July 13, 2018

The Next Evolution

What do readers actually need to know? More newsrooms are asking themselves this question instead of assuming they know what readers want. A recent Nieman Lab article explores a new initiative called Pulse designed to allow newsrooms to better understand their readers’ information needs through texting. Reach NC Voices, an initiative of EducationNC, is featured in the article after partnering with Andrew Haeg from GroundSource last fall to text Durham residents about their information needs.

For Your Consideration

A new report from the Brookings Institute examines whether school secessions (when a school breaks away from a larger district to form its own district) worsen racial segregation in schools. The report is particularly relevant for North Carolina after the General Assembly passed House Bill 514, a bill that allows four Charlotte-Mecklenburg district towns to open their own charter schools and has caused concern that these schools would reimpose segregation in their schools.

The report looks at school secessions in Alabama and finds that while schools that seceeded are very racially imbalanced, they do not get more racially imbalanced after seceeding. The authors state:

“Our findings suggest that new district boundaries created by school secession may not increase segregation in the short run, but may entrench and calcify existing patterns of racial exclusion and could lead to more federal spending to replace funding from wealthier areas that would have previously gone into county-based school system coffers.”

secession

A New Slant

Universal basic income (UBI) is often presented as a far-left proposal with little chance at achieving any bipartisan support. However, a recent New Yorker article discusses how Nixon almost signed into law a UBI proposal supported by then Congressman George H.W. Bush. If you don’t know much about UBI, the article does a good job exploring the history of UBI proposals and countering the narrative that only progressives support it.

Need to know

The next myFutureNC listening session is in Asheboro on July 18th from 2 to 5 p.m. After the session, Reach NC Voices will be hosting an informal gathering to continue the conversation about attainment in North Carolina at Four Saints Brewing Company. RSVP here.


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