Dispatch from the Front Lines

Policy types debate whether school systems should try to fix failing public schools or close them and replace them with charters or other types of new schools. Answer: it's a lot easier to create a constructive school culture with a new team than having to change the hearts and minds of existing staff. But sometimes the reality on the ground, to use the cliche, makes school reform a little trickier. In Chicago, school authories have opted for trying to turn around six failing high schools rather than closing them down because moving students to new schools would cause them to cross gang boundaries.