Mass school closings have become a hallmark of today's dominant education policy agenda. But rather than helping students, these closures disrupt whole communities. And as U.S. Department of Education data suggests, the most recent rounds of mass closings in Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia disproportionately hurt Black and low-income students.

New York City is caught in a college prep crisis: Budget cuts and pressure to perform well on high-stakes tests is limiting the ability K-12 public schools to prepare students for college. This puts a financial strain on new college students who must spend precious tuition dollars on remedial classes re-learning what they should have been taught for free in high school.