Experience Gap, Opportunity Gap

For the past decade of my career, there has been a clear message from school leaders, politicians, and a convinced larger education audience. The message was that closing the achievement gap was our paramount task as educators. Even though it is hard to argue that closing the achievement gap isn’t an important goal for our American education system, it may be worth looking at the possibility that closing two other important gaps will bring the same results or better. As schools look for ways to grow their places of learning, it seems essential that they examine the work surrounding the closing of the opportunity gap and the expectations gap for all learners.