Gail Cornwall
@gailcornwall.com
Former teacher & lawyer who now works as a mother & writer. Bylines for the Atlantic, Nation, NYT, Good Housekeeping, Guardian, New York Mag, USA Today, & many more. Stories tackle education, psychology, parenting, etc.
Pinned
Gail Cornwall
@gailcornwall.com
· Nov 11
The hidden financial aid hurdle derailing college students
Little-known rules requiring that students make ‘satisfactory academic progress’ to receive federal grants have derailed countless college students. But legislators are finally taking notice.
hechingerreport.org
A little-known requirement meant to incentivize academic performance has been doing the opposite for decades, disqualifying capable students from financial aid for life & becoming “a de facto end” to their education. It’s not fair or smart. My latest for @hechingerreport.org & @washingtonpost.com.
“She represents the kind of people often caught up in … Trump's goal of deporting 1 mil immigrants each yr: well-established in her community, active in her church, no criminal record…. The [US citizen] twins were away from their friends, their school, their father.” www.jsonline.com/story/news/l...
14 years in Wisconsin. A new life in El Salvador. She's trying to accept it.
Half a year has passed since U.S. immigration officials gave former Milwaukee teacher's aide Yessenia Ruano no choice but to return to El Salvador.
www.jsonline.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM
“She represents the kind of people often caught up in … Trump's goal of deporting 1 mil immigrants each yr: well-established in her community, active in her church, no criminal record…. The [US citizen] twins were away from their friends, their school, their father.” www.jsonline.com/story/news/l...
“By the time teachers get through their required curriculums and prep students for exams, they often have little or no time left to guide classes through a whole book…. When whole books are assigned, they are most often from a relatively stagnant list of classics.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class.
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM
“By the time teachers get through their required curriculums and prep students for exams, they often have little or no time left to guide classes through a whole book…. When whole books are assigned, they are most often from a relatively stagnant list of classics.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...
The insouciance never gets old. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
And Your Little Dog, Too, by David Sedaris
Two small dogs, both unleashed, rushed toward me, snarling, and one of them bit me on my left leg, just below the knee. It all happened within a second.
www.newyorker.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:33 AM
The insouciance never gets old. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
“The program is similar to others in Europe, as large developed economies seek to capitalize on the challenges faced by international researchers in the United States, and offer younger researchers alternatives to American universities to start their careers.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/w...
‘Come North!’ Canada Makes Play for H-1B Visa Holders With New Talent Drive
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:27 AM
“The program is similar to others in Europe, as large developed economies seek to capitalize on the challenges faced by international researchers in the United States, and offer younger researchers alternatives to American universities to start their careers.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/w...
Hard to explain to non-lawyers how appalling it is for a federal judge to attend a political rally. Clearly unethical, under clear rules. Like a doctor intentionally causing a patient extra pain, it undermines faith in the whole system. This is not a gray area. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
The Federal Judge at the Trump Rally
Emil Bove violated a basic tenet of judicial ethics, presumably on purpose.
www.newyorker.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Hard to explain to non-lawyers how appalling it is for a federal judge to attend a political rally. Clearly unethical, under clear rules. Like a doctor intentionally causing a patient extra pain, it undermines faith in the whole system. This is not a gray area. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
Reposted by Gail Cornwall
The horrific tragedy at Brown University is the 389th mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds so far this year.
This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.
bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org
This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.
bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org
December 14, 2025 at 1:04 AM
The horrific tragedy at Brown University is the 389th mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds so far this year.
This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.
bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org
This is not normal and we don't have to live this way.
bradyunited.org
@bradyunited.org
Reposted by Gail Cornwall
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to provide some info & resources for this story. I urge you to take time to read & sit with this really important, and heartbreaking, issue.
Across the nation, colleges have students sleeping in cars, napping pods, alums’ homes, hotels & even an assisted living facility. My latest for @theguardian.com & @hechingerreport.org is on what emergency housing ingenuity says about higher ed in today’s America. hechingerreport.org/a-new-soluti...
A new ‘solution’ to student homelessness: a parking lot where students can sleep safely in their cars
More colleges are looking at emergency housing solutions, including have students sleeping in alumni’s homes, napping pods, Airbnbs and even an assisted living facility.
hechingerreport.org
December 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to provide some info & resources for this story. I urge you to take time to read & sit with this really important, and heartbreaking, issue.
THIS. It's not just the phones.
“Asking students to drill down on their schoolwork amid an array of digital distractions isn’t just bad for test scores; it is inimical to learning,” Jean Wenge writes. “And it is fundamentally unfair to children.”
Opinion | The Laptop That Ate Your Child’s Classroom
Asking students to drill down on their schoolwork amid an array of digital distractions is inimical to learning.
nyti.ms
December 11, 2025 at 5:28 PM
THIS. It's not just the phones.
I can't stop thinking about this conservative mom trying - & failing - to keep MAGA conservatives from taking apart public school from the inside, courtesy of @laurapappano.bsky.social & @emmaepperly.bsky.social for @hechingerreport.org & @idahoednews.bsky.social. hechingerreport.org/a-republican...
A Republican homeschooling mom came to love her public schools. Now she’s fighting other conservatives she thinks will destroy them
In North Idaho, a local mom’s efforts to wrest school board control from MAGA conservatives ended in disappointment on Election Day. How it happened carries a message about political power.
hechingerreport.org
December 11, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I can't stop thinking about this conservative mom trying - & failing - to keep MAGA conservatives from taking apart public school from the inside, courtesy of @laurapappano.bsky.social & @emmaepperly.bsky.social for @hechingerreport.org & @idahoednews.bsky.social. hechingerreport.org/a-republican...
Reposted by Gail Cornwall
We just secured 5.5 million dollars to certify and provide jobs to nearly 600 formerly incarcerated firefighters transitioning from fighting wildfires in prison to serving communities while free. This is what hope and redemption looks like. This is California.
December 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
We just secured 5.5 million dollars to certify and provide jobs to nearly 600 formerly incarcerated firefighters transitioning from fighting wildfires in prison to serving communities while free. This is what hope and redemption looks like. This is California.
The headline is the TLDR: ICE raids are negatively impacting school communities across the country in a bunch of different ways. Read the full article for the deets and receipts. Iris Kwok and Howard Blume for @latimes.com www.latimes.com/california/s...
High school bullying is up, attendance down as ICE raids sow ‘climate of distress,' study says
A new survey of public high school principals across the U.S. found widespread, heightened distress among students from immigrant families amid ICE raids.
www.latimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:28 AM
The headline is the TLDR: ICE raids are negatively impacting school communities across the country in a bunch of different ways. Read the full article for the deets and receipts. Iris Kwok and Howard Blume for @latimes.com www.latimes.com/california/s...
"Each time I went, I found the silence anew and let myself sink into it a little further. I learned more about Quaker beliefs in pacifism [and] equality ... Most believed in God, but others were agnostic .... Eventually, I started to have faith, too." www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A moment that changed me: My unbearable grief kept growing – until I found solace in a silent community
After my dad died, I tried to cope by keeping busy: a day job, a side hustle, socialising and working out. But I kept bursting into tears in public. At a Quaker meeting, it was as if someone had turne...
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:23 AM
"Each time I went, I found the silence anew and let myself sink into it a little further. I learned more about Quaker beliefs in pacifism [and] equality ... Most believed in God, but others were agnostic .... Eventually, I started to have faith, too." www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
“AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed …. Virginia Tech is debuting an AI-powered essay reader… The Daily Tar Heel, reported [that UNC] was using AI to evaluate the grammar and writing style of applicants’ essays.” apnews.com/article/ai-c...
AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions
Students applying to college know they're not supposed to use AI chatbots to write their essays. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read those es...
apnews.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:09 PM
“AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed …. Virginia Tech is debuting an AI-powered essay reader… The Daily Tar Heel, reported [that UNC] was using AI to evaluate the grammar and writing style of applicants’ essays.” apnews.com/article/ai-c...
Reposted by Gail Cornwall
NEW YORK (AP) — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott increased her donations to nonprofits in 2025, giving $7.1 billion.
December 9, 2025 at 7:41 PM
NEW YORK (AP) — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott increased her donations to nonprofits in 2025, giving $7.1 billion.
Grow apprentice programs and fund them as well as SF in order to "train early childhood educators & to boost pay enough so teachers can [do] it for the long term,” writes @nirvishah.bsky.social for @hechingerreport.org. Just wait til you read Erica Davis's story! hechingerreport.org/one-city-fin...
With preschool teachers in short supply, cities, states turn to apprenticeships
Preschool teachers are generally in short supply, and many who attempt this work quickly quit these typically low-paying jobs. Some places are using apprenticeships — a training arrangement more commo...
hechingerreport.org
December 9, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Grow apprentice programs and fund them as well as SF in order to "train early childhood educators & to boost pay enough so teachers can [do] it for the long term,” writes @nirvishah.bsky.social for @hechingerreport.org. Just wait til you read Erica Davis's story! hechingerreport.org/one-city-fin...
Super detailed dive into “the long-term transformation of stadiums from working-class cathedrals for the people into luxury palaces for the rich.” Reading about SoFi's various offerings, I couldn't help but think of Dante's nine circles of Hell. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
How the Sports Stadium Went Luxe
Is the race to create ever more lavish spectator offerings in America’s largest venues changing the fan experience?
www.newyorker.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Super detailed dive into “the long-term transformation of stadiums from working-class cathedrals for the people into luxury palaces for the rich.” Reading about SoFi's various offerings, I couldn't help but think of Dante's nine circles of Hell. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Across the nation, colleges have students sleeping in cars, napping pods, alums’ homes, hotels & even an assisted living facility. My latest for @theguardian.com & @hechingerreport.org is on what emergency housing ingenuity says about higher ed in today’s America. hechingerreport.org/a-new-soluti...
A new ‘solution’ to student homelessness: a parking lot where students can sleep safely in their cars
More colleges are looking at emergency housing solutions, including have students sleeping in alumni’s homes, napping pods, Airbnbs and even an assisted living facility.
hechingerreport.org
December 9, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Across the nation, colleges have students sleeping in cars, napping pods, alums’ homes, hotels & even an assisted living facility. My latest for @theguardian.com & @hechingerreport.org is on what emergency housing ingenuity says about higher ed in today’s America. hechingerreport.org/a-new-soluti...
Thoughts? It’s not a clean issue, that’s for sure. “The ADA was supposed to make college more equitable. Instead, accommodations have become another way for the most privileged students to press their advantage.” @rosehorowitch.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Accommodation Nation
America’s colleges have an extra-time-on-tests problem.
www.theatlantic.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Thoughts? It’s not a clean issue, that’s for sure. “The ADA was supposed to make college more equitable. Instead, accommodations have become another way for the most privileged students to press their advantage.” @rosehorowitch.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Some arguments demand unserious responses: “Because of me, male employees are no longer allowed to make lewd jokes, hold men-only work gatherings, or type with their penises. Yes, this has ruined the workplace, although it has also drastically reduced typos.” www.newyorker.com/humor/shouts...
I’m the Woman Who Ruined the Workplace
“LOOK SHARP, BUTTHEADS!” I bellowed. “IT’S WOMAN TIME!”
www.newyorker.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Some arguments demand unserious responses: “Because of me, male employees are no longer allowed to make lewd jokes, hold men-only work gatherings, or type with their penises. Yes, this has ruined the workplace, although it has also drastically reduced typos.” www.newyorker.com/humor/shouts...
“Jose … has labored in the fields every summer & on weekends during the school year since he was 11 … to help his mother.” His siblings & cousins “are part of a faceless legion of underage workers in California who put fresh fruit & vegetables on America’s tables.” www.latimes.com/california/s...
California's child farmworkers: Exhausted, underpaid and toiling in toxic fields
State officials are failing to protect the health and safety of thousands of young field laborers, an investigation has found.
www.latimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:22 AM
“Jose … has labored in the fields every summer & on weekends during the school year since he was 11 … to help his mother.” His siblings & cousins “are part of a faceless legion of underage workers in California who put fresh fruit & vegetables on America’s tables.” www.latimes.com/california/s...
“College is a lot of things, including a very big business…. It’s a soft squeeze. Not quite Al Capone if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you material but maybe something his grandson’s cousin might try.” @ronlieber.bsky.social on the acceptance of early decision @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/b...
Meet the Millionaire Masters of Early Decision at Colleges
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:56 AM
“College is a lot of things, including a very big business…. It’s a soft squeeze. Not quite Al Capone if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you material but maybe something his grandson’s cousin might try.” @ronlieber.bsky.social on the acceptance of early decision @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/b...
Reposted by Gail Cornwall
UPDATE: Another Chicago-area church has put up an immigration-themed Nativity scene.
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
December 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
UPDATE: Another Chicago-area church has put up an immigration-themed Nativity scene.
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
A church member at Urban Village Church sent this one along, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are gone and replaced with a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.”
Reposted by Gail Cornwall
Nobody. I do not think you can eat chair
December 8, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Nobody. I do not think you can eat chair
Tremendous investigative feature reporting, important, timely, and well-done: “As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic.” Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Tremendous investigative feature reporting, important, timely, and well-done: “As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic.” Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
We have to do better: “The Stanford Center on Early Childhood recently reported that three in four California families with young children can’t cover at least one basic need, such as food, housing, utilities, child care or health care.” www.kqed.org/news/1206519...
3 Out of 4 California Families With Young Kids Can’t Afford At Least 1 Basic Need | KQED
Parents of young children are often the first to feel the affordability crisis, experts say, because they’re in the most expensive phase of life.
www.kqed.org
December 6, 2025 at 7:07 PM
We have to do better: “The Stanford Center on Early Childhood recently reported that three in four California families with young children can’t cover at least one basic need, such as food, housing, utilities, child care or health care.” www.kqed.org/news/1206519...