By C. Nicole Mason
Amid protest from parents and teachers, New York City’s Department of Education voted on January 27 to close 19 failing public schools. The closings come on the heels of a heated battle among state legislators to lift a ban limiting the number of charter schools in the state. The measure failed, but not without revealing a troubling trend around the country with regard to public education in states and cities—chasing dollars instead of what’s in the best interest of students.

By Khalil Gibran Muhammad
“Education is the key to success. Knowledge is power.” Wise words repeated countless times to young people at home and in school every single day. But what should we say to them if one day their hard work meets empty promises, if their dreams are deferred, or their first paycheck of material reward is marked insufficient funds.

By TaRessa Stovall
A clever response to Beyonce’s super-hit, Single Ladies, with the line, “If you like it, then you should have put a ring on it,” has inspired a group of young students from the Hope Christian School in Milwaukee to create their own version with a very different—and much more empowering—message.

By Doug Miller
The seventh-and eighth-graders were part of a nationwide art project involving 60 community groups and schools around the country that produced nearly 700 hand-decorated ornaments—red and gold balls—for the Obamas to hang on the White House tree.

By Jackie Jones
For those who end up in the brand-name schools, Jeffrey Mazique has some advice. “If you go to an Ivy League, study as if you life depends on it. Expand your horizons and move outside your comfort zone and interact with all races and classes.”

By Jackie Jones
“The question is whether or not you get your return on that investment in actual financial capital or some sort of human capital or emotional capital or social capital,” Boyce Watkins, a professor of finance at Syracuse University, told National Public Radio (NPR) in a recent interview. “The truth of the matter is that this blanket notion that going to college will guarantee you a better economic future is not always true.”

By TaRessa Stovall
“Why don’t you guys study like the kids from Africa?”
This is the question posed by a white male high school teacher to his “virtually all African-American” 12th grade English class, where not a single student raised their hand when asked if they have a father living at home.

By Makani Themba-Nixon
Many children of color are trapped in underfunded schools where parents must fight for the most basic of needs: lighting, bathroom doors, books and even water.

Yes, water.

By Jackie Jones
Jobs can be found, but for black graduates that likely means going outside of their comfort zones, employment experts say.

By Lee A. Daniels
Last May, the Chicago Tribune, began publishing dozens of articles on how the “clout” admissions game worked at the state’s flagship university. Those stories’ revelations were subsequently confirmed by the scathing report of a special committee of investigation chaired by Abner Mikva, the former Congressman and federal judge.