In Teacher Leadership Today, John Norton, co-founder and moderator of the Teacher Leaders Network, reacts to recent reports of increasing numbers of poor children in public schools in the South:
The causes are no surprise to those who live in the South, where the most important "export" has become factory jobs in textiles, furniture and other manufacturing. The "flat world" is flattening the southern economy, and rising unemployment and under-employment rates often mean hard times for families with school-aged children. The percentages are also affected by a shift to private school education among the South's more affluent parents, who are more likely to make the decision to abandon public schools when poverty levels rise.
Teachers in the South, Norton suggests, must be prepared to face a whole new dynamic.