Putting Brands to Work for Public Schools

By Mickey Freeman

Public education budgets have always been tight, but today we find ourselves in uncharted territory. Looking back to 2008, when the country slipped into the Great Recession, no aspect of the economy has escaped unscathed. One of the hardest-hit areas has been education, since deep losses in the housing sector sent shock waves that decimated state and local budgets and, consequently, school budgets as well. In many places, schools' rainy-day funds have run dry.

Consider that between 2008 and 2011, nearly 300,000 U.S. education jobs were lost. Put another way, education job cuts made up 54 percent of all job losses in local government. These job reductions have directly affected core curriculum, school arts programs, physical education, special education, and support functions. The tough choices continue. Across the country, schools are eliminating educational mainstays including foreign-language and sports programs and letting go of school librarians. The impact of these cuts will be felt for generations.

This is the new reality for U.S. public education, and we find ourselves at a moment when...