Symposium: Urban Public Education

Urban public schools educate tens of millions of American children, the future of our workforce and of our polity. Despite the fact that these schools are central to the well-being of America in the twenty-first century, they have long suffered from a shortage of resources, attention, and, perhaps most importantly, innovative ideas. In recent years, however, there have been signs of a potential turnaround. Mayors in New York and Washington, D.C. have wrested control of local schools from politically-elected school boards. Charter schools have proliferated. People may be beginning to rethink our approach to education children in our cities. The following four essays approach the problems facing urban public schools from different perspectives and offer a range of potential solutions.

Changing the Culture of Urban Public Education
Joel I. Klein

Generational Change: Some Controversial Cause for Optimism in Educational Policy
Stefanie Sanford & Steven Seleznow

Pushing the Struggle Farther
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. & Susan Eaton

A New Deal For Urban Public Schools
Andrew J. Rotherham & Sara Mead