Education
Comparing Apples to Ohio
Why Columbus? Why would Kansas City PBS use Ohio’s capital city as a school-choice benchmark for our community? It all came down to research. More specifically, it was two reports: the “Education Choice and Competition Index,” published a year ago by the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, and “America’s Best (And…
Chasing the Tortoise and the Hare
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Before dawn, dozens of youngsters rush through winter rain toward the entryway of their school. The elementary school students are heading from buses into Columbus Bilingual Academy, which caters to Hispanic families that speak little or no English. The academy is a haven for students who might have been bullied, isolated or simply bewildered…
The Cost of Churn: Evictions Hinder Classroom Progress for Kids
Tameko Davison’s children were well into the routine of a school year when turmoil intervened in the form of an eviction notice. Davison fell behind on payments, and the gas was shut off to her government-subsidized apartment in Kansas City. That violated a Kansas City Housing Authority rule and caused her to lose her rent…
Wide Racial Gap Exists Between Teachers and Students in Jackson County Schools
By Lauren Langdon, Humera Lodhi and Tess Vrbil Janely Griffith Gonzalez realized the disconnect when she chaperoned field trips at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Lee’s Summit. Her 8-year-old daughter was in a class of mostly minority students, but the school had very few minority teachers. On one trip, a student started yelling on the…
If Your Teacher Looks Likes You, You May Do Better In School
Think back to grade school for a moment and envision that one teacher who could captivate you more than any other. Did that teacher look a bit like you? One recent study says: probably. There’s mounting evidence that when black students have black teachers, those students are more likely to graduate high school. That new…