 |
Mike’s new book, The Diverse Schools Dilemma: A Parent’s Guide to Socioeconomically Mixed Public Schools, continues to garner attention. Here are some recent articles and interviews worth checking out. (And if you haven’t yet, buy the book now!)
- Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and author of All Together Now, reviewed Mike’s book in the Washington Monthly: “… This book may be a significant—and hopeful—harbinger that the center-right school reform community, battered down by the humbling experience of trying to make separate schools for rich and poor work, may be willing to take a new look at how to reinvent Brown v. Board of Education for the twenty-first century.” (1/13–2/13)
- In Education Next, Michael Thomas Duffy called Diverse Schools “nifty” and unflinchingly honest: “The strength of The Diverse Schools Dilemma as a handbook for urban middle-class parents is borne of Petrilli’s willingness to steer clear of cant. No pious lectures from him, and once he finishes making the case for enrolling in a multi-racial public school containing large numbers of poor kids, he turns around and makes equally strong counter arguments: schools serving affluent students are safer; the disruptive students found in greater numbers in low-income urban schools slow the pace at which lessons are delivered and learning happens; plus, what’s the point, if the ‘diverse’ minority and free/reduced lunch students are tracked into classes that separate them from their white, middle-class counterparts?” (12/12)
- Over the past month, Mike appeared on three local NPR stations for hour-long discussions about the Diverse Schools Dilemma.All are available online:
- WYPR Baltimore: Midday with Dan Roddricks (1/10/13)
- WAMU Washington, DC: The Kojo Nnamdi Show (12/12/12)
- WHYY Philadelphia: Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane (12/11/12)
- Finally, last week, Mike was a guest on “What’s the Big Idea?,” a podcast hosted by Montgomery County schools superintendent Josh Starr. They went in-depth on issues of school diversity, gifted-and-talented programs, and public school choice.
Upcoming travel
- On Wednesday, January 23, Mike will be in Providence, RI, appearing at several events hosted by Blackstone Preparatory Academy.
- On Tuesday, January 29, he’ll be in Denver to talk about the book at an A+ Denver event.
- On Thursday, January 31 he’ll discuss the Diverse Schools Dilemma as part of a Cato Institute panel on America’s growing diversity.
- On Thursday, February 21, he'll be in New York to discuss the book on a New York University panel.
- On Tuesday, February 26, he’ll be in Columbus to discuss the book at the Columbus International High School.
Topics:
