City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Education
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Orlin Wagner / AP Educating Migrant Children in Dodge City
“We’re a port of entry 1,000 miles from the border.”
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A Different Kind of 'Trump Nation' Report
Western Kansas, where Deb and I have spent time over the past month, is the heart of Trump Nation in…
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Red Demon Football on YouTube Dodge City's New Frontier
A high school in the famed Kansas town is embracing its rapidly changing demographics.
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‘The Last Best Hope for Public STEM Education in Mississippi’
Over the years my wife Deb and I have frequently mentioned the remarkable Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. You…
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Budget Challenges at a Remarkable Mississippi School
Over the past two years my wife Deb and I have reported frequently on the remarkable Mississippi School for Mathematics…
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Fisher Middle School Tech Meets Art in Middle School
A South Carolina public school gives tech-savvy students a sense of humanity.
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Deborah Fallows Mississippi Students Write About Life in Their Home State
Inspiring young writers connect with their literary legacy
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Wikimedia commons Punching Above Their Weight in Mississippi
Mississippi schools come in #49 in many national rankings. Read these essays and poems by high school students from Columbus, Mississippi. Then tell the folks who make up the rankings that they need a different algorithm.
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Deborah Fallows When High School Means a Build-It-Yourself Education
A charter school in Oregon encourages students to shape their own learning.
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Historic lumber mill / Wikimedia; Current Old Mill ... A Community College at the Center of an Oregon Recovery Story
When the lumber industry left, the region bet its future on technology—even though it lacked a research university.
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James Fallows Building for the Future, in California's Famously Failed City
The Los Angeles Times has a big, new demonstration of how bad things have gotten in the city of San Bernardino. Here’s a look at people doing their best, despite those odds.
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Deborah Fallows A High School That Changes Lives, One at a Time
Teachers and students in a bankrupt California city, determined to make progress
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James Fallows Post-Memorial Day Note: Another Kind of Service, in San Bernardino
“I don’t just sit around. I don’t sleep much. That’s what I do. I do stuff.” The story of a man determined to do something for his town.
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Ian Schick/AP The Dilemmas of Maker Culture
Thinking through the consequences of the proliferation of powerful tools and technologies
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John Tierney How Makerspaces Help Local Economies
New technologies like 3-D printers and laser cutters have boosted entrepreneurial activity in American communities.
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John Tierney Boulder, Colorado: A Special Kind of Community
An exaggerated version of a college town, it's the perfect setting for an unusually participatory conference.
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Deborah Fallows Growing Up in Ajo
What it takes to get from the desert to college
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Conference on World Affairs How People in Boulder Build Community out of a Conference
An annual meeting brings speakers from around the world together with students and local residents, in intimate settings.
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Kepler School Fresno's Tiniest Citizens
An elementary school of and for the urban community
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James Fallows Next Up From Fresno: High School for Overlooked 'Kids in the Middle'
Public schools often end up concentrating on students with obvious promise at the very top, and with obvious problems at the bottom. Here is one designed to foster opportunities for everyone else.
