Are public schools the enemy, or the answer, to the challenges before us now?

Franklin Graham speaks during his “Decision America” California tour stop at the Fresno Fairgrounds on Monday, May 28, 2018. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee file BY ANDREW FIALA   June 01, 2018 10:00 AM Updated June 01, 2018 10:00 AM When the Rev. Franklin Graham was in Fresno last week, he said “the enemy has gotten control of our schools,…

Detroit’s far-reaching strategy to fill its schools

Lori Higgins, May 29, 2018 Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the report outlining the Detroit school district’s enrollment plan incorrectly states that the Berkley School District enrolled 1,000 Detroit students during the 2016-17 school year. The Berkley district does not enroll any Detroit students. After enrollment declines that saw the…

Mapping the Movement to Dismantle Public Education

BY MOLLY GOTT  DEREK SEIDMAN It’s not just the Koch brothers: a state by state look at the forces driving school privatization. he ongoing wave of teacher strikes across the US is changing the conversation about public education in this country. From West Virginia to Arizona, Kentucky to Oklahoma, Colorado to North Carolina, tens of thousands of teachers have taken to the streets…

Baltimore school board considering six new charter schools

Talia Richman June 4, 2018 The Baltimore International Academy begins each morning with roughly 720 students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in all five of the United Nations’ official languages. For the rest of their day, children in kindergarten through eighth grade can be heard chattering, learning and singing almost entirely in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian…

Public vs private schools: The Great Ed funding debate continues

Among the conferees signing off on last year’s omnibus education bill are David Sharpe, D-Bristol, second from left, and Sen. Philip Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, both sharp critics of the Scott adminstration’s approach to education funding in 2018. File photo by Tiffany Danitz Pache/VTDigger By Tiffany Danitz Pache Jun 3 2018, 9:56 PM The Scott administration has declared…

Superintendent Stunned Conference By Blaming Racism For Detroit Public Schools Crisis

Students in the predominantly Black school system are “treated like second-class citizens.” Written By Nigel Roberts June 4, 2018 etroit schools superintendent, who’s white, shocked a group of state leaders with the unvarnished truth that racism is at the core of the city’s failed public school system. SEE ALSO: WATCH: Michigan Educators Expose Hazardous School Conditions In…

Dallas ISD illustrates importance of marketing for public schools in choice era

Christina Vercelletto June 4, 2018 Dive Brief: Schools that feed into Carter, Kimball and South Oak Cliff High Schools in Dallas have lost a total of 10,000 students to charter schools or neighboring districts, so Dallas ISD is upping its branding game to stay competitive, WFAA reports. The number of schools the Texas identified as “improvement required” dropped…

The one way North Carolina’s teacher rally Wednesday could spark change

Kentucky teachers rally last month. Rallies in Kentucky, Colorado, Arizona and elsewhere have encouraged North Carolina teachers, who will rally in Raleigh on Wednesday. Bryan Woolston AP photo BY THE OBSERVER EDITORIAL BOARD May 15, 2018 10:11 AM   Will the 15,000 N.C. teachers gathering in Raleigh Wednesday for the largest teachers rally in state history succeed?…