By Valerie Strauss May 24, 2018 In 2013, the Chicago school district closed 49 elementary schools and one high school program in the face of a $1 billion deficit, the largest mass school closure in the country’s modern history. Schools officials and Mayor Rahm Emanuel made this promise to nearly 12,000 mostly African American students from…
Category: School Choice
Why our schools are failing
Most teachers do not teach because of the money. Updated Jun 13; Posted Jun 12 By Robert Wilkerson When people say our schools are failing, they have overstated the problem. The truth is many of our schools are failing, but some are doing quite well. The ones that are failing are not failing because prayer was taken out…
SAISD’s Martinez: Charter, Traditional Public Schools Should ‘Work Together’
EMILY DONALDSON Despite rhetoric that increasingly pits traditional public schools against charters, most parents don’t care which form their children’s public education takes as long as they are learning, San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez told a national charter school conference Monday. “Families want an environment where their children are going to thrive,” Martinez…
Walker calls himself ‘education governor,’ launches new ad
By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press JUNE 19, 2018 MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker is calling himself an “education governor,” launching a new ad Tuesday touting recent increases in funding as he sets a goal to make Wisconsin’s high school graduation rates the highest in the country. The moves come as Walker tries to blunt…
Public Schools For a New Generation: 5 Reasons Why Millennials Will Bend the Arc of American Education
One of my goals this year is inspiring fellow millennials to join the work of improving America’s public schools. Last November, I wrote in The 74 about the results of a poll showing that millennials believe education provides the best opportunity for success in life — much more so than factors like how much money you have or…
DC’s public schools go from success story to cautionary tale
June 18, 2018 WASHINGTON (AP) — As recently as a year ago, the public school system in the nation’s capital was being hailed as a shining example of successful urban education reform and a template for districts across the country. Now the situation in the District of Columbia could not be more different. After a…
De Blasio’s plan to diversify elite NYC high schools would admit top performers from every middle school
Mayor Bill de Blasio brought together city officials, elected leaders and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza to seek to elminate a single test from being the only factor in deciding whether a student gets into a top high school in New York City. (Todd Maisel / New York Daily News) By CATHERINA GIOINO and ERIN DURKIN JUN 04,…
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,…
Santa Fe Public Schools board votes to postpone decision on closing schools
Fernanda Lopez Posted: May 30, 2018 05:23 AM MDT Updated: May 30, 2018 02:31 PM MDT SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Santa Fe Public School board members are once again putting off a decision on what to do with three aging elementary schools in Santa Fe. There was a lot of disagreement at a school board meeting…
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…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 