Public Education in America

Improving the quality of public schools, particularly low-performing schools, is at the heart of a national and local debate on public education. Although systemic change has remained challenging and illusive, some cities are making headway. In New York City, for example, Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the summer of 2002 successfully shifted the governance and administration of the city's education system. This achievment follows a significant school reform program in New York City that began in 2000. The New Century High School Initiative a $30 million plan to dismantle large, low-performing public high schools in New York City and replace them with small schools has enabled fourteen high schools to open in the 2002-2003 school year. This five-year initiative funded by OSI, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and managed by New Visions for Public Schools will eventually create up to 60 new high schools.

Changes such as those made within the New York City public school system encourage discussion about how school reform can best be accomplished in urban centers. OSI convened a panel of experts to discuss lessons learned from different efforts to improve public education and to address the issues facing teachers, parents, administrators, and educational organizations today. Jonathan Schorr takes an in-depth look at charter schools in Oakland, CA, recognizing that while charter schools may not outperform larger public schools, they are a step in the right direction; Will Jordan acknowledges the difficulties facing teachers and administrators of running schools effectively in districts with low attendance rates; and Robert Hughes discusses the importance of school choice, made possible by the creation of effective small schools to replace malfunctioning large schools.