“As the U.S. continues to debate issues with deep historical roots, correctly analyzing the past is imperative to the future.”
The Public Purpose
The Graduate Journal of American University's School of Public Affairs
Education
Public Service Loan Forgiveness – The Likelihood of Approval is as Slim as Getting Struck by Lightning
By: Farrah Pappa The odds of being struck by lightning in your lifetime are 1 in 3,000. It seems like the odds of getting loan forgiveness are just as slim with just 96 applicants out of 33,000 being approved. Approximately 99 percent of applicants applying for Public...
Disabled Students’ Right to Education in South Africa
By: Leah Johnson
The Consequences of School Voucher Programs
By Matt Lipson The recent appointment of Betsy Devos as the US Education Secretary reignited the controversial issue of school voucher programs. Proponents of vouchers, including Devos, argue that school choice increases public schools' performance due to the...
Are New Education Guidelines Sweeping Vulnerable Populations Aside?
By Trevor Hayes The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was a major piece of legislation passed with a bipartisan consensus and signed by President Obama on December 10th, 2015. The bill was intended as a replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act and made major...
Denying Students the Services They Need to Succeed
By Shawn Stern In a recent Houston Chronicle Expose, it unmasked how unelected state officials have devised a system that has kept thousands of disabled students out of special education. As an educator in rural Mississippi, I was horrified by this piece and its...
To Drive Down Higher Education Costs, Fund Public Colleges
By Paige Handley The growing expense of higher education has become a pressing concern in recent years. In tuition alone, it currently costs $39,508 to get a 4-year degree from an in-state public institution, $97,960 for an out-of-state institution, and $135,010 for...
Questioning the Efficacy of Corporal Punishment in Modern Day School Systems
By Shawn Stern My first week teaching high school in rural Mississippi, I witnessed my principal walk down the cafeteria hallway with a three-foot paddle, hitting the palm of his hand as he screamed, “Who am I going to get? Who am I going to get?” The students just...
President Obama’s Plan to Expand Computer Science in the Classroom
By Paula Acevedo In President Obama’s final budget released last month, he asked for $4 billion over 3 years to develop the next generation of computer science and technology professionals. The President’s Computer Science for All plan aims to equip students with the...
Universal Pre-K: A Parent’s Perspective
By Katherine Kehres Becoming a parent changes an individual fundamentally. I was interested in childcare policy before becoming a parent, but now when I think about childcare policy, I think about what is going to be best for my smiling one year-old twin girls. One of...
Living Room Education: Home Visits as a Prevention Tool
By Katelyn Sedelmyer At a December briefing hosted by the National Prevention Science Coalition, Dr. David Olds, Professor of Pediatrics, Nursing, and Public Health at the University of Colorado shared some good news about a family-based poverty prevention approach:...
Charter Schools may be Important for the Urban Poor
By Katherine Kehres A recent Upshot article written by Susan Dynarski from the University of Michigan suggests that charter schools provide the most benefit to students in poor, urban areas. Recent research I conducted with my colleague Elizabeth Bersin on DC Charter...