Have You Heard

How did school boards became the must-have accessory of wealthy donors? Scholar Rebecca Jacobsen walks us through who and what is behind this big money trend. And by "big," we mean REALLY BIG. The recent school board election in Los Angeles was the most expensive in history, totaling some $17 million, much of it via untraceable "dark money" donations.

Did you hear the one about how charter schools were the brainchild of Albert Shanker, the legendary teachers union head? Writer Rachel Cohen did, but when she began tracing the tale back to its origins, she found that the real "father" of charter schools looks a lot like their biggest fans today: market-oriented reformers who aren't crazy about public institutions or labor unions.

A big new study finds having just one Black teacher makes it far more likely that Black students will remain in school. But there’s a problem. The percentage of Black teachers, particularly in urban areas, has been sinking like a stone. Guest Terrenda White explains the role that education reform has played in reducing the number of Black teachers, and why recruiting Black students to be future teachers is such a challenge when school can feel a lot like jail.

School marketing is a fast growing - and completely unregulated - byproduct of the education marketplace. Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire explore the world of "edvertising" with researcher Sarah Butler Jessen. To market, to market!

Tax credit scholarships are a complex, controversial way of sending taxpayer dollars to private religious schools, allowing wealthy donors and corporations to reap huge windfalls in the process. Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire explore the the origins of the wall between public money and private schools that these “neo vouchers” are intended to circumvent. They're joined by tax policy expert Carl Davis who They’re joined by tax policy expert Carl Davis who explains that tax credit scholarships have more in common with money laundering than with charitable giving.

Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider talk to Tressie McMillan Cottom about the rise of for-profit colleges, and *risky* higher ed that saddles low-income students with debt and questionable credentials. And we discuss the growing push to make K-12 similarly risky. Cottom is the author of Lower Ed and her sharp, insightful take on why markets and schooling don't match is a must hear.

Have You Heard heads to Detroit to hear from parents about how they're faring in the city's "education marketplace." We listen in as they describe neighborhoods that have become school deserts, and the chaos of dealing with schools that suddenly close their doors.

Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider talk to Michelle Rhee about the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers, whether the policies she's pushed for have led to teacher shortages, and what's next for the education reform movement in these Trumpian times.

The idea that schools can be fixed by firing teachers has become a fixation. Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider look at where the idea comes from and hear from three Boston teachers whose schools are about to be turned upside down. As scholar Tina Trujillo explains, the turn-and-churn model of school reform reflects a larger erosion of the idea that public education is public good.

The conservative love affair with vouchers dates back decades, held in check only by a skeptical public. Now with the GOP running, well, just about everything, school vouchers are back, baby. Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider discuss the history of the voucher movement and its strange bedfellows, and mix it up with Travis Pillow, a voucher superfan.

When Maria Montessori developed a new teaching method for society’s “lost” children in the early 1900s, she had no idea it would become one of the go-to ways rich white parents educate their toddlers. But now, public urban Montessori schools are catching on in a big way and challenging some deeply held beliefs about how urban kids should be educated.

When Georgia voters go to the polls, they'll be deciding whether to create a statewide school district to take over troubled schools. But while the question is being sold as a way to help kids, the devil is in the details. Have you Heard heads to Atlanta to hear from voters and parents about why Amendment One has become the hot topic in Georgia politics.

Have You Heard heads west to visit a San Francisco high school where ninth grade social studies students are diving deep into a topic that concerns them directly: school lunch. They're part of a new ethnic studies curriculum that allows them to engage in their education in hopes that they’ll be more invested in school. And it's producing big results: the kind that have researchers salivating more than a kid excited for chicken nugget day in the cafeteria.

Have You Heard heads to college campuses to talk to three current and former students. They "get" what researchers are just beginning to understand: that going to college isn't the silver bullet to solving poverty. By saddling students with debt and degrees that aren't worth that much - if they finish at all - college may even be making the problem worse.

Have You Heard revisits the school busing wars that rocked the country in the 1960s and '70s. We talk to historian Matt Delmont, who argues that just about everything you think you know about busing is wrong - and that understanding what REALLY happened is key to finally doing something about school segregation.

It's the first Have You Heard road trip! For this edition of the podcast, we're in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the poorest city in the state. What we found, though, was a community of students rich in ideas who feel empowered to rethink education and rebuild their city.

Have You Heard heads to Boston for a look at the controversial trend of kindergarten suspension. We go behind the data to bring you the story of a mother and a five-year-old boy who, in his first four months as a kindergartner, was suspended 16 times. Hard to imagine? His mother thinks so too as she struggles to understand how her bright, creative little boy could end up in so much trouble so quickly.

Have You Heard heads to New Orleans, where there’s a rebellion brewing against the city’s decade-long experiment with urban education reform. We speak to the unlikely leader of the revolt to find out why residents of the Big Easy say that changes are being made “to them, not with them” and how this uprising could be heading to a city near you.

Have You Heard heads to Philadelphia to talk to African American parents who are opting their kids out of standardized tests. We listen in as they share their perspectives about a movement that’s been characterized as wealthy, white and suburban. Fundraising link: https://www.beaconreader.com/projects/have-you-heard-the-podcast