America’s system of education desperately needs reform: the system continues to struggle with engaging and teaching children of color––even as society becomes more diverse. A longtime educator offers a candid and unabashed account of education in America during the past 130 years and what should be done in the future. Dr. James “Jim” Taylor describes the system of “separate and unequal” during the Jim Crow era of history, as seen through his eyes as a black child. That glimpse provides both a personal and professional perspective of the events that shaped the system. But even though strides have been made, many “unwanted” students continue to face discrimination in the nation’s K-12 public schools and institutions of higher education. From Unequal to Unwanted: Reforms Needed to Improve K-12 Public and Higher Education in America calls for educators and policymakers to confront real issues, offering evidence-based strategies to create real reform. Educators and policymakers must collaborate to develop the full potential of all children––not treat some as second-class citizens––if America expects to take back its place as a world leader in education.

On May 25, 2020, a thunderous collision between racism and COVID-19 created an “imperfect” storm that revealed centuries of imperfections that were camouflaged in America’s society. After the murder of George Floyd, virtually everyone became clear-eyed and could see the imperfections in health care, housing, employment, criminal justice, and education. These institutions continue to hinder the upward mobility of people of color. James and Wandy Taylor, the owners of Taylor & Taylor Education Consultants, explore how systemic racism in public education has prevented many black and brown children from achieving their full potential. They explore how to: • bridge the culture gap between teachers and students in culturally diverse classrooms; • prepare teachers to succeed in multicultural settings; • ascertain the differences between divergent views of education. The authors also take readers on a journey through America’s past that begins with the Jim Crow era of the late nineteenth century when America had separate and unequal societies and culminates in the present where students learn together—but from teachers that are often biased. Discover the problems students of color face on a daily basis and arm yourself with strategies to eradicate systemic racism in our schools with the insights provided in The Imperfect Storm.

Why higher education is not a silver bullet for eradicating economic inequality and social injustice We often think that a college degree will open doors to opportunity regardless of one’s background or upbringing. In this eye-opening book, two of today’s leading economists argue that higher education alone cannot overcome the lasting effects of inequality that continue to plague us, and offer sensible solutions for building a more just and equitable society. Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson document the starkly different educational and social environments in which children of different races and economic backgrounds grow up, and explain why social equity requires sustained efforts to provide the broadest possible access to high-quality early childhood and K–12 education. They dismiss panaceas like eliminating college tuition and replacing the classroom experience with online education, revealing why they fail to provide better education for those who need it most, and discuss how wages in our dysfunctional labor market are sharply skewed toward the highly educated. Baum and McPherson argue that greater investment in the postsecondary institutions that educate most low-income and marginalized students will have a bigger impact than just getting more students from these backgrounds into the most prestigious colleges and universities. While the need for reform extends far beyond our colleges and universities, there is much that both academic and government leaders can do to mitigate the worst consequences of America’s deeply seated inequalities. This book shows how we can address the root causes of social injustice and level the playing field for students and families before, during, and after college.

Clint Bolick and Kate J. Hardiman begin with a thought experiment: how would we structure a 21st-century K&–12 school system if we were starting from scratch, attending to contemporary parental needs and harnessing the power of technology? Maintaining that the status quo is unacceptable, they take a forward-thinking look at how choice, competition, deregulation, and decentralization can create disruptive innovation and reform education for all students.The US Supreme Court proclaimed 65 years ago in Brown v. Board of Education that our schools must provide equal educational opportunities, but as Bolick and Hardiman argue we have yet to make good on that promise. School systems are bound to antiquated structures, outdated technology, and bureaucratic systems that work for adults, not children. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how ossified the traditional public school system has become. Today's ruptures in traditional learning create opportunity for reinvention. Unshackled explains that technology can redefine the ways students learn in and out of the classroom and highlights the benefits of expanding educational freedom so that families are able to choose an education that fits their child's needs.

Changes to Improve Schools is a book about educational reform. Richard Garrett has spent ten years researching the U.S. K-12 system to find things in need of improvements. The book has 17 chapters that cover a wide range of topics such as the performance of American students, classroom discipline, and apprehensions younger graduates face when deciding to pursue educational fields.

Ask yourself this question: "What will my state look like five or ten years from now if K-12 education performance doesn't substantially improve?" The consequences of each year sending tens of thousands of unprepared kids into a harshly competitive world are already clear. They include rising social safety net spending (leaving less for infrastructure, higher education and other needs), worsening inequality, increasing social and political conflict. And with rapidly improving technology and intensifying global competition, they will only grow worse if America's K-12 education results don't substantially improve -- and quickly. This leads to a second question: "Why do so many school districts fail to improve, and what can we do about it?" Tom Coyne is a business executive who has seen dramatic improvements in K-12 performance in Alberta and Massachusetts, as well as the successful defense of the failed K-12 status quo in Colorado, where he has been deeply involved in education reform at the school, district, and state level. In K-12 On the Brink, Coyne describes the system that has generated the challenges we face today, and illustrates them with a number of case studies, based on his unique perspective as an experienced business executive who has been involved in K-12 for almost twenty years. He then identifies performance improvements initiatives that have produced impressive results, and explains why they can only work at scale if American business leaders become much more aggressively engaged with K-12 performance improvement.

Drastic reform measures are being implemented in growing numbers of urban communities as the public’s patience has finally run out with perpetually nonperforming public schools. This authoritative and eye-opening volume examines governance changes in six cities during the 1990s, where either mayoral control of schools has occurred or where noneducators have been appointed to lead school districts. Featuring up-close, in-depth case studies of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, and Seattle, this book explores the reasons why these cities chose to alter their traditional school governance structures and analyzes what happened when the reforms were implemented and whether or not teachers and students performed better because of them. “Provides useful perspectives on the complexities of educational change that is relevant to all kinds of school systems . . . of interest to elected officials, other policymakers, business leaders, and educators.” —Richard W. Riley, Former U.S. Secretary of Education “A ‘must-read’ for policymakers intent on improving the academic performance of children in America’s urban centers . . . offers important insight and an excellent overview of the reforms being tested in the six urban centers.” —Ted Sanders, President, Education Commission of the States “Every urban political official, indeed, every governor, business leader, and state legislator should study the urban school reforms described in this book” —James B. Hunt, Jr., Former Governor of North Carolina and Chairman, James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy “A ‘must-read’ for educators. This book clearly defines what it takes to make significant changes in urban districts” —Floretta McKenzie, Former Superintendent, District of Columbia Public Schools