Carissa Wyant

Carissa Wyant is a former MintPress columnist specializing in faith, race and social justice issues. She has been published in the Huffington Post, Patch.com, American City Business Journals and various local publications around the American Midwest.

Achievement Gap For Native American Children Persists As Obama Steps Up Efforts To Stop Gap

Michele Hernandez, left, a tutor at IT Stoddard Elementary School in Blackfoot, Idaho, takes a moment out of her lunch duties to assist Austin Tracy, 11, with his math homework. (AP Photo/Joshua Duplechian) (MintPress) – “American Indian and Alaska Native students need a top-flight education in order to fully participate in a 21st century economy, […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
Michele Hernandez, left, a tutor at IT Stoddard Elementary School in Blackfoot, Idaho, takes a moment out of her lunch duties to assist Austin Tracy, 11, with his math homework. (AP Photo/Joshua Duplechian)

(MintPress) – “American Indian and Alaska Native students need a top-flight education in order to fully participate in a 21st century economy, and the wide and persistent gap between our fourth- and eighth-grade Native students and their peers highlights that we need to do more to help these students,” said Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, last

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Bored, Underachieving American Students – Who’s To Blame?

Tenth grade students take a chemistry test while in class at Springfield High School in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) (MintPress) – “If students are going to succeed in the competitive global economy, they need to be exposed to a rigorous curriculum. But many students believe their class work is too easy,” wrote Ulrich Boser […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
Tenth grade students take a chemistry test while in class at Springfield High School in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

(MintPress) – “If students are going to succeed in the competitive global economy, they need to be exposed to a rigorous curriculum. But many students believe their class work is too easy,” wrote Ulrich Boser and Lindsay Rosenthal, in an introduction to a new study which found that students in American elementary and high schools are not being

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Impact Investing Examined As Google Launches New Campaign To Help LGBT Communities

In this Wednesday, June 27, 2012, file photo, Vic Gundotra, Google Senior Vice President of Engineering, talks about Google Plus at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File) (MintPress) – Google stepped up its activism on gay rights and launched its new « Legalize Love » campaign, with the stated intention of inspiring […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
In this Wednesday, June 27, 2012, file photo, Vic Gundotra, Google Senior Vice President of Engineering, talks about Google Plus at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

(MintPress) – Google stepped up its activism on gay rights and launched its new "Legalize Love" campaign, with the stated intention of inspiring countries across the globe to promote safer working conditions for lesbian, gay and bisexual people around the world. The "Legalize Love" campaign officially kicked off in Poland and Singapore on

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Charter Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap or Reviving Segregation

A teacher uses flash cards to teach kindergarten students including Nailiah Harping, 6, seated at left of the front row, and Jason Moncure, also 6, next to her her during Spanish class at the charter school Oakhurst Elementary in Decatur, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis) (MintPress) – While pundits, scholars and politicians debate the effectiveness of […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
A teacher uses flash cards to teach kindergarten students including Nailiah Harping, 6, seated at left of the front row, and Jason Moncure, also 6, next to her her during Spanish class at the charter school Oakhurst Elementary in Decatur, Ga. (AP Photo/John Amis)

(MintPress) – While pundits, scholars and politicians debate the effectiveness of charter schools at closing racial and economic achievement gaps in American public education, with nearly 6,000 charter schools coming into operation across the United States today in 41 states and the District of Columbia in only two short decades of the movements’

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Immigration And Civil Rights Activists Rally For The American Dream On July 4

Leticia Tepetitla, 9, wearing a U.S. flag, marches with other demonstrators calling for immigration reform around the Federal Building in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera) (MintPress) – While Americans across the country will spend July 4 to celebrate freedom and independence, a diverse group will gather in San Antonio, Texas, to rally for civil rights, […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
immigration

(MintPress) – While Americans across the country will spend July 4 to celebrate freedom and independence, a diverse group will gather in San Antonio, Texas, to rally for civil rights, in the wake of recent discussions around the status of immigrants in America. The rally is one of several taking place across the country Wednesday in advance of

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Tribes Seek To Protect Violated Treaty Rights As Fish Populations Dwindle

Billy Frank Jr., Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, poses for a photo, Friday, June 29, 2012, at Frank’s Landing near Olympia, Wash. with the waters of Nisqually River captured by a partially submerged camera. Frank is one of several leaders of American Indian tribes in western Washington who say their treaty rights with […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
Billy Frank Jr., Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, poses for a photo, Friday, June 29, 2012, at Frank's Landing near Olympia, Wash. with the waters of Nisqually River captured by a partially submerged camera. Frank is one of several leaders of American Indian tribes in western Washington who say their treaty rights with the U.S. are at risk because the region is losing habitat that salmon need to survive. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

(MintPress) – "The tribes' treaty rights, the basis of their economy, culture and way of life are at stake," said Mike Grayum, executive director of Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, speaking about dwindling salmon populations along the coastline of the Pacific northwest. Grayum’s organization, which represents 20 treaty tribes including

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Army Wardrobe Changes Put Soldiers’ Lives In Danger, Cost Taxpayers Billions

Spc. Eddie L. Williams, a computer detection repairer at Fort Belvoir, Va., models the new MultiCam Army Combat Uniform, which were issued to soldiers deploying to Afghanistan beginning in July 2010. (Photo by The U.S. Army via Flikr) (MintPress) – After spending millions of dollars to revamp the camouflage pattern on soldiers’ uniforms just a […]

Carissa Wyant
Par Carissa Wyant
Spc. Eddie L. Williams, a computer detection repairer at Fort Belvoir, Va., models the new MultiCam Army Combat Uniform, which were issued to soldiers deploying to Afghanistan beginning in July 2010. (Photo by The U.S. Army via Flikr)

(MintPress) – After spending millions of dollars to revamp the camouflage pattern on soldiers’ uniforms just a few years ago, the United States Army is now changing uniform designs again after fielding criticism from military personnel who say the initial upgrade made them more visible to hostile forces. After soldiers complained to lawmakers

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