Debate Over School Change On Stage, Online

They didn’t settle the most burning questions facing America’s public schools. But New Haven teachers, students, parents, and policymakers talked about those questions at length with controversial author Diane Ravitch—and Independent readers joined in live, as part of an online conversation.

Some 200 people showed up at Cooperative Arts And Humanities High School to watch Ravitch discuss the ideas in her groundbreaking book “The Death and Life Of The Great American School System” with a dozen New Haveners at the front lines of school reform, WTNH morning anchor Chris Velardi led them in a moderated discussion. Meanwhile, a panel of journalists and elected officials conducted a live-blogged discussion of the panel as it unfolded—while readers joined in online. And audience members got a chance to line up to ask Ravitch questions of their own in a substance-packed 45-minute post-panel question-and-answer session.

Read More, including a live blog of the event by civic leaders and journalists, including WNPR's John Dankosky.