Are Public Schools Failing Our Kids? | Inside the Failure Factory
About this episode
Dani interviews Chris Papst about the failures of the Baltimore City Public Schools system and the implications for public education in the U.S.
In today’s episode, Dani sits down with investigative journalist and author Chris Papst to uncover what’s really happening inside one of America’s most heavily funded — yet lowest-performing — public school systems.Chris is the author of Failure Factory: How Baltimore City Public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future, a deeply researched exposé that raises serious questions about accountability, funding, and the future of public education in the United States. Baltimore City Public Schools serves over 76,000 students across more than 150 schools and programs, with a staggering $1.7 billion budget in 2024. Yet despite this level of funding, only about 10% of students are proficient in math. So… what’s going on? In this episode, we dive into: • How Baltimore City Public Schools first caught Chris’s attention • What shocked him most during his investigation • How grades and graduation metrics may be manipulated • The truth about “ghost students” and how they impact funding • Why massive budgets don’t always translate to student success • Questions around equity, accountability, and systemic failure • Warning signs parents should watch for in their own school systems…
People in this episode
Host: Danielle Mercy
Guest: Chris Papst
Topics covered
- public education
- school funding
- accountability
- systemic failure
- student success
- Baltimore City Public Schools
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Baltimore City Public Schools
Books & works: Failure Factory: How Baltimore City Public Schools Deprive Taxpayers and Students of a Future
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