Not so Great Equalizer: Horace Mann and K-12 Charter Schools with Andrew Collins

Conner Prairie's Director of Business Intelligence, Andrew Collins, joins us to discuss funding and oversight for K-12 education. When common school trailblazer Horace Mann began his campaign to establish universal education in the United States, he saw it as the only way to overcome disparities plaguing the country and give every child an equal opportunity and access to quality educational opportunities. However, with public schools faltering on this promise, the recent rise of private charter schools have claimed to offer a similar opportunity as an alternative. Some charter schools succeed at providing this opportunity with an 'atypical' education in an honest way while some fail. Easton, Zoe, and Andrew Collins dive into just how deep the issue has become, who the true victims are, and how we can begin to re-center those who have always deserved a fair shot at achieving their dreams.

Our sources:

Baines, Lawrence. “Does Horace Mann Still Matter?” Educational Horizons, Vol. 84, No. 4 (Summer 2006).

https://www.jstor.org/stable/42923671 

Burris and Cimarusti. “Chartered for Profit: The Hidden World of Charter Schools Operated for Financial Gain.” networkforpubliceducation.org (September 2020- February, 2021)

https://networkforpubliceducation.org/chartered-for-profit/ 

Burris and Cimarusti. “Chartered for Profit II: Pandemic Profiteering.” networkforpubliceducation.org (2021)

https://networkforpubliceducation.org/chartered-for-profit-ii-pandemic-profiteering/ 

Cremin, Lawrence A.“Horace Mann.” Encyclopedia Britannica. (Jul 20, 1998).

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hall-of-Fame-for-Great-Americans 

Jason, Zachary. “The Battle Over Charter Schools.” Harvard Graduate School of Education (May 20, 2017)

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/ed-magazine/17/05/battle-over-charter-schools 

Newton, Derek. “20,000 More Reasons To Never Go To A For-Profit School.” forbes.com (Dec 9, 2018)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2018/12/09/20000-more-reasons-to-never-go-to-a-for-profit-school/?sh=310767bb30e5

Smith, Casey “Charter schools win in proposed Indiana budget amid public advocacy campaign.” indianacapitalchronicle.com (MARCH 8, 2023)

https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2023/03/08/charter-schools-win-in-proposed-indiana-budget-what-does-that-mean-for-other-public-schools/ 

TBS Staff. “Guide to For-Profit Colleges: How to Avoid Predatory Schools.” thebestschools.org (September 2, 2022)

https://thebestschools.org/resources/for-profit-colleges/#:~:text=For%2Dprofit%20colleges%20have%20earned,report%20much%20lower%20graduation%20rates

Further Reading:

https://tjrs.monticello.org/archive/search/quo