http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Catie/Where%20We%20Live%2002-14-2012.mp3
Education is the focus of state and national policy as we try to find ways to close the “achievement gap.”
Among the many ideas being tried is expanded “choice” - giving families in low-income areas more options of where their kids can go to school.
But what if we flipped that idea a bit - and gave families more choice of where to live instead? It’s an idea that’s been tried out in Montgomery County Maryland - where, through zoning, low income students get a chance to live in higher-income neighborhoods...and the better-performing schools that go along with them.
In this way, affordable housing helped raise student achievement in a way that other, more traditional education reforms don’t always.
Today, where we live, as we head into the legislature’s “education session,” we’ll continue a series of conversations about reform ideas...today focusing on housing policy and education.
More information on the PSC Housing iForum.