Last week we looked at a school district integrating by accident. This week: a city going all out to integrate its schools. Plus, a girl who comes up with her own one-woman integration plan.
More in this Series
562
July 31, 2015
The Problem We All Live With - Part One
Prologue
Chana Joffe-Walt talks to Kiana, who went to a school that was overwhelmingly black and Latino,
but when some white students showed up one day on an exchange program, she went up to them
eagerly. And since then, has embarked on a one-woman school integration program. Among other
things, she wanted to see “white wasted.” (9 minutes)
My Secret Public Plan
Chana Joffe-Walt reports on the Hartford, CT school system, which actively seeks to integrate. The
results have been impressive. It used to be that 11% of Hartford students were in integrated schools.
Now it’s nearly half. But the trick to the whole thing is: convince white families it’s in their self-
interest to go to integrated schools. This requires the kind of marketing skills and savvy we’re more
used to seeing at Apple and Pepsi than we are at a public school district. (38 minutes)
There's a book by Susan Eaton about Hartford's integration plan, called The Children in Room E4.
There's a book by Susan Eaton about Hartford's integration plan, called The Children in Room E4.
What’s It All About, Arne?
Reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, who has investigated integration in schools for years, joins Chana
Joffe-Walt to interview the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. The Obama Administration says
it’s in favor of integrating the schools, but doesn’t seem to do so much to promote it. They seemed
to have the perfect opportunity, integration advocates say, with their Race to the Top program. But
even then they didn’t act. Nikole and Chana ask: what’s the deal? (8 minutes)
Related
If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these
Act One: You Can Check Out Any Time You Like, But You Can Never Leave
Ira talks to producer Elna Baker about the time she and her siblings found themselves trapped in a hotel room with an unexpected visitor.
Act Two
Sarah Vowell's story continues.
Act Three: 44
Ira Glass interviews Charlie Savage, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Boston Globe, who's written a book called Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy about the ways the Bush Administration claims executive powers that other presidents haven't claimed.
Staff Recommendations
Middle School
Stories from the awkward, confusing, hormonally charged world of middle school.
129 Cars
One car dealership tries to sell 129 cars. It is way more chaotic than we expected.