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The Diverse Schools Dilemma: On the web, on the air, and in your hometown

yes Michael J. Petrilli / January 22, 2013

Mike’s new book, The Diverse Schools Dilemma: A Parent’s Guide to Socioeconomically Mixed Public Schools, continues to garner attention. Here are some recent articles and interviews worth checking out. (And if you haven’t yet, buy the book now!)

Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and author of All Together Now, reviewed Mike’s book in the Washington Monthly: “… This book may be a significant—and hopeful—harbinger that the center-right school reform community, battered down by the humbling experience of trying to make separate schools for rich and poor work, may be willing to take a new look at how to reinvent Brown v. Board of Education for the twenty-first century.” (1/13–2/13)

In Education Next, Michael Thomas Duffy called Diverse Schools “nifty” and unflinchingly honest: “The strength of The Diverse Schools Dilemma as a handbook for urban middle-class parents is borne of Petrilli’s willingness to steer clear of cant. No pious lectures from him, and once he finishes making the case for enrolling in a multi-racial public school containing large numbers of poor kids, he turns around and makes equally strong counter arguments: schools serving affluent students are safer; the disruptive students found in greater numbers in low-income urban schools slow the pace at which lessons are delivered and learning happens; plus, what’s the point, if the ‘diverse’ minority and free/reduced lunch students are tracked into classes that separate them from their white, middle-class counterparts?” (12/12)

Over the past month, Mike appeared on three local NPR stations for hour-long discussions about the Diverse Schools Dilemma.All are available online:
- WYPR Baltimore: Midday with Dan Roddricks (1/10/13)
- WAMU Washington, DC: The Kojo Nnamdi Show (12/12/12)
- WHYY Philadelphia: Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane (12/11/12)

Finally, last week, Mike was a guest on “What’s the Big Idea?,” a podcast hosted by Montgomery County schools superintendent Josh Starr. They went in-depth on issues of school diversity, gifted-and-talented programs, and public school choice.

On Wednesday, January 23, Mike will be in Providence, RI, appearing at several events hosted by Blackstone Preparatory Academy.
On Tuesday, January 29, he’ll be in Denver to talk about the book at an A+ Denver event.
On Thursday, January 31 he’ll discuss the Diverse Schools Dilemma as part of a Cato Institute panel on America’s growing diversity.
On Thursday, February 21, he'll be in New York to discuss the book on a New York University panel.
On Tuesday, February 26, he’ll be in Columbus to discuss the book at the Columbus International High School.