Public Schools Advocate is a project of The Progressive magazine that aims to pull back the curtain on those individuals, foundations, and groups working both to privatize our public schools and to limit the role of schools in creating a critically democratic citizenry.
Launched in 2013, and originally called Public School Shakedown, the project covers the fundamental struggle for democracy going on around the country, as teachers, parents, and others rally to protect our public schools.
We changed the name to Public Schools Advocate in 2021, embracing a broader goal to empower teachers, parents, and other community members to organize and advocate for strong public schools that serve all students well.To that end, we work with a diverse group of fellows—teachers, advocates, activists, thinkers, and others in the progressive education movement. We regularly publish their writings, support them in attending conferences and other events, and assist them in getting the word out about one of the most important issues facing our democracy today.
A New Pennsylvania Court Ruling May Help Bridge the School Funding Gap
Petitioners in a lawsuit over the state’s unequal school funding scheme won their case. That precedent could spread across the country. Read more
Mar 7, 2023
Want to Fix the Teacher Shortage? Just Pay Them More, Already
Bernie Sanders’s ‘Pay Teachers Act’ would increase teacher base pay to $60,000 a year, a much-needed boost to strengthen the profession. Read more
Feb 27, 2023
Legalize Black History
Florida’s past is replete with lessons for building an anti-racist future. We can’t allow them to be purged from our classrooms. Read more
Feb 21, 2023
Voucher Schemes Are Failing Students with Disabilities
New Hampshire’s commissioner of education is being sued for diverting millions for a voucher program at a time when the public schools desperately need support staff. Read more
Feb 7, 2023
Interview: ‘We Were Having None of It’
Katie Paris founded Red Wine & Blue in 2019 to help suburban women engage in politics. By the end of the 2020 election, it had grown into ‘a pretty passionate fight against rightwing extremism.’ Read more
Feb 2, 2023
Politicizing Black Lives in Florida
When it comes to learning history in schools, Florida’s state government is afraid knowledge will lead to power. Read more
Jan 27, 2023
What Happened to the 1.3 Million Children Who Stopped Going to School?
School privatizers want you to believe parents are abandoning the public system, but that’s not the whole story. Read more
#BlackLivesMatterAtSchool is a National Uprising for Racial Justice
From February 5-9, educators across the nation will participate in a week of action to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. Read more
Feb 1, 2018
One Solution to the Teacher Shortage? Growing Your Own
Some states are using the shortage as an opportunity to lower the bar for educators. But there are more sustainable, community-minded ways of addressing the problem. Read more
Dec 21, 2022