There's plenty of blame to go around. The federal government deserves a huge share of it. Federal funds have taken control away from local school districts. When "standards" weren't met or enrollment wasn't maxed out, cities and towns had to close buildings and students had to travel great distances to non-neighborhood schools. This caused a lot of "good kids" in the still opened schools to look for alternatives to public education when their schools lost their neighborhood character. A lot of kids being transported out of their neighborhoods suffered because they lost that community focus. Then there's the low disciplinary standards, caused by "no child left behind", administrators who don't want to confront issues and teachers who have given up.
The answer is to go back to neighborhood schools, not allow students to transfer to other neighborhoods, and hold the neighborhoods accountable.
The union leaders, not standing up to the powers that be, are part of the problem. But the average union member? They'd rather have a well-run neighborhood school to teach in.
The best “locally controlled” school is a **private** school!
The solution to our nation's education woes is to begin the process of privatizing all education.
“There’s plenty of blame to go around.”
Yes, there is. But why bother to assign it? The failure is obvious and apparent to all but the most ignorant or self-delusional. The important thing is to get as many kids out of this failed welfare system as possible.