Economics

Affluent Families Ditch Public Schools, Widening U.S. Inequality

Poorer students, unable to afford alternatives, struggle in online classes.

Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg
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One is thriving after switching from online public school to in-person private education. The other is struggling, stuck in her virtual classroom.

The lives of these two girls, Ella Pierick and Afiya Harris, encapsulate the growing divide in U.S. education as more affluent parents flee public schools.