Welcome to Cashing in on Kids, a newsletter for people fed up with the privatization of America’s public schools—produced by In the Public Interest.

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Charter schools are enabling white flight from public education. A publicly-funded charter school in Utah’s most racially diverse city is all white. “That’s the question,” said Brooke Anderson, a data specialist from the surrounding school district. “How do you start a charter school in West Valley City and enroll no students of color?” KJZZ

Gobs of federal charter school money headed to New Hampshire. As Education Secretary Betsy DeVos heads out the door, a wave of federal charter school expansion money is on the way to New Hampshire. Concord Monitor

The charter school that ate Oklahoma. Two members of the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board have been blocked from any action affecting the controversial online charter school chain Epic Charter Schools because of conflicts of interest with the school’s co-founders. The Oklahoman

Meanwhile, a former member of the charter board has accused Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) of trying to stitch up a private settlement between Epic and the board. KFOR

And now the good news…

Making the 2020 “bearable.” Have you picked up Potential Grizzlies: Making the Nonsense Bearable, National Education Policy Center director Kevin Welner’s new book satirizing education policy? It’s title refers to remarks made by soon-to-be-former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during her 2017 confirmation hearing, where she tried to explain her stance concerning arming educators by referring to a Wyoming elementary school, saying: “I think probably there, I would imagine that there’s probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies.” Buy it here.

“The schools we need now are community schools.” Jane Quinn, former director of the Children’s Aid National Center for Community Schools: “Implemented correctly, the community-school strategy can help public schools fulfill the multifaceted role we expect them to play in the lives of America’s children and families.” The Hechinger Report

Is this new kind of public school coming to your neighborhood? It should be. Charter schools. Private school vouchers. The portfolio model. So-called “school choice” has become all the rage in the education world in recent years. But there’s a new kid on the block. One that shows much more promise when you actually look at the data. In the Public Interest’s Jeremy Mohler explains community schools. In the Public Interest

Why public education is more important than ever. Journalist Jeff Bryant interviews Derek Black, law professor and author of Schoolhouse Burning, on why public education is fundamental to American democracy and the nation’s founding principles. The Progressive

Photo by Allison Shelley for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action