Forbes’ No. 1 ranking underscores that private universities are often engines of wealth inequality
public schools
A new model of school reform
Last week, The New Yorker reported that Mark Zuckerberg’s 2010 gift of $100 million to the Newark School District hadn’t really improved the schools — with most of the money having been spent on labor contracts and consulting fees. Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), an urban district with demographics and challenges … Continue reading »
Five ways to encourage giving to disadvantaged public schools
As governments have slashed funding for public education, more and more school districts have turned to parents for help—and parents have responded to the call. Case in point: In San Francisco, PTA budgets have increased by 800 percent over the past 10 years, according to an investigation I conducted with colleagues at the San Francisco … Continue reading »
Four reminders of human strength and goodness after Sandy Hook
I first heard about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Twitter. In the flood of reactions, one stood out to me. “The children were killed execution style,” tweeted one woman. “People are horrible.” Are people horrible? It’s a question we as a culture pose after every war and atrocity; it’s a question we … Continue reading »