it works for. 🧵⬇️

@KimChiSpicey Ok yeah. Hate Asians but my family is Vietnamese?🙄

Meredith’s a YIMBY too, for the record. I bet she doesn’t care about elderly parents. Only young, rich parents. And she probably hates Asians like most YIMBYs do. x.com/meredithwdodso…

Looks like our new City Charter is going to be 66% market-rate YIMBY. I left out the affordable and mixed-use housing folks.

Just 4 weeks ago, @KelseyTuoc dropped “Illiteracy is a policy choice.” Days later, @huffhuffing @BostonGlobe gave us the Southern Surge vs Northern Nosedive. Since then, it has been hard to keep up with the deluge. I collected the writing and penned a realist’s take on prospects for replication of that playbook. Featuring @RahmEmanuel @nytdavidbrooks @imkahloon @rweingarten @WSJopinion @ezraklein @DKThomp @RepSherrill @Jack4NJ @EDSecMcMahon @ChadAldeman @alexanderrusso @ehanford @ms_tarca @shankerinst @EstherQuinCo @SusanBneuman @SchwinnTeach @SecCardona @BetsyDeVos @cadebrumley @SupeJohnWhite @C_Hendrick @daisychristo @HKorbey @GhaleonQ @EdReports @KevinMahnken @GovKathyHochul @WNYEdAlliance @tarjaparssinen @Linda_McMahon @teachcardona @MASchoolsK12. And of course the inimitable @natebargatze. Yes, you are all discussed/linked. Please don’t tell me I missed someone? 😂 With special thanks (and links) to the people who were on this story first. @mkhammer was my first podcast invite, and I will always be grateful. 🙏 @rickhess99 was the first education writer. Respect! HT also to @matthewgburgess and Nick Hagan for early podcast features of the Southern Surge. It takes a village to change perceptions about public education. I’m thrilled to see this story get its due… … even if the linked piece has a sober take on the path forward.

So much fun at @SFDemocrats tonight. And BTW, in case you were listening, and in case you weren’t paying attention a few years ago, it was @sfparents and @sfguardians who flipped the school board to kids-first leaders…

Love this new trend on TikTok. Kids texting their parents and using AI to make them think they've brought a tramp into the house.

@matt_barnum Super cool. Reach out to us at @sfparents some SF budget scaries!

Leaving the Journal—the job of a lifetime with so many terrific colleagues—was a difficult decision. Yet I'm convinced we need fresh, clear thinking about the various challenges facing U.S. schools. I’m excited to try something new at Chalkbeat.

[taps mic] This is my last week at the Wall Street Journal. I'll be returning to Chalkbeat to launch a new section focused on the big ideas and debates in American education. More on this soon! You can sign up to keep following my work here: chalkbeat.org/newsletters/id…

"It’s like you’re watching institutions decline in real time. Anchors of the community are disappearing.” My latest, for @propublica & @NewYorker, on the looming wave of school closures following the sharp post-pandemic decline in public school enrollment. newyorker.com/magazine/2024/…

1/What does the data say about teacher well-being as a new school year starts? Let's walk through some few stats.

In my dream world, everyone with @mattyglesias’s platform would be discussing the nitty-gritty of reading instruction. I’m grateful to Matt for giving attention to these instructional issues in Slow Boring. K-12 education has solve-able problems, and we should focus there, rather than shouting about the fallout each NAEP release cycle then walking away.

It was slated to cost more to build one toilet In Noe Valley ($1.7 million) than all the Golden State Valkyries are making this season put together. (Salary cap $1.5 million.)

My latest column: One of CA’s most powerful Dems wants to exempt a single project in her district from new CEQA reforms. Not only could this chill development statewide, it signals CA gives special treatment to rich areas repped by influential lawmakers. sfchronicle.com/opinion/emilyh…