A New Look for Rethinking Schools

Summer 2003

Ever since the first issue of Rethinking Schools emerged on a kitchen table in Milwaukee 17 years ago, we've been a tabloid newspaper. Starting with the issue you receive this fall, that's going to change. At our national meeting in January, the staff and editors of Rethinking Schools decided to turn the publication into a magazine. After consulting with our readers, staff, and editors in a survey, we agreed that this change would help us become more user-friendly, create a publication that may have a longer shelf life than the newsprint we currently distribute, and gain subscribers.

Although the appearance of Rethinking Schools will change, our mission won't. In our first issue in the winter of 1986, we wrote, "The crisis in education continues. Young people find themselves confronting an educational system ill-suited to prepare them for life.

Teachers find their creativity buried under increasing paperwork and administrative interference. Parents often experience schools as intimidating and unresponsive. Schools are marked by boredom, overcrowded classrooms, increasing violence, and a growing incapacity to help students acquire the basic knowledge and critical thinking skills they need. Several years of desegregation and compensatory programs have failed to close the profound gap between the achievement of white and non-white students."

Unfortunately, some of our original concerns have multiplied. The abandonment of desegregation has led to resegregation. Standardized tests continue to proliferate and curricula to narrow. We face an unprecedented crisis in school funding. And the right wing continues to push an agenda of vouchers and privatization. Yet in the face of all of this, Rethinking Schools forges ahead, publishing articles and books that offer hope for the future and practical ideas for social justice teaching.

Throughout all the changes we've witnessed in our 17 years of publishing, we've remained committed to equity and justice in education. And because we're edited by practicing classroom teachers, we're a unique resource.

This is an exciting change for Rethinking Schools. We hope you'll enjoy our makeover. And if you're not already a subscriber, please consider purchasing a subscription for yourself, your library, or a colleague. Your support is what keeps us alive.

Summer 2003