 Dear reader,
Class sizes that are too large. Budgets that are too small. Staff shortages, crowded school buildings and insufficient resources to help a diverse and growing student body.
Sounds like a typical large urban school district – except this scenario is a new reality in school districts in and around Bozeman, Montana, where enrollment has swelled by 21 percent over the past decade.
The Hechinger Report’s Neal Morton examined the challenges facing small cities across the West where more Americans are moving in search of new jobs and a potentially better quality of life. There are potential benefits but also considerable costs to schools, particularly in parts of the country that lag in education spending. The piece, which also appeared in The Washington Post, represents the kind of deep reporting we’ve become known for at The Hechinger Report.
Others find us via our newsletters. In our most recent higher education newsletter, Olivia Sanchez introduces us to new efforts designed to help parents and students get the information they need to make better choices about colleges and avoid potentially crushing and often hidden debt – another topic we’ve become experts in. And Jill Barshay, our “Proof Points” columnist, takes us inside the latest report on grade inflation, at a time of heated debate about the value of test scores and admissions exams.
Finally, like many Americans, we are reeling from the news of the latest mass shooting, this time in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. Parents and teachers may not be able to answer all the questions kids raise about the violence – but many believe they should try. Others have argued that schools must play a larger role in preventing gun violence altogether. As always, we want to know what you think, so please do get in touch.
Liz Willen, Editor
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Main Idea
