Rethinking Schools’ 40-Year Journey 

Once upon a time, there was no Rethinking Schools. There was no national journal dedicated to collecting stories about social justice teaching, or analyzing the political context that shapes schools and young people’s lives. Teachers of conscience were largely on their own.

Forty years ago, Rethinking Schools was founded on a simple conviction: Educators should not merely adapt to the world as it is — we should help transform it. Of course, Rethinking Schools didn’t just “launch”; the magazine, then a tabloid newspaper, was the product of organizing by Milwaukee educators, fed up with being on the receiving end of administrative fiats — basal readers, standardized testing in the earliest grades, racist curricula. With a wildly optimistic print run of 6,000 copies, soon growing to 20,000, the publication was made possible by its grassroots ground- ing in 160 Milwaukee public schools. That, and the fierce dedication of the volunteer editors.

On our 40th anniversary, we continue to publish a magazine that seeks to amplify the diverse ways that teachers, administrators, and parents work to align schools with values of democracy and racial justice. This timeline is the journey of how educators, teacher educators, community members, and activists grew Rethinking Schools into the magazine and organization it is today.