Culturally Responsive Teaching in D.C.'s High School for Black Boys

A world history teacher at Ron Brown College Prep, Travis Bouldin, shares his perspective on what it means to be a culturally responsive educator in this unique public high school for young men of color. A veteran educator who has taught in several other urban districts, Bouldin explains some of the effects that poverty, violence, and trauma has on his students’ ability to learn and to interact with peers and adults. Ron Brown--which has an intense focus on developing students’ social-emotional skills and creating a culture where students feel safe physically and comfortable expressing themselves in the classroom--also emphasizes a college-preparatory curriculum. For the past year, Education Week’s Kavitha Cardoza and NPR’s Cory Turner visited Ron Brown weekly -- and some weeks, daily -- to witness the birth of this new school and to see how its staff tackles some of the toughest challenges in education. We spent hundreds of hours there, from the earliest days to the last bell.