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SOLD A STORY
Episode 11: The Outlier There’s a school district in eastern Ohio where virtually all the students become good readers by the time they finish third grade. Many of the wealthiest places in the country can’t even say that. And Steubenville is a Rust Belt town where the state considers almost all the students “economically disadvantaged.” How did they do it? This is the first of three new episodes from Sold a Story. ▻ Listen now
Most school districts have lots of kids who struggle with reading. This one is different.  The schools in Steubenville, Ohio, are doing something unusual. In fact, it’s almost unheard of. In a country where nearly 40% of fourth graders struggle to read at even a basic level, Steubenville has succeeded in teaching virtually all of its students to read. Last year, almost every third-grader in Steubenville City Schools passed the state’s reading test – the same test that one in three students failed statewide. Only three districts out of more than 600 in Ohio did better than Steubenville last year. And those impressive results aren’t a fluke. For the past 20 years, more than 95% of its third graders have passed the test on average. ▻ Read the story Also from American Public Media  
Unlocking The GatesA three-part series about how the North led housing discrimination in America. Hosted by Lee Hawkins. ▻ Listen The last skipper in Ouzinkie: How some Alaska Natives lost their right to fish commercially  A permitting system designed in the 1970s was supposed to make Alaska’s commercial fishing industry more sustainable and more profitable. But over the past 50 years, it has hollowed out many Indigenous coastal villages where residents no longer can earn a living by harvesting salmon. An APM Reports collaboration with Alaska Public Media. ▻ Read the story |