School Choice

As any local parent knows, it is school lottery time again in DC. Anxious parent speculation is running high and envy is running rampant across the city. In DC – a city rife with inequalities and racial tensions – school choice systems (charter and traditional) promise more equitable access to high-quality schools. But do they deliver?
 
Sam Chaltain’s recent book, Our School: Searching for Community in the Era of Choice, explores the promises and pitfalls of urban school choice. How do these polices affect neighborhoods, school stability, and, most important, academic success for students?
 
Join New America for a discussion of Chaltain’s book and DC’s school choice policies.

Join the conversation online using #dcshoolchoice and following @NewAmericaEd. 

If you are unable to join us in person, please tune in to our live webcast. No sign up is required to view the streaming video, which will appear on this page the day of the event. 
 

Participants:

Welcome
Conor Williams
Senior Researcher, Education Policy Program, New America
 
Participants
Sam Chaltain
Author, Our School: Searching for Community in the Era of Choice

Abigail Smith
Deputy Mayor for Education, Washington DC

Laura Moser
Writer and D.C. Public Schools Parent

Scott Pearson
Executive Director, DC Public Charter School Board

Evelyn Boyd Simmons
DCPS Parent and Community Leader, Member of the DME’s Advisory Committee on Boundaries, Feeders and Student Assignment Policies

Moderator:

Emma Brown
Education Reporter, The Washington Post