Position paper: Why PAA opposes mass school closings
by pureparents
What are mass school closings?
Mass school closings occur when school districts decide to close large numbers of public schools in a community within a single year, citing a variety of reasons like “underutilization” or academic failure. These closures go far beyond the periodic need to close schools because of drops in a district’s school-age population. Rather, they result from policies pushed by the corporate education reform movement and its privatization agenda, and embraced by the U.S. Department of Education.
Mass school closings occur when school districts decide to close large numbers of public schools in a community within a single year, citing a variety of reasons like “underutilization” or academic failure. These closures go far beyond the periodic need to close schools because of drops in a district’s school-age population. Rather, they result from policies pushed by the corporate education reform movement and its privatization agenda, and embraced by the U.S. Department of Education.
Mass school closings have rapidly expanded in the past two or three years. Chicago is facing up to 54 closings in the fall of 2013. Philadelphia voted this March to close 23 schools in a single year, one in 10 of its public schools. New York City plans to close 26 schools on top of the 140 schools that have already been closed in the past decade. Washington, DC, plans to close 15 schools by 2014.
Why is PAA so concerned about mass school closings?
Studies on mass school closings have been clear: in city after city, mass closings have done far more harm than good. They do not lead to improved academic performance and they don’t fix budget deficits. Schools that receive students rarely receive adequate time or resources to responsibly address school mergers.
As the vast majority of closed schools have high-minority enrollments, communities of color are disproportionately affected. In early 2013, parents from 18 cities filed discrimination complaints with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, claiming that recent and proposed school closings are
