Divided by Choice : How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy

How race and capitalism shape educationSchool choice programs-such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and tax credit scholarships-are surrounded by controversy, raising questions about their impact on student diversity and inequality.In this book, Ryane McAuliffe Straus takes up a core part of this divisive debate, exploring why charter schools are reshaping America’s education system-and democracy-for the worse. Drawing on interviews with elected officials, policy entrepreneurs, parents, and activists in Albany, NY, Straus argues that charter schools are a poor alternative to failing public schools, ultimately worsening racial segregation under the guise of providing underprivileged students with access to better education.Taking a wide-ranging view, the author explores why parents, elected officials, and community activists may or may not choose to leave the public education system by enrolling their children in charter schools. Straus finds that when families of color leave pu