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Puerto Rico's school system braces for change: closures and charters

Apr 26, 2018
Government officials plan to close over 280 public schools, combine resources and introduce charter schools and a private school voucher program to the island.
Second grade teacher Pierette Hidalgo leads students and parents in a chant during a school closing protest at Escuela Elemental John F. Kennedy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico on April 17, 2018. The school is one of 283 schools slated to be close on the island following population declines.
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

Do millennials think college is worth the cost?

Oct 3, 2017
A new survey sheds some light on how millennials from different racial and ethnic groups view education.
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

In rural America, school choice sometimes means virtual school

Jul 28, 2017
As traditional schools lose students to online programs, some costs remain.
Weaving is one of the skills taught at Union City High School, where Emily Adams, 16, is a rising senior.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

More kids are logging on to learn at cyber schools

Jul 27, 2017
It's an alternative to traditional schools that don't work for some kids. But there are some concerns about the charters' performance and oversight.
Jakob Pandolph, 9, attends the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, one of the largest online public schools in the country.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

Georgia's weighted charter school lottery aims to give disadvantaged kids better odds, but few schools use it

Jul 3, 2017
In Georgia, the name of a child eligible for the weighted school lottery can be entered up to five times.
Students line up to leave lunch at the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School in the Grant Park neighborhood recently.
Grant Blankenship

Erie public schools are consolidating to survive

May 10, 2017
Even after cutbacks, the district is facing a $10 million deficit.
Catherine Doyle teaches an ESL class at East High School in Erie, where more than a quarter of students are learning English.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

School choice can put some rural districts at risk of losing funds

Mar 27, 2017
Communities like Talbotton, Georgia, have few options beyond public schools.
Jack Catrett, Talbot County schools superintendent, worries expanding school choice will widen the gap between haves and have-nots.
Sam Whitehead/GPB

For public good, not for profit.

Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education nominee, is in the hot seat

Jan 17, 2017
She's a billionaire and school voucher activist.

The civil rights divide over charter schools

Jan 12, 2017
As the charter movement grows, the NAACP has called for a moratorium.
Julieanna Nelson-Saunders, 11, attends KIPP Ujima Village Academy, a public charter middle school in Baltimore.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

Charter schools have an ally in Betsy DeVos

Dec 20, 2016
President-elect Trump's pick for Education Secretary is a fan of school choice.
President-elect Donald Trump looks on as Betsy DeVos, his nominee for Secretary of Education, speaks at the DeltaPlex Arena on Dec. 9 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images