A reporter for the Post-Dispatch who writes about East St. Louis, highlighting its economic and social challenges as well as differences in segregation between East St. Louis and St. Louis.

A history teacher at East St. Louis High who provides his students with supplementary materials and sees the environmental challenges around them as reflective of larger systemic issues.

The head of a mission church in North Lawndale, who discusses the socioeconomic decline due to departing companies and the rising influence of gangs in the community.

A teacher in North Lawndale who combines classes of fifth and sixth graders, providing a lively classroom environment despite challenges like frequent substitute teacher assignments.

The principal of P.S 79 in the Bronx, dealing with severe overcrowding which impedes the ability to create essential facilities and emphasizes racial inequality in school conditions.

A student at Morris High School in the Bronx with Jamaican immigrant parents, who expresses the view that educational advantages for wealthier children will be treated as rights.

A student in suburban Rye, New York, who discusses her parents' move for better education and opposes increased taxes for schools in her previous neighborhood, the Bronx.

The principal of Camden High School, who critiques the focus on standardized testing, arguing it impairs students' learning and preparedness for later academic challenges.

A Cambodian descendent student in Camden, New Jersey, who shares the discouragement she feels after a counselor's advice against pursuing her goal of studying law.

An urban planner and parent in Washington, DC, who candidly describes poor school conditions and the negative impact of educational tracking.

A young girl from the Anacostia neighborhood in Washington, DC, who engages in conversations about local issues like drugs, giving insight into her environment's impact on children.

A resident from San Antonio, Texas, involved in a class-action lawsuit challenging inequitable school funding, advocating for fair educational opportunities in poorer districts.

An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court who ruled on the Rodriguez case, emphasizing the lack of constitutional guarantee for quality in educational rights.