How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence, and the Battle Over School Choice
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- Author：Robert Pondiscio
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Summary
An inside look at America's most controversial charter schools， and the moral and political questions around public education and school choice。
The promise of public education is excellence for all。 But that promise has seldom been kept for low-income children of color in America。 In How the Other Half Learns， teacher and education journalist Robert Pondiscio focuses on Success Academy， the network of controversial charter schools in New York City founded by Eva Moskowitz， who has created something unprecedented in American education: a way for large numbers of engaged and ambitious low-income families of color to get an education for their children that equals and even exceeds what wealthy families take for granted。 Her results are astonishing， her methods unorthodox。
Decades of well-intended efforts to improve our schools and close the achievement gap have set equity and excellence at war with each other: If you are wealthy， with the means to pay private school tuition or move to an affluent community， you can get your child into an excellent school。 But if you are poor and black or brown， you have to settle for equity and a lecture--about fairness。 About the need to be patient。 And about how school choice for you only damages public schools for everyone else。 Thousands of parents have chosen Success Academy， and thousands more sit on waiting lists to get in。 But Moskowitz herself admits Success Academy is not for everyone， and this raises uncomfortable questions we'd rather not ask， let alone answer: What if the price of giving a first-rate education to children least likely to receive it means acknowledging that you can't do it for everyone？ What if some problems are just too hard for schools alone to solve？
The promise of public education is excellence for all。 But that promise has seldom been kept for low-income children of color in America。 In How the Other Half Learns， teacher and education journalist Robert Pondiscio focuses on Success Academy， the network of controversial charter schools in New York City founded by Eva Moskowitz， who has created something unprecedented in American education: a way for large numbers of engaged and ambitious low-income families of color to get an education for their children that equals and even exceeds what wealthy families take for granted。 Her results are astonishing， her methods unorthodox。
Decades of well-intended efforts to improve our schools and close the achievement gap have set equity and excellence at war with each other: If you are wealthy， with the means to pay private school tuition or move to an affluent community， you can get your child into an excellent school。 But if you are poor and black or brown， you have to settle for equity and a lecture--about fairness。 About the need to be patient。 And about how school choice for you only damages public schools for everyone else。 Thousands of parents have chosen Success Academy， and thousands more sit on waiting lists to get in。 But Moskowitz herself admits Success Academy is not for everyone， and this raises uncomfortable questions we'd rather not ask， let alone answer: What if the price of giving a first-rate education to children least likely to receive it means acknowledging that you can't do it for everyone？ What if some problems are just too hard for schools alone to solve？
Reviews
Corey Wozniak
，
Excellent， provocative， fair-minded。
Andrew
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It’s an okay book about Success Academy in New York。 Every chapter feels the same as it keeps hammering home the core principles of Success Academy。Closes up with couple of critiques about schools like these weeding out undesired students and questioning whether this is right or what is required for the others to succeed。It really is a tough question。 I’ve had classes where a student or two detail everything and everyday and nothing you feel like you can do。 You want these kids to do well， but a It’s an okay book about Success Academy in New York。 Every chapter feels the same as it keeps hammering home the core principles of Success Academy。Closes up with couple of critiques about schools like these weeding out undesired students and questioning whether this is right or what is required for the others to succeed。It really is a tough question。 I’ve had classes where a student or two detail everything and everyday and nothing you feel like you can do。 You want these kids to do well， but at some point you realize it’s dragging everyone else down。Book also touches on parent involvement。 OMG I wish I could get more parent buy-in in my school。If your interested in education or these types of schools it could be worth a read。 。。。more
Michelle
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Everyone has an opinion on charter schools。 While some believe they're the second coming of education and a hope for low-income neighborhoods， others point to policies that may skew charters' academic results and exclude those who need the most help。 Personally， I'm very mixed on them; some charter networks seem to have good outcomes， but I dislike the aggressive political stances and disciplinary cultures that come with them。 （Full disclosure: I went to private schools my entire life， and have Everyone has an opinion on charter schools。 While some believe they're the second coming of education and a hope for low-income neighborhoods， others point to policies that may skew charters' academic results and exclude those who need the most help。 Personally， I'm very mixed on them; some charter networks seem to have good outcomes， but I dislike the aggressive political stances and disciplinary cultures that come with them。 （Full disclosure: I went to private schools my entire life， and have no firsthand experience in public education in America。） But an education researcher， I feel obliged to be as neutral as possible when we study educational interventions， and want to learn more about charter school models and practice。How the Other Half Learns is a great title， but it isn’t quite accurate - charter schools still serve a fraction of students compared to traditional public schools， and Success Academy， the focus of this book， even less than that。 Success now has 45 schools in the New York City area， and has grown rapidly over the past few years， but still has a highly competitive lottery for entry that each year turns away vastly more students than they enroll。 Pondiscio， a fellow at the Fordham Institute， was allowed to embed himself in one of their schools， Bronx 1， over the course of a school year。 His writing gives great insight into the functioning of the school， including the much-discussed "culture" expectations that leave little room for error or behavioral issues。 Indeed， it seems like showing up with the wrong color socks is almost as bad a transgression at Success as acting out in class。The biggest takeaways for me are about the use of standard curricula， which is shockingly rare in American public schools today， and the student turnover and teacher burnout expected， if not built into their model。 Of course， there is also a heavy focus on standardized testing， which gets dramatically positive results。 Pondiscio addresses whether this is at the expense of the arts or sports， which it does not seem to be; the testing results stem from a laser focus on classroom management and exam preparation。 However， I found Pondiscio to have a huge blind spot regarding institutional racism and its effects on school quality， particularly in NYC。 He spends a lot of time praising the highly motivated parents of Success who strive to give their children the best possible education， but gives little attention to the drivers of low-quality schools in BIPOC neighborhoods and how these could be resolved。 He also addresses some of Eva Moskowitz's controversies， but brushes off some of her racial insensitivities because she seems dedicated to the education of BIPOC children。 （I recommend this podcast for background on a Black hair-related example of a racist school dress code policy at Success， albeit one that was reversed due to student activism。）But although I think some of Pondiscio's conclusions are short-sighted， I thought How the Other Half Learns was an incredibly valuable look into Success Academy that showed how these schools operate。 It didn't turn me into a charter booster at all， but I gained extra sympathy for parents whose only choice now is between a good but paternalistic school and a "failing" （more accurately， failed by our systems） one。 The answer to me still seems to be， "let's lift all the boats" with racial justice and true public investment in primary education， rather than using exclusionary mechanisms to allow a few to succeed out of the shambles of the current system。 。。。more
Dan Hyer
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Charter schools in New York。 Not a lot that you can take out of this for raising your own kids。 If you're a parent reading books like this， you're probably already deeply involved in your child's education， and that's one of the key factors that they emphasize at Success Academy。 The school's get good results， but it appears to have issues with teacher retention， and it's not for everyone， especially students who fall outside of the norms。 Not a lot new that I could take from the book for educat Charter schools in New York。 Not a lot that you can take out of this for raising your own kids。 If you're a parent reading books like this， you're probably already deeply involved in your child's education， and that's one of the key factors that they emphasize at Success Academy。 The school's get good results， but it appears to have issues with teacher retention， and it's not for everyone， especially students who fall outside of the norms。 Not a lot new that I could take from the book for educating my own kids。 If your into public education policy this book is a lot more relevant。 。。。more
Nick Burka
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Well-written。 Thought-provoking。 I consider myself to be the sort of teacher that keeps an open mind， and someone who wants to support and reach every student。。 or at least I aspire to be that sort of educator。 Mr。 Pondiscio provides a 360° view of a much discussed， much maligned charter school system， and I， as a proud public school teacher， am a better， more knowledgeable educator for having explored it through his eyes。
Joel Fletcher
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A fair examination。
Simone
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This book is a gem for anyone who cares about education。 Pondiscio did a phenomenal job of documenting his year at Success Academy， and writing about it in an engrossing way。 Great read！
Megan Gafvert
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Actual book and writing was good， one of the quicker reads I’ve encountered surrounding ed/Ed policy。 Painted a picture of how charters can be a great option for motivated low-income families that are looking for better options for their kids， but definitely did not include enough about how this affects children who are stuck in failing public schools and who do not have involved parents， etc。 Also did not clarify that charter schools are NOT all like Success—many run much more like TPS and have Actual book and writing was good， one of the quicker reads I’ve encountered surrounding ed/Ed policy。 Painted a picture of how charters can be a great option for motivated low-income families that are looking for better options for their kids， but definitely did not include enough about how this affects children who are stuck in failing public schools and who do not have involved parents， etc。 Also did not clarify that charter schools are NOT all like Success—many run much more like TPS and have similar outcomes to TPS。 。。。more
Joann
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This was a very fair and evenhanded look at Success Academies， as critical as it was favorable。 My main issue with the author’s treatment was his dismissiveness of the fact that children with great potential have parents who do not support them， and even hobble them by using them for child care for younger siblings， etc。“If you demand that engaged and committed parents send their children to school with the children of disengaged or uncommitted parents， then you are obligated to explain why this This was a very fair and evenhanded look at Success Academies， as critical as it was favorable。 My main issue with the author’s treatment was his dismissiveness of the fact that children with great potential have parents who do not support them， and even hobble them by using them for child care for younger siblings， etc。“If you demand that engaged and committed parents send their children to school with the children of disengaged or uncommitted parents， then you are obligated to explain why this standard applies to low-income black and brown parents - and only to them。” （P。332）So。 What is to become of the talented， bright children of disengaged and uncommitted parents？ Our classrooms are filled with such children。 I would challenge Mr。 Pondiscio to make that the topic of his next book。 。。。more
Sarah Wechsler
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This was an unexpected read after just looking at the title and expecting to read about upper class private schools and education。 The book focuses primarily on Success Academy a notoriously known charter school in New York City。 They have great results but the methods are very controversial。 However， the author uses studies， his year of observation， and arguments but how 1 or 2 students can detract from the learning of the whole class。 He describes how Success doesn’t necessarily weed out stude This was an unexpected read after just looking at the title and expecting to read about upper class private schools and education。 The book focuses primarily on Success Academy a notoriously known charter school in New York City。 They have great results but the methods are very controversial。 However， the author uses studies， his year of observation， and arguments but how 1 or 2 students can detract from the learning of the whole class。 He describes how Success doesn’t necessarily weed out students but the parents that are not fully prepared for all the accountability and ownership that Success requires。 The author definitely takes the equity conversation in education to new places with arguments that push my thinking。 。。。more
Champ T。
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Loved this book。 Go Eva。
Halle Kathleen
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If feel like I can put 1 year of working for Success Academy， the amount of time most educators spend working for this organization， on my resume after reading this detailed and thorough account of NYC's top preforming， yet highly controversial charter school network。I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic of school choice。 If anything， Pondiscio's work highlights that this is a difficult issue to completely support or completely oppose。 Pick up this book and watch your bi If feel like I can put 1 year of working for Success Academy， the amount of time most educators spend working for this organization， on my resume after reading this detailed and thorough account of NYC's top preforming， yet highly controversial charter school network。I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic of school choice。 If anything， Pondiscio's work highlights that this is a difficult issue to completely support or completely oppose。 Pick up this book and watch your biases unpack as you educate yourself on how "the other half learns。" 。。。more
Sanjay Vyas
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If you care about the quality of education for the poor， please consider reading this book。 It’s not a cheer session for charter schools。 It’s a carefully written book which explores topics of equity against reality。 And oddly， it’s really well written。 I had a hard time putting it down。 As I write this， Goodreads has it at 4。35， so I’m not alone in finding it a great book。
Kashif Ravasia
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This has been the most surreal read of 2020。 It details the miseducation of BIPOC children using tactics thoroughly discredited by research， but just when I think Pondiscio is on the cusp of condemning one heavy-handed practice or another， he instead repeats his rosy description of Moscowitz's white liberal paternalism as a novel and effective educational paradigm。 Of course out-of-school suspensions and attempts to enforce "culture goals" will result in a school culture of compliance， and of co This has been the most surreal read of 2020。 It details the miseducation of BIPOC children using tactics thoroughly discredited by research， but just when I think Pondiscio is on the cusp of condemning one heavy-handed practice or another， he instead repeats his rosy description of Moscowitz's white liberal paternalism as a novel and effective educational paradigm。 Of course out-of-school suspensions and attempts to enforce "culture goals" will result in a school culture of compliance， and of course you can get good test scores that way， but it will come at the expense of self-expression and social-emotional skills。 At times， there are glimmers of awareness; Pondiscio seems troubled by the revelation that Success Academy students often flounder in any school environment that gives students the responsibility of setting their own deadlines and regulating their own impulses， but his unease never develops into a full-on critique。At other times， Pondiscio's ideas are so far from my frame of reference it's difficult for me to even understand where they come from。 He mentions the Moynihan Report in a positive light， for example， before making the bizzaro claim that students should be taught the moral value of marrying and having a kid。 I don't even know where to start with that， so I'll just direct you to read some Ta-Nehisi Coates and， uh， anything by any queer scholar。 It's astonishing the extent to which these teachers and administrators think they're doing good。 They revel in checking whether each student's socks are black or navy， whether there are scuff marks on the floor， and whether each teacher is implementing the school's behavior incentive plans。 Interspersed with Pondiscio's paeans to "benign paternalism，" there are some surprisingly candid admissions from Moscowitz and her （mostly white） leadership team: "I don't really believe in developmentally appropriate practice，" she claims， a sentiment not out of place with widely circulated horror stories about the "rip and redo"， the "got to go" list， and the deprivation of breaks， food， and bathroom privileges for minor behavioral infractions。 I know I'm not the intended audience for this book， but wow， I didn't expect to be so pissed by the end of it。tldr: idk why i finished this book it just made me mad 。。。more
Paige
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I have so many thoughts and opinions on this one。。。。。
Laurie Palau
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Eye opening。 Important read for all parents to catch a glimpse into privilege， inequality and the lengths parents will go to give their kids a chance at opportunity。
Sara Burriesci
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More balanced than I expected， it did make me think。 Charter schools give poor families at least a chance at school choice。 Middle class and wealthy families take school choice for granted， even when they send their kids to public school。 （Don't like your local school？ Put your house on the market and buy into a better district。） The author admits that "high performing" （read: high test-scoring） schools recruit the most engaged parents by making them jump through lots of hoops， and opines that t More balanced than I expected， it did make me think。 Charter schools give poor families at least a chance at school choice。 Middle class and wealthy families take school choice for granted， even when they send their kids to public school。 （Don't like your local school？ Put your house on the market and buy into a better district。） The author admits that "high performing" （read: high test-scoring） schools recruit the most engaged parents by making them jump through lots of hoops， and opines that the result is a better education for those impoverished kids whose families value it the most and work for it the hardest。 Maybe that is appropriate。 He also admits that traditional public schools don't have the same option。 I therefore find his casual acceptance of holding traditional public schools and their teachers accountable for students' test scores troubling。 。。。more
Aaron Feinstein
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Really enjoyed the embedded reporting， giving you a real feel for what it's like inside a Success Academy school。 Allows you as the reader to judge for yourself what you think of its approach to education。 Really enjoyed the embedded reporting， giving you a real feel for what it's like inside a Success Academy school。 Allows you as the reader to judge for yourself what you think of its approach to education。 。。。more
Ashwin Narla
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Comprehensive and well reasoned take on the education reform movement — specifically charters。 This book pushed my thinking on ed policy issues however leaves a lot to be desired in terms of a deeper reflection on broader ed policy reforms/non-education specific policies that our necessary to improve and close the achievement gap。
Nathan Cliver
，
An incredibly compelling look into the approach of Success Academy， one of the nation's top performing charter schools。The Success Academy model demonstrates how to better equip teachers to be successful， how class size matters less than you think， and how standardized curriculum better facilitates learning。 However， Robert credits school culture as the primary force for a school's academic achievements。 This culture is created when parents， teachers and students all have high expectations。Rober An incredibly compelling look into the approach of Success Academy， one of the nation's top performing charter schools。The Success Academy model demonstrates how to better equip teachers to be successful， how class size matters less than you think， and how standardized curriculum better facilitates learning。 However， Robert credits school culture as the primary force for a school's academic achievements。 This culture is created when parents， teachers and students all have high expectations。Robert also narrates the heartbreaking reality of the parents that literally depend on winning a lottery to get their kids into these high performing charter schools。 These schools give low income parents the options that are readily available to more affluent Americans， who can pick the schools that their kids go to by either moving to a good district or paying for a private school （i。e。 these parents can better select the school culture that they want their kids to be a part of）。 The American education system is a clear-cut example of what people mean when they say systemic racism - unequal access to opportunity that disproportionally affects people of color。 You should be mad about it。With an eyes wide open consideration of both the pros and cons of Success Academy， and a narrative that is quite readable， I can't recommend this book enough。 I'll leave you with this quote:"Consider for a moment how this experience must feel to a low-income child of color: You have been the obsessive focus for months of every adult in your school。 You earn a test score that not just your teachers， parents， and friends， but also your state， says equals or exceeds those of children anywhere in the state—an externally validated outcome affirming that you are the equal of any of your peers， rich or poor; black， white， or brown。 Even more powerfully， you are part of a school community where nearly all your friends do just as well as you， and all your friends’ parents value education every bit as much as your own do。 Very little in the history， experience， or memory of low-income African American or Hispanic families in this country would lead one to expect this level of investment， this consistency of achievement， or this outcome。 It’s not possible to overstate the astonishing normalizing power of this school culture or the degree to which it is at odds with the experience of the majority of low-income children of color in the United States of America of a place called a school。" 。。。more
Urstoff
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The problem with education is that no one knows what it is， what it should be， or how it should be done。 It's hard to reform an amorphous blob。That being said， Success Academy seems to do pretty well given the innumerable unknowns and litany of constraints faced by schools， particularly in poor urban environments。 Robert Pondiscio spent a year at one Success Academy in the Bronx to see what this charter school did well and what it didn't。 Put aside the critic of charter schools like Diane Ravitc The problem with education is that no one knows what it is， what it should be， or how it should be done。 It's hard to reform an amorphous blob。That being said， Success Academy seems to do pretty well given the innumerable unknowns and litany of constraints faced by schools， particularly in poor urban environments。 Robert Pondiscio spent a year at one Success Academy in the Bronx to see what this charter school did well and what it didn't。 Put aside the critic of charter schools like Diane Ravitch who think that more money and smaller class sizes are the solution to all ills。 Pondiscio realizes this is magical thinking （just as often the boosters of charter schools engage in magical thinking of a very different kind）。 Instead， among his numerous observations， Pondiscio grasps two important facts。 First， parents in poor urban schools are first and foremost concerned about safety; learning is desired， of course， but parents don't worry themselves sick that their student may not be learning a lot on a given day。 They do worry themselves sick when they have to send their child to a school where they face the threat of violence from other children on a daily basis。 Second， charter schools do skim from the available population; however， whereas charter critics claim that they skim students， what Success Academy does is skim parents。 The parents of prospective students have to jump through several non-negotiable hoops， ensuring that Success Academy only admits students whose parents are 110% committed and willing to do anything to keep their child in the school。 Naturally， this results in a very non-random set of children and parents， despite initial allotments being based on a lottery （which is voluntary， of course， and thus also not a random sample of all children and parents in the district）。 The second fact feeds into the first: children from households with extremely committed parents are less likely to be disruptive （although there definitely are disruptive children in the school that Pondiscio visited）， and thus these charters will be safer than schools run by the local school district， even before the extra procedural rigor that charters have over local schools （"public schools" is a bit of a misnomer， as public funds still pay for students to go to charter schools）。 It is also true， as the critics of charters claim， that a lot of time is spent on test preparation。 This isn't a particular problem with charters， however， but of the nature of the measurement of learning。 It's not clear that there's any good measure of learning that won't be subject to Goodhart's law: "When a measure becomes a target， it ceases to be a good measure"。 Until we find one， or until the law changes to some other inadqueate， gameable metric， schools are saddled with tests as the measure of performance。 Charters， because of their ability to select parents/children and because of their more procedural pedagogy， simply produce better test scores （and probably better learning）。 So Success Academy skims parents and hyper-preps students for tests。 Does that mean that Success Academy should not exist？ That it is a force for ill？ That if it and other charters didn't exist， public schools would be thriving？ The latter counterfactual seems obviously false。 As for the other two questions， Pondiscio answers in the negative。 Rather， he makes a moral case for their existence。 In world 1， all students would be at poorly performing， unsafe local schools。 In world 2， some students with highly motivated parents would be able to put their kids in a safe charter like a Success Academy， where those students would thrive relative to them being in a local school。 Pondiscio asserts （and I'm inclined to agree） that world 2 is preferable to world 1; only the person most obsessed with making everyone equal no matter how bad this makes life for everyone would prefer world 1。 There is a charge of a false dichotomy possible here: surely these aren't the only two possible worlds。 What about world 3 where all locally run schools are safe and allow all students to thrive regardless of what their parents are like？ It's not clear to me that world 3 is a possibility， and the opponents of charter schools have a pretty high evidential mountain to claim to show that it is。 Until that happens， it seems wrong to deny some student the chance to have a safe， effective learning environment。 。。。more
Bill
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This is a well-written book about a controversial charter network。 Pondiscio masterfully captures the inner-workings of these highly controversial and high-achieving schools。 There is so little work out there that captures such a nuanced and balanced perspective of the students and parents in such "no excuses" schools， something which the author does an excellent job at by revealing the functions of such schools that make them so successful while also likely making readers cringe at times。Engagi This is a well-written book about a controversial charter network。 Pondiscio masterfully captures the inner-workings of these highly controversial and high-achieving schools。 There is so little work out there that captures such a nuanced and balanced perspective of the students and parents in such "no excuses" schools， something which the author does an excellent job at by revealing the functions of such schools that make them so successful while also likely making readers cringe at times。Engaging， while making the complex seem simple and relatable。 Wish more school policy type books captured the human side of education reforms like this one does！ 。。。more
Aaras Shah
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Fun read on how maybe the most polarizing and successful charter network in the country achieves its outcomes。 Addresses criticisms and doesn't get too technical， making for an easy， entertaining book。 Fun read on how maybe the most polarizing and successful charter network in the country achieves its outcomes。 Addresses criticisms and doesn't get too technical， making for an easy， entertaining book。 。。。more
Mike Thomson
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Even though I didn't agree with all his conclusions， this was a really really thought-provoking book Even though I didn't agree with all his conclusions， this was a really really thought-provoking book 。。。more
Derek Donahue
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Below are the highlights。 At the end I give my reason for 2/5 stars。 The hard truths tackled between the pages were refreshing。 But one misleading point throws almost everything out the window。 First， some hard truths and direct quotes from the book:“'If you’re a teacher who doesn’t like standardized tests， by all means advocate for your position。 Petition Congress。 Write to universities。 Publish op-ed pieces，' she wrote。 'But please don’t tell your students that tests don’t matter because you’r Below are the highlights。 At the end I give my reason for 2/5 stars。 The hard truths tackled between the pages were refreshing。 But one misleading point throws almost everything out the window。 First， some hard truths and direct quotes from the book:“'If you’re a teacher who doesn’t like standardized tests， by all means advocate for your position。 Petition Congress。 Write to universities。 Publish op-ed pieces，' she wrote。 'But please don’t tell your students that tests don’t matter because you’re just selling them a bill of goods。'”“'You know how many tests you took to get your teacher license， or how many tests you took to get into college， right？ For a lawyer， for a doctor， to get a real estate license， to be a CPA？ In life， you’re going to have to take tests。'""When a low-income person graduates from high school， finds full-time employment， gets married， and has a child—in that order—the chance of remaining in poverty as an adult drop to a mere 2 percent。 。。。 Low-income children in communities with the highest rate of family instability are the least likely to hear about it， grow up with it as a social norm， or to have parents and other adults in their communities pressure them to abide by it， Rowe explains。""'Because they know that I am already dealing with problems at home， they don’t want to give me a heavier load， and in their eyes they’re helping me。 But what they don’t realize is that they are crippling me， making me dependent on them。 They may or may not be purposely producing lower-class citizens， but this is not OK with me！'""'We’re constantly calling you， texting you， like， ‘Hey！ Your child didn’t do homework。 What’s goin’ on？’ Sometimes things happen。 That’s fine。 But we expect you as the parent and the adult to reach out to say， ‘Hey。 Got a little caught up last night。 Something’s going on。 We’ll make it up over the weekend，’ Reeder says。 “No problem。” Conflicts between parents and Success start when communication fails。 “We keep things clear and open，” she says。 'Communication is everything。'”"Suddenly it all makes sense: The common criticism leveled at Moskowitz and her schools is that they cherry-pick students， attracting bright children and shedding the poorly behaved and hardest to teach。 This misses the mark entirely。 Success Academy is cherry-picking parents。"Toward the end， Pondiscio gives his take on the biggest criticism of SA。 He acknowledges that SA skims the best parents/students from the top who would otherwise go to underperforming public schools。 He says that classroom culture changes substantially when one student is behaviorally out of control--let alone three or four in a class。 The reason for SA's success is that students who act out are kicked out。 They simply do not allow disruptive students to stay。 Principals are known to have a “Got to Go” list of students。 "If the counterargument is that encouraging this kind of self-selection concentrates poverty and dysfunction in other schools， the candid answer is to acknowledge the risk， not dismiss it， and to account and plan for it。 It is both poor public policy and immoral to demand that low-income families accept their fate as school-culture outliers， limiting their children’s potential in poor-performing schools in the name of 'equity。' It is a burden that affluent families are never asked or expected to bear。""We already spend more money per pupil to educate our children than nearly all other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations。 It is fantasy to think that teacher salaries can ever be generous enough to draw the cognitively elite away from other， more remunerative professions in large numbers。 At scale， teaching must be a job that can be done well and competently by people of average sentience and talent。 That is who we have in our classrooms and all we are likely ever to have。"Pondiscio's last quote could not be more misleading。 His stat of the US spending more money on education than any other nation comes from statista， which is a credible source made by the Boston Globe。https://www。statista。com/chart/15404/。。。Statista's explaination of why the US spends more in education per child: "This is largely due to income inequality in the United States， which puts a strain on the educational system。 In addition to this gap， the United States also significantly underpays its teachers when compared to other OECD countries。" In Japan， teachers make as much as engineers。 In the US teachers make 60% the average salary of an engineer。So teachers are not respected or paid well in the US。 Does anyone really believe we have the best teacher pool possible？ It is silly to say we can't improve the teacher pool if we increase their pay。 It's a basic economics principle。 However， it is another point altogether to say it isn't worth it。 It's hard to measure the worth of a great teacher toward society。 But it's not hard to conceptualize。 More Americans graduating from college instead of going to prison。 It's clear we are millions short of our full potential--we have more people locked up per capita than any country in the world。 Bill Gates loves SA， but if you ever hear him talk about education he will tell you the most important factor is the teacher。Since 2014 Pondiscio has been a senior fellow at the Thomas B。 Fordham Institute， a conservative think tank。 。。。more
Jerrod Beckenworth
，
No matter where you stand in the Education Wars， this book will challenge your assumptions and give your reason to cheer and cringe。
Elise Altschuler
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FANTASTIC book。 Any educator should read this， especially if you have an interesting in learning more about charter schools， how they work， and why they are so controversial。
Lisa
，
Excellent read on the Success charter schools in NY。
Christina Pack
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Amazing read！ Pondiscio offers an unbiased and candid perspective on charter schools。 I loved his observations and discussions。
Katy
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