Kelley Cusmano

She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/u...

Fairfield school cancels US Education Secretary Linda McMahon's visit after parent backlash After parents raised concerns, Fairfield canceled U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon's visit hours after the announcement.

Parents in Fairfield, CT just said no to Linda McMahon's unHistory antiCivics indoctrination tour.

Now they just need to get rid of the superintendent who agreed to have her in the first place.

A split-image composition featuring two panels side by side. On the left, a color photograph of author Judy Blume seated at a glass desk in a home library setting. She has short, curly brown hair, wears a deep purple long-sleeved shirt rolled up at the cuffs, a watch, and a bracelet. Smiling warmly at the camera, she holds a pen in her right hand as if signing a book, with an open notebook or book in front of her and wooden bookshelves filled with colorful spines visible in the background. On the right, the front cover of Judy Blume's classic children's book "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." The cover has a pink background with an illustration of a young girl with long blonde hair, wearing an orange patterned dress, standing outdoors in front of a house and garden. The title is in large white playful font, with the author's name "Judy Blume" below, and a small publisher's blurb at the top describing the book as a "Yearling Book" about Margaret Simon, "almost twelve and full of questions."

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘔𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵. by Judy Blume was first published #OTD in 1970. 

The NYT selected it the Outstanding Book of the Year. TIME: "Blume turned millions of pre-teens into readers. She did it by asking the right questions—and avoiding pat, easy answers." #booksky #literature #litsky

Please join me in welcoming to the public domain such works as the 1930 Best Picture All Quiet on the Western Front, Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, several Nancy Drew books, some songs you've heard of (Dream a Little Dream of Me; Georgia on My Mind), and more:

blog.archive.org/2026/01/01/w...

Impact over income: a striking number of gen Zers are becoming teachers Despite longstanding concerns over pay and conditions, more young graduates are entering the classroom

Now, can we help them want to stay?

What teachers get way too often, I think:

1️⃣ lots of resources without much, if any, agency
2️⃣ lots of agency without much, if any, resources

Maybe 2026 we can, you know, give teachers...both?

Remembering the Idaho teacher who was made to take down a classroom sign, "Everyone is welcome here."

Completely agree. Students are entering school without that rich foundational book-knowledge. And tech makes it much easier to avoid

Honestly I agree with you SO much. I find myself agreeing with liberal and conservative voices on a variety of issues in support of strong instruction, systems and public education models. It definitely crosses party lines!

ALA welcomes reinstatement of all federal IMLS grants to libraries Today, the American Library Association (ALA) greeted an announcement by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that it had reinstated all the agency’s grants.

The Institute of Museum & Library Services has restored all previously canceled federal grants to libraries, following a ruling by a federal judge

"Restoration of these grants is a massive win for libraries of all kinds in all states."

fry from futurama says " and it 's all thanks to the books at my local library .. " ALT: fry from futurama says " and it 's all thanks to the books at my local library .. "

Step 1: Sign up for a FREE library card at your local library today.

Step 2: Enter a world of possibilities.

Step 3: Share some of the library joy that is sure to come.

What To Know & How to Help Pass Three State-Level Anti-Book Ban Bills for 2026: Book Censorship News, November 21, 2025 Three states have anti-book ban bills on deck for 2026. Here's what they are, why they matter, and how you can get involved in their passage.

Three states have anti-book ban bills on deck coming into 2026. Here's what those bills look like, how to get involved, and what the advocates behind the recently-passed freedom to read bill in Rhode Island learned through the process.

bookriot.com/right-to-rea...

Congratulations!!

The latest History of Education Quarterly has an incredible forum addressing the dismantling of the US Department of Education.

I'll post non-paywalled versions of all nine contributions here. Huge thanks to the amazing scholars who participated.

Calling for violence against members of Congress is unacceptable — from anyone. The President’s words matter, and this kind of rhetoric puts our entire country at risk.

All leaders and all Americans must condemn it.

Graphic resembling Texas highway sign, with the silhouette of the state of Texas containing "HB 900" crossed out with a red X

I've got some great news: It is thoroughly satisfying to share what I hope will be my last-ever update on the 2023 Texas book ban, a.k.a. House Bill 900, a.k.a. the READER Act, which is that a federal judge has stopped the law with a permanent injunction.

chrisbarton.info/the-case-aga...

More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days. The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...

Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.

At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.

Can we get a "Hell Yeah" in the chat?

If they make it hard for you to vote, don't you realize the power your vote has.

This is truly grotesque. Teachers should not be using this stuff. If a school was pushing it on teachers who work with kids I care about, I'd make a big effing stink until they stopped. We have to not give into this.

Alaska Vowed to Resolve Murders of Indigenous People. Now It Refuses to Provide Their Names. When the nonprofit Data for Indigenous Justice filed public records requests with the Alaska Department of Public Safety concerning cases it had investigated, the state rejected them.

Alaska vowed to resolve the murders of Indigenous people.

But when one nonprofit asked state law enforcement officials for a fundamental piece of data — a list of Indigenous murders they’d investigated — the state said no.

By @kylehopkinsak.bsky.social, w/ @adn.com

#PoemADayJuly intro for today's poem: "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes

"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes, lines 1-24

"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes, lines 25-50

"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes, lines 51-86

"Let it be that great strong land of love / Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme" (7-8)

I would guess that most of us have read this poem. Some of us (*raises hand*) have brought it into our classrooms.

"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes

Let's read it again. #PoemADayJuly

The kickoff to building Roadmap 2030 was INCREDIBLE thanks to @kellcusmano.bsky.social Mishkat Al Moumin & @khmc.bsky.social ! View the recording at chttps://youtu.be/3kwed6Qthxk

Be sure to sign up for our next Town Hall July 14th at 7 pm et here: bit.ly/TownHall7-14 #EduSky @eduskyteam.com

Kelly Cusmano receives a Forward Fund grant from the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification! Kelley Cusmano gets #celebratED for receiving a Forward Fund grant from the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) at their annual conference in Charl...

@kellcusmano.bsky.social gets #celebratED for receiving a NASDTEC Forward Fund grant! We know she will make good use of this award in furthering her influence in public education, and we thank her for modeling leadership at every level! www.get-celebrated.com/post/kelly-c... #EduSky @eduskyteam.com

One week from tonight! Our first Town Hall beginning to build Roadmap 2030! Join @kellcusmano.bsky.social , Mishkat Al Moumin and @khmc.bsky.social and get in on the ground floor!

Sign up via Zoom to take part in this important work at bit.ly/TownHall6-30 #EduSky @eduskyteam.com

The most inspiring chapters in our nation's history came when Americans faced down some of our country's darkest demons.

Those moments, like our own, were difficult to live through but also brought the chance to bring out the best in us, with enduring consequences.

I am once again BEGGING school districts to hit pause on AI. Today, I uploaded my (redone for the 3rd?4th?) senior assignment to multiple sites and watched as it spit out an outline followed by, "Do you want me to create a draft you can use?"

We are allowing kids to outsource all thinking.

“Using AI to brainstorm” means students are sometimes writing about ideas they never had…

Salt Lake City and Boise Adopt Official Pride Flags in Response to State Laws

Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boise, Idaho, adopted official Pride flags on Tuesday in response to state laws barring the display of any nonofficial flags at schools and government buildings.

The American Library Association has filed a lawsuit against the Trump admin over "the gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services" and are asking for the agency to be reinstated.