Public School Shakedown

A fundamental struggle for democracy is going on around the country, as a handful of wealthy individuals and foundations pour money into efforts to privatize the public schools. The Public School Shakedown pulls back the curtain and reveals what is at stake. Our writers include teachers working in classrooms around the country. We follow the money, expose the privatizers, and report on the resistance and the hard work of people on the front lines of public education.

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  Natalie Maynor

  Will the State Takeover of Jackson Schools be ‘Better Together’ or the Same Old Education Politics?

  A familiar story of public school 'failure' and state seizure is playing out in Jackson, Mississippi. Can the city overcome its racist past to find a better ending? more

  May 24, 2018

  Jeff Bryant

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  Independent Production Fund

  Cynthia Nixon Takes On the Test-And-Punish Regime

  One way the candidate is moving the needle? Pushing to end unfair and inaccurate teacher ratings based on students' standardized test scores. more

  May 22, 2018

  Jake Jacobs

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  Governor Mark Dayton

  Minnesota’s Governor Pushes a Radical Idea: Give Schools More Money

  Amidst a wave of teacher strikes and union-government showdowns, Minnesota’s progressive leader tries a different tack. more

  May 15, 2018

  Sarah Lahm

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  Puerto Rico’s Teachers Battle for the Schools Their Students Deserve

  Mercedes Martinez, President of the Teachers Federation, describes how thousands of people protested austerity measures that would close nearly 300 schools and lay off 7,000 teachers—and how the police were ready for them. more

  May 9, 2018

  Jesse Hagopian

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  Bram Pitoyo

  Behind Michigan’s Teacher Shortage, a Manufactured Crisis

  In Michigan, as elsewhere, a dramatic teacher shortage was entirely preventable. Now, special interests hope to profit from “fixing” it. more

  Apr 26, 2018

  Mitchell Robinson

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  Maxpixel

  The Battle in Seattle Against Yet Another Charter School Invasion

  Washington State has been saying no to charter schools for over a decade. But advocates continue to push the issue, sometimes in devious ways. more

  Apr 25, 2018

  Dora Taylor

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  USAF / Saphfire Cook

  School “Choice” Lurks Behind Arizona Teacher Walkout

  The state has become an experimental playground for an untethered, unregulated form of education privatization, and teachers and students are on the short end of the deal. more

  Apr 23, 2018

  Sarah Lahm

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  Wesley Fryer

  From Oklahoma Teachers, Lessons for Progressives

  Teachers are challenging a decades-long nationwide conservative campaign to shrink government. more

  Apr 18, 2018

  John Thompson

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  Pete Souza (white house archives)

  By Repealing School Discipline Reforms, The Trump Administration Hurts Students of Color

  Obama-era policies forced schools to deal with racism in their disciplinary practices. Now the Team Trump wants to scrap those measures. more

  Apr 17, 2018

  Rann Miller

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  ‘When It Is Our Children, No One Cares’

  Whether the focus is gun violence or racist public policies, people are collectively recognizing how we currently put the lives of our children at risk—some children more than others. more

  Apr 16, 2018

  John H. Jackson

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  Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin

  Cynthia Nixon Could Take Down Andrew Cuomo Over Education

  The candidate for New York governor and former Sex and the City actor is a longtime public education advocate, and isn’t afraid to point out Cuomo’s pattern of underfunding schools. more

  Apr 12, 2018

  Jake Jacobs

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  Larry Smith

  In Oklahoma, an ‘Education Spring’ After a Long Winter of Discontent

  Oklahoma teachers now have national attention as they march to the state capital to demand better working and learning environments for students and teachers alike. more

  Apr 4, 2018

  John Thompson

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  Vince Reinhart

  The Outrage of Theoretical Children

  Theoretical children are useful: they are predictable and generalizable. They lend themselves easily to political agenda. But theoretical children don’t exist. more

  Mar 23, 2018

  Emily Kaplan

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  Daphne Zaras

  Oklahoma Teachers Plan a Strike: “Our Children Cannot Wait any Longer”

  While the state has cut taxes on oil, state employees have not received an across-the-board pay raise in twelve years. more

  Mar 21, 2018

  John Thompson

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  Want Better Student Outcomes? Try Loving Cities

  The Schott Foundation is offering a seismic shift in how policy makers, philanthropists and the general public can create better schools. more

  Mar 15, 2018

  Sarah Lahm