Local advocates for public schools held a protest in front of the Little Rock School District’s headquarters Thursday to a call for a return to local control and an end to charter schools in the state.
Anika Whitfield with the Coalition to Reclaim Our Schools in the Little Rock School District said she believes the state takeover of the district and the increasing presence of charter schools in the state will negatively impact minority students.
"What a lot of places are doing are now lowering their standards from student testing to justify maintaining these schools and charter school systems. It shows the element of racism as well as social and classism that continues to impede our country," she said.
The rally was held following the publication of a national report by The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, a group that includes the country’s two biggest teachers’ unions.
The group opposes what it calls “market intervention” and state takeovers of local districts. Little Rock School District officials did not respond immediately for comment.
