Like many cities in the United States, housing in San Antonio, Texas has a history of racial segregation. It's called ‘redlining” for the red lines that realtors drew on maps denoting which communities were largely white and which were largely Black or Brown.   Over time redlining has kept low income students, mostly of color, in low performing schools. While their more affluent white neighbors have had access to better performing schools. Tanzina digs into how San Antonio’s history of redlining plays out in education, and what role the San Antonio Independent School District is playing in trying to blur those lines.

In Minneapolis tensions between the teacher’s union and the school board have been ongoing for months. But an acrimonious teacher’s strike and tight budgets are not the only things putting pressure on the school system there. Some activists and parents of color say they feel like the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers has overlooked their concerns.

There is a big class divide between schools on the Southside vs. those on the Northside of Chicago. It all comes down to money — specifically private fundraising. We talk to two parents who are working to bridge the gap  and create equity.

Tanzina heads to Oakland where a battle over how to teach students essential skills like reading has emerged. Some educators say methods for teaching students to read have long been outdated and have led to low literacy rates among Black, brown and poor students. Activists and organizations like the NAACP are now trying to close that literacy gap by implementing newer ways to teach reading that emphasize phonics over rote memorization.  But a bigger question remains - how can Black parents and white parents come together to ensure equity for all Oakland students?

Tanzina Vega starts the journey across the country with her hometown of NYC. She talks to Max Freedman and Mark Winston Griffith hosts of “School Colors,” a podcast focused on how race, class and power shape public education. The talk about how getting into a “good” school can sometimes make parents throw elbows in what can feel like a game of winners and losers.

Why is it that so many Black, Latino and Indigenous kids go to schools that are under-resourced or lagging in providing basic skills like reading? While we hear a lot about making schools more equitable, we wanted to get past the talking points and see what efforts were really being made to close the gap. From EdPost, it’s Across Colors, a five-part series about how parents and educators from across the country are pushing to make schools better and more equal places for children to learn and grow.  More information at our website: www.edpost.com