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WATCH: DeVos’ focus on school choice doesn’t address key issues, say education research panelists

The Trump administration should focus more attention on the recruitment and retention of high-performing teachers than on school choice options, said education researchers in an online interactive forum held last week at Vanderbilt. Charters and private school vouchers will not solve the problems facing the public school system, they said, and wraparound programs are sorely need to support already overburdened and underfunded schools.

Vanderbilt’s  Peabody College of education and human development hosted a live webinar, “Trump’s First 100 Days and the Impact on Education,” on March 28 to discuss the impact of the new administration on education issues from a research perspective. Peabody researchers discussed the issues of school funding, vouchers, magnets and charter schools, failing schools, teacher hiring and college affordability, among other topics. They also answered questions submitted via Twitter.

A video of the Webinar “Trump’s First 100 Days” is available to view on Vanderbilt’s YouTube channel.

The panelists were: Angela Boatman, assistant professor of public policy and higher education; Gary T. Henry, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy and Education; Claire Smrekar, associate professor of public policy and education; and Matthew G. Springer, assistant professor of public policy and education. William Doyle, associate professor of higher education, served as moderator.

Request an interview with a researcher (including live and recorded TV and radio interviews via Vanderbilt’s campus broadcast center, VUStar).

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