How not to fix America’s schools
When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on Oprah in 2010 that he would donate $100 Million to overhaul the Newark, NJ school system, it seemed like a major victory for Newark Mayor…
By Kathryn Barnes • • 1 min readMark Zuckerberg, center, with Cory Booker, then mayor of Newark, left, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, September 2010. Credit Gary He/Facebook, via Associated Press
When Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on Oprah in 2010 that he would donate $100 Million to overhaul the Newark, NJ school system, it seemed like a major victory for Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Governor Chris Christie. But, that media blast was as good as it got for this star-studded trio. At every turn, they faced opposition in their plans to expand charter schools and revise teacher contracts.
Dale Russakoff, a longtime reporter for the Washington Post, has a new, in-depth book on the attempt. “The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools,” uses the story as a case study to help further the discussion on charter schools and America’s failing education system.
Russakoff speaks at UCSB’s Campbell Hall as part of the Arts and Lectures series.
She sat down with KCRW’s Jonathan Bastian earlier this week.
Dale Russakoff is speaking tomorrow at 3pm at UCSB’s Campbell Hall. The event is free and open to the public. You can find more information here.