Almost every major American city is experimenting with school choice--a deeply controversial idea that is dramatically reshaping public education. Will the wider array of school options help parents and educators identify better strategies for helping all children learn? Or will the high stakes of the marketplace end up privatizing this most public of institutions? The author argues that before we can answer these questions, we must put a human face...

In 180 DAYS: HARTSVILLE, viewers will experience a year in the life of one Southern town's efforts to address the urgent demand for reform in American public schools, and watch what happens when the systems that can either fuel or diffuse that reform- bureaucracy, economic opportunity, and fixed mindsets- interact and intersect. The residents of Hartsville, SC, work to address issues in their public schools.