Students have started an unprecedented global conversation about assault weapons and school safety. Now the challenge is to convert talk into policy.

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos may be one of the most controversial public servants in history. Which raises the question, would you want her to visit your school?

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stirred up a lot of angst in her recent 60-Minutes Interview. I'm not sure why. What did we expect? Betsy Devos was simply being Betsy DeVos. What we should expect is...

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

It seems as though we are consistently struggling with our views on education policy. Who should take the lead, the federal government or the states? Are the standards we set the pinnacle to which we should all strive to hit or the bar below to which no school should fall?

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

Hard to believe we're discussing incentivizing teachers to become a special weapon and tactic against school shootings. Join me as I offer just one more good reason why asking teachers to pack heat is a cold idea that should send chills through us all.

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

We are not sure who can or will put an end to school shootings. But perhaps reframing our thinking is a step in the right direction.

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

The president has proposed an education budget for 2018. What does it tell us about his vision and strategy for American education? Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

As we try to discern what the president is thinking about post-secondary education, we can't help but wonder if he's thinking at all or merely dreaming about the past.

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

It's the magical time of year when all of us in education gather around our TV sets to see if education will get any screen time in the President's State of the Union address. This historic moment made me think, what if....?

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork

Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.

It the new year! Time for resets and resolutions. Here is my list of five education resolutions I'd love to see us all make.

Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork Follow: @Eduflack @bamradionetwork Patrick Riccards is chief communications and strategy officer for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. He is also the author of the nationally recognized Eduflack blog and its companion Twitter feed. PR News named Pat the Not-for-Profit Communications Professional of the Year for his work in teacher preparation and higher education transformation (2015). A former local school board chairman, Patrick is also the author of the award-winning Dadprovement.