What educational reform can learn from urban renewal

Originally published at The Philadelphia Inquirer

During my daily travels, I drive by the Sharswood neighborhood, just north of Girard College, where I work. Over the years, I’ve watched this neighborhood transform — and this urban renewal project offers some great insight into education reform.

Sharswood, for as long as I can remember, wasn’t the best place to live. The Columbia Avenue riots of 1964 — a three-day outburst of violence and property damage — upended the neighborhood. Since then, a mass migration of people — almost two-thirds of Sharswood residents — abandoned the neighborhood. For decades, Sharswood was home to the Blumberg Towers, a complex of high-rise public housing projects engulfed in crime, drugs, and poverty.

Now, when I drive by Sharswood, I see a whole new neighborhood. I see renovated market-rate homes mixed in with public housing. I also see diversity — both economic and racial. In fact, Niche, a national educational consulting company, awarded Sharswood with an A for its ethnic and economic diversity.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer