The Economist – Staff Writer
“ABANDONING schools can be perilous for politicians. When Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s mayor, decided in 2013 to shut down 47 public schools that were half-empty and had atrocious results, he sparked protests that nearly cost him the next election. In New York Michael Bloomberg, who once ran the city, infuriated teachers’ unions because he sometimes allowed charter schools to replace traditional public schools that didn’t work. In 2013 Philadelphia closed 23 schools. Parents, teachers and activists held rallies and candlelight vigils to protest. Two years on, bad feelings remain. People are attached to their neighbourhood schools. Parents worry that closure could disrupt their children’s education. Children do not want to lose their friends. Teachers worry about their jobs. However, a new report from the Thomas Fordham Institute, a think-tank, may encourage future closures of bad schools, because it suggests that they are good for students. Researchers looked at 23,000 displaced pupils from shut-down district and charter schools in eight Ohio cities between 2006 and 2012. Ohio’s urban public schools have long struggled with competition from charter schools and declining populations (the state’s eight largest cities have lost more than 50,000 students in the past eight years). Those who stayed found themselves in empty or failing schools.”(more)