New book underscores the threat to public education, aims to spark a public conversation to reenvision public schools
Educating in Dangerous Times: A Call to Reenvision Public Schools in America, a new book aiming to spark a new and bold public conversation about K12 schooling will be published Tuesday, August 25, 2026, by Beacon Press. The book will be introduced in a national Zoom book launch — Tuesday, Aug 25th at 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST. Register for the launch here.
Edited by George Theoharis, a professor of education leadership and inclusive education at Syracuse University and John Rogers, professor of education and associate dean for research and public scholarship at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, the book gathers a collection of essays by leading education scholars shining a light on the threats in this highly charged political moment to our public schools. The authors then set forth a vision of what schools should be and the initial steps toward creating them.
“Sixty years ago, in very dangerous times, the writer and civil rights leader James Baldwin called upon teachers to rethink the purpose of education,” says Rogers. “The time has come for all of us to heed that call again. We need to ask how we can reenvision public schools and come together to create the public schools we need. We must ask, what can we do now?”
Educating in Dangerous Times: A Call to Reenvision Public Schools in America, includes chapters by leading education scholars such as Michelle Young, Muhammad Khalifa, Judy Alston, Julian Vasquez Heilig, Antero Garcia, Vincent Cho, Shirin Vossoughi, Pedro Noguera, Charles Payne, Megan Franke and others who share their insights and ideas and join in a collective call to transform public education in America. In doing so the book asks school leaders, parents, organizers and others to be agents of democratic renewal and to claim a larger vision of schools that recognize the brilliance of every young person, protect the dignity of marginalized students, support fellow educators, and prepare communities to build and sustain a multiracial democracy. “Educating in Dangerous Times: A Call to Reenvision Public Schools in America,” is published by Beacon Press, Boston, Mass. More information is available here.