A CEI Response to Immigration Raids and Child Detainments

Melody Mann, M.S. M.A.

Now, more than ever, heart centered learning is becoming a vital necessity across education. With the rise of ICE raids and detainments taking place, families and children as early as preschool are being wrongfully taken from classrooms and daycare centers alike. Across the United States, in this year alone we have witnessed aggressive immigration enforcement actions taking place from New York City, Minneapolis and other localities. These actions not only traumatize youth and their families, but build a dystopian reality of segregation, isolation, and terror across communities. In the turbulent times our nation is navigating, fostering compassion, empathy, and acceptance is vital to the preservation of humanity and safety of our communities.

A Call to Action: Leveraging Heart Centered Learning

The Center of Educational Improvement promotes the usage of Heart Centered Learning (HCL) across educational spaces to foster inclusivity and unity across students, staff, and families. Applied broadly, HCL can combat the unnecessary brutalities taking place politically and within law enforcement by strengthening families and staff at the classroom level. Traditionally, HCL leverages the 5 C’s, compassion, courage, confidence, consciousness (awareness), and community, to equip students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others, resolve conflicts nonviolently, think creatively, and overcome obstacles to succeed in the classroom and in life (read more here).

Expanded for our contemporary moment, HCL is actively cultivating reflection, mindfulness, emotional regulation, and collective responsibility. These practices create classrooms that function not only as academic spaces, but as sanctuaries of safety and belonging. When children are confronted with the threat of family separation, deportation, or racialized surveillance, schools must become places where students are seen, protected, and affirmed. HCL provides educators with concrete tools to recognize trauma, honor cultural identities, and foster resilience in the face of instability. As ICE raids spread and surveillance is forcefully infiltrating historically safe spaces like classrooms, HCL can be a protective tool for educators and staff alike to nurture and alert students and families...

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A Message from the Executive Director

Khalil Kuykendall, CEI Executive Director

Dear CEI Community, 

It is with deep gratitude and enthusiasm that I introduce myself as the new Executive Director of the Center for Educational Improvement (CEI). I am honored to step into this role and to join a community that has long been committed to advancing educational equity, innovation, and excellence. 

CEI’s mission—to strengthen schools, empower educators, and improve outcomes for students—resonates deeply with both my professional journey and my personal values. Throughout my career, I have worked at the intersection of education, wellness, leadership, and community engagement, always guided by the belief that meaningful change happens when people are supported, seen, and equipped to thrive. 

As we move forward together, my vision for CEI centers on three guiding commitments: 

1. Strengthening Educational Impact 

We will continue to build and refine high-quality programs, resources, and partnerships that support educators and students across diverse learning environments. Our work will remain grounded in evidence-based practices while remaining responsive to the evolving needs of schools and communities. 

2. Investing in People 

Educators, students, families, and partners are at the heart of CEI. We will prioritize professional learning, leadership development, and well-being—recognizing that sustainable improvement begins with supporting the individuals doing the work. 

3. Expanding Collaboration and Reach 

CEI’s future depends on strong relationships. I look forward to deepening existing partnerships and forging new ones that amplify our impact, extend our reach, and align with our shared commitment to educational improvement. 

In the coming months, we will be engaging in strategic planning, listening sessions, and collaborative conversations to ensure that CEI’s direction reflects both its legacy and its future potential. Your voices, insights, and experiences are essential to this process, and I look forward to learning from each of you. 

Thank you for the warm welcome and for your continued commitment to CEI’s mission. I am excited about what lies ahead and grateful for the opportunity to serve this community. 

With appreciation and purpose, 

Kahlil M. Kuykendall 

Executive Director 

Center for Educational Improvement

Using AI to Scale Compassionate, SEL-Centered Education

Meghan Wenzel, CEI Editor

For years, educators have been tasked with a highly challenging balance: meeting rigorous academic standards and high-stakes testing demands while nurturing students' social-emotional wellbeing and holistic development. With limited time, resources, and energy, something always seems to give.

But the stakes are high. Schools have become the "de facto mental health system for many children and adolescents," according to a 2020 study in JAMA Pediatrics (Golberstein, Wen, & Miller, 2020). Nearly one in five students now accesses school-based mental health services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2026). Yet teachers and counselors remain stretched thin, often unable to provide the individualized attention and emotional support every student deserves.

AI might be able to help. When thoughtfully and carefully implemented, AI offers tools that can help educators scale their impact. AI can be a thought partner to help educators sift through emerging research and best practices, brainstorm exercises, and generate tailored content. There are certain AI tools geared especially for teachers needs, and educators can then use their training and judgment to craft appropriate solutions. These time savings can then free up educators to do what technology cannot: nurture emotional intelligence, facilitate meaningful peer connections, guide students through conflict resolution, and create the safe, responsive classroom environments where social-emotional learning thrives... 

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More Than Self-Care: How Compassionate Practices Transform Schools

Fatima Rishana Azmie, CEI Intern

Why six-year-olds are now sitting for ability tests — and what that means for learning, equity, and well-being

“The danger is not that we measure learning — but that we mistake measurement for learning.” Adapted from Bonner’s discussion of assessment as a support for learning (Bonner, 2013/2023).

In contemporary education systems, children encounter standardized testing at increasingly young ages. In the UAE and many other global contexts, students as young as six sit for cognitive ability tests (e.g., CAT4), reading assessments (e.g., NGRT), annual norm-referenced tests in core subjects, alongside language proficiency and government-mandated assessments. What was once designed as system-level monitoring has become embedded in routine classroom life (Au, 2007; Au, 2016; Nichols & Berliner, 2007; Stiggins, 2005; Ford, 2020).

Standardized assessments are often justified as mechanisms for accountability, equity, and early intervention. Yet a growing body of research suggests that excessive and high-stakes testing environments can distort learning, teaching, motivation, and children’s developing identities — particularly in early childhood (Au, 2016; Ford, 2020; Kohn, 2000).

This article draws on doctoral research and peer-reviewed studies to examine how early high-stakes testing reshapes childhood learning, affects teacher practice, and raises developmental and ethical concerns...

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