In most states inequities in the Opportunity to Learn are best illustrated by the difference between the opportunities available to male Black and male White, non-Latino students. Kansas’ graduation rate for male Black students is 53%; for male White students 77%; a difference of 24%. For more information, see the Schott Foundation for Public Education's report, Given Half a Chance.
Why do schools in high-poverty neighborhoods have fewer textbooks, foreign language offerings, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, and smaller libraries than schools in middle-class neighborhoods? Why do wealthier kids have teachers and principals with more credentials, experience and talent? And more importantly, how do we make change happen so all students can proceed from the same starting line?
This is an edited version of a commentary given by Stan Karp , a teacher of English and journalism in Paterson, N.J., for 30 years. Karp spoke on Oct. 1 at the fourth annual Northwest Teachers for Justice conference in Seattle. He is now the director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center and an editor of the 25-year-old Rethinking Schools magazine. A video and fuller version of the commentary can be found here.
This is an edited version of a commentary given by Stan Karp , a teacher of English and journalism in Paterson, N.J., for 30 years. Karp spoke on Oct. 1 at the fourth annual Northwest Teachers for Justice conference in Seattle. He is now the director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center and an editor of the 25-year-old Rethinking Schools magazine.
Need a quick primer on "corporate reform" in public education and its consequences? Stan Karp's got you covered. The director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey's Education Law Center, Karp spoke last month at the Northwest Teachers for Social Justice Conference, criticizing the corporate attitude that is guiding major "reform" legislation.
The nation is not going to improve the educational outcomes and lifetime opportunities of its neediest citizens until we turn around our lowest-performing schools. The question has been – and remains: How do we do that?
Under the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, the answer is for schools that are targeted for the grants to adopt one of four school improvement models, ranging from a purge of school leadership to closing the school.
From our Opportunity to Learn campaign, here is a primer on the opportunity gap, including an overview, talking points, key data and resources - all the tools you'll need to advocate for a fair and substantive opportunity to learn for all children.
The National Opportunity to Learn Campaign has developed this toolkit on vouchers, a primer that includes an overview of the issue, talking points, key data and resources. This toolkit provides all the tools you need to advocate for investing in public education instead of diverting public funds to private and religious schools.
It’s no surprise that the voice of educational opportunity is spreading and growing louder as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Education has always been the bridge to prosperity and opportunity for Americans. And it still is: The unemployment rate for college graduates is less than half what it is for non-college graduates.
But the nation seems to have forgotten this.
No classroom factor is more important in the success of students than teachers. Unfortunately, that message often gets lost in today’s education debates.
