Forbes ranks "Best & Worst Public Schools for the Buck"

A new article published in Forbes magazine is stirring up buzz among parents nationwide - not to mention public school officials, teachers, and education watchdogs.

These rankings reveal how wide the gaps are in the performance of public schools in different communities across the country. Granted, the demographic realities faced by some public school districts make for extra challenges. But with shifting demographics nationwide, it's getting harder and harder for local officials to excuse their failure by blaming such trends. (For example, looking up the census data for myself on Alexandria vs. our neighbors made me realize how lame and inaccurate claims are that we have a disproportionate burden of foreign-born and non-English-speaking children, compared to better-performing Arlington schools.) And it's shocking to see how pitifully some districts manage tax dollars, with failing schools, high dropout rates, and low test scores to show for the community's investment.

I take this quite personally, since my family and I are currently living in the Washington, DC suburb of Alexandria, VA - which happens to come in dead-last in the nation in the Forbes ranking. Our community's return-on-investment is even worse than the historically troubled District of Columbia! And it's our kids who will suffer the fallout. Sad and scary. Especially since I have a preschooler who will be ready for kindergarten in two years. And even more exasperating because our cost of living here is so high.

On the bright side, there are other districts across the country that are doing a much better job. Best management of public schools in the country, according to the Forbes ranking? Marin County, CA, outside San Francisco.

These are just the kind of things that really matter to us as mothers, and change absolutely depends on our political involvement. We need to get active at both the local and federal levels - advocating for better management and higher standards in our local districts, as well as speaking up for federal policy initiatives that will help narrow the disparities in the quality of schools nationwide.