Will competition in education kill our sense of community?:

Will competition in education kill our sense of community?

By Valerie Strauss, Published: June 17, 2013 at 4:00 amE-mail the writer

Sarah Irvine Belson
(american.edu)

I recently published a post that slammed modern school reform as essentially an urban land reform project, written by Leslie Fenwick, dean of the Howard University School of Education and a professor of education policy, It said in part:

The truth can be used to tell a lie. The truth is that black parents’ frustration with the quality of public schools is at an all time righteous high…. The lie is that schemes like Teach For America, charter schools backed by venture capitalists,education management organizations (EMOs), and Broad Foundation-prepared superintendents address black parents’ concerns about the quality of public schools for their children.

Here is a related piece, written by a colleague of Fenwick’s, Sarah Irvine Belson, dean of

‘I didn’t really research anything’ in high school, D.C. valedictorian says

by Valerie Strauss

This Washington Post story by my colleague Emma Brown tells the revealing story of the academic trouble that some of the highest achieving graduates from D.C. Public Schools face when they start college. It raises questions about just how far … Continue reading →