 Dear reader,
Here’s a question I hate getting: Are charter schools good or bad? Those who ask may not be aware that it’s complicated; there’s no simple answer.
Charter schools serve only about three million U.S. students. They are publicly funded but independent from many district and state regulations and differ widely in focus and performance.
We don’t take sides at The Hechinger Report, but we report deeply and fairly on charter schools. And that’s why I recommend our feature story on Mississippi’s first rural charter school, which opened a year ago in a place where school choice still evokes painful memories of white families’ abandonment of the public school system. I hope you will take time to read it – and let us know what you think. Reply directly to this newsletter to send us your thoughts.
Liz Willen, Editor
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 Main Idea |
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In rural parts of the South, school choice has long been linked to private segregation academies opened for white families fleeing desegregation and busing. Mississippi’s first rural charter school challenges that legacy, but threatens the struggling traditional public schools most black children still attend.
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Reading List
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Comprehensive sexual health education, which covers friendship and families along with babies and bodies, is rare in America’s elementary schools even though experts say it’s critical.
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When it comes to teachers’ roles in shaping anti-racist communities, it’s better to show than to tell. Meaning, society is better off when students see diversity in the ranks of teachers rather than when they hear lessons about the importance of inclusion from a monolithic group of educators.
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It’s never been more important to take a new look at how we think about school discipline. We need to shift away from thinking of discipline as the thing you do to punish a student who is acting out or to rein in a chaotic class.
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Fewer than one in five students who enroll part time from the start at a four-year college have earned a degree eight years later, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The reasons these students take so long to finish college, or drop out altogether, often come down to two factors: money and scheduling.
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A little-known industry of for-profit middlemen, which is skimming off as much as 80% of the proceeds and has U.S. revenues of $1 billion annually, may be thwarting the innovative potential of online education.
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Without photoshopping his face onto the body of a water polo athlete, like some of the parents caught up in the recent U.S. college cheating scandal, I could have prepped my older son, Jonah, for college like a prize pumpkin at the county fair.
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A Stanford study finds that racial segregation matters because black and Hispanic students are concentrated in high poverty schools.
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Memphis, Pittsburgh and other cities provide examples of resources and strategies that address the diverse needs of children and families.
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Solutions
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This week’s solutions section came from SolutionsU powered by Solutions Journalism Network and their database of solutions journalism. Search for more solutions.
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Contact Nichole Dobo at [email protected] if you want to chat about story ideas or give feedback on any of The Hechinger Report’s newsletters. Did you know we produce four other newsletters with exclusive stories and analysis? Sign up for free today! (And if you are having trouble signing up, please email [email protected].)
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We cover inequality and innovation in education with in-depth journalism that uses research, data and stories from classrooms and campuses to show the public how education can be improved and why it matters.
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