After decades of decline, Scranton can capitalize on the unprecedented federal emergency relief provided to schools and communities in the pandemic and its wake. To do so, Scranton must recognize and address the threat to the city's public school system. Great public schools are the lifeblood of any thriving community, attracting and retaining…

Many programs and practices aim to improve college persistence and completion, including "Single Stop USA's Community College Initiative," hereafter referred to as "Single Stop." "Single Stop" supports community college students with screening and applications for public benefits and other wraparound services that can…

Public school choice has become a common feature in American school districts. Any potential benefits that could be derived from these policies depend heavily on the ability of parents and students to make informed and educated decisions about their school options. We examined the readability and complexity of school-choice guides across a sample…

Many programs and practices aim to improve college persistence and completion, including "Single Stop USA's Community College Initiative," hereafter referred to as "Single Stop." "Single Stop" supports community college students with screening and applications for public benefits and other wraparound services that can…

Many programs and practices aim to improve college persistence and completion, including "Single Stop USA's Community College Initiative," hereafter referred to as "Single Stop." "Single Stop" supports community college students with screening and applications for public benefits and other wraparound services that can…

Depending on the particular definition of culture they employ, pedagogical approaches meant to promote integration, inclusion, and empowerment across cultural divides can end up magnifying existing feelings of alienation, exclusion, and disempowerment. This article explores the negative consequences that can arise when "funds of…

Amid the growth of charter schools, autonomous schools, and private management organizations, an increasing number of urban districts are moving toward a portfolio management model (PMM). In a PMM, the district central office oversees schools that operate under a variety of governance models. The expansion of PMMs raises questions about local…

This article examines the paradox of Teach For America's diversity gains and its support for policies that contribute to Black teacher decline in urban communities. TFA has countered claims that its expansion is connected to teacher displacement, but its two-pronged structure--as an alternative certification program and an influential policy actor…

This article focuses on the increased power of venture philanthropy to shape education in urban communities of color in the USA. The author situates venture philanthropy's expanded influence in urban school districts in the nexus of urban disinvestment, neoliberal governance, wealth concentration, and economic crisis. The author argues that…

This article examines education accountability as a mechanism of coercive neoliberal urban governance in the USA. Drawing on Gramscian theory of the "integral state" as the dialectical synthesis of coercion, consent, and resistance, the author argues that as the crisis gives the state less room to win consent, it intensifies coercion as…

The study reviewed in this report examined the effects of Philadelphia's "Renaissance Schools Initiative" on students in K-8 schools after one year of implementation. Schools were selected for participation based on their School Performance Index (SPI) at the start of the 2010-11 school year. The SPI rates every school in Philadelphia…

As part of its effective teaching initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with three urban school districts across the U.S. and a group of four charter management organizations to undertake a strategic set of human capital reforms. A key objective of the "Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching" program was to…

In 2012, the School District of Philadelphia closed six schools. In 2013, it closed 24. The closure of 30 schools has occurred amid a financial crisis, headlined by the district's $1.35 billion deficit. School closures are one piece of the district's plan to cut expenditures and close its budget gap. The closures are also intended to make…

What is the landscape of the racial politics of public education in the age of Obama? To what factors can we attribute the seeming educational policy consensus from Washington, DC, to the states and from philanthropies and policy entrepreneurs in urban school districts? How should we understand opposition to the policy menu? This article examines…

Purpose: In this essay, we examine the racial politics of education in the six decades after "Brown". We consider the state of educational policy in an era in which market reform advocates often invoke the spirit of the "Brown" decision even as the Supreme Court has largely vacated the legal framework provided by…