WHAT WE’RE READING
Classical schools are on the rise, especially in the South. James Traub observes a sixth-grade English class at Founders Classical Academy of Lewisville, Texas, where students recite Shakespeare and give oral presentations on The Count of Monte Cristo. “Sixth-graders elsewhere do not read novels,” he writes, and “high-school students are not asked to elevate their gaze to the beautiful and the true.” —The Wall Street Journal
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“Most Tennessee public school students who use education savings account vouchers aren’t leaving low-performing public schools, while ESA students overall are underperforming their public school peers in both academic achievement and growth.” —Melissa Brown, Chalkbeat
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More elementary schools are departmentalizing by subject, a model traditionally reserved for older kids. “We want to make sure that our teachers are experts in what they’re teaching so that they can do a good job of teaching it to the kids,” a Louisiana administrator tells Ariel Gilreath, who looks at the upsides—particularly teacher strengths and preferences—and where the model falls short. —The Hechinger Report
Editor's note: This was first published on Mike Petrilli's Substack, SCHOOLED, a twice-weekly free Substack and email newsletter restarting the education-reform conversation.
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