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The birthplace of our nation is also one of the key cities that became a wellspring for modern-day school choice programs. Unfortunately, Philadelphia freedom is unnecessarily at risk. In the late 1990s, private foundations in Philly began providing scholarships to children from low-income families so they may attend the private school of their parents’ choice. […]
Students transferring to private schools using publicly funded vouchers saved participating states more than $1.7 billion over a 20-year period. Here’s how: From 1990 to 2011, students in six states and Washington, D.C., received $2.8 billion in voucher funds to attend private schools of choice. In making that choice, those students also relieved public schools […]
Editor’s note: Some of the author’s sources link to studies that appear in Swedish. Debate over “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and which film is better—America’s version or Sweden’s—comes down to one’s opinion. The same can’t be said for disagreements over Swedish school choice. Upon investigating the available research—just as Stieg Larsson’s protagonist would—the conclusion […]
The Chartered Course by Andy Smarick continues an important discussion focused on growing and developing the private school market in America. It is a welcome shift from the “save our schools” mentality to one of growth and new ideas. It is as if there is finally a “re-imaging”’ of the private school market beginning in […]
Is there a “tidal wave” coming for private school choice, as some have suggested? No doubt since the Wall Street Journal declared 2011 “The Year of School Choice,” policymakers’ actions creating and expanding such programs are rising—as is interest among parents. But are private education providers prepared to navigate this new environment? In The Chartered […]
This week, we released our 2014 Schooling in America Survey. In it, we asked a representative sample of American adults, not just voters, their views on issues such as the state of education, school choice, Common Core State Standards, and standardized testing. Some of our fellow school choice supporters – some from the Thomas B. […]
“Regulators, mount up!” That line from a popular western film, used later in a famous hip-hop song, is not generally thought of as one directed toward private schools. Indeed, many school choice opponents claim private schools are unregulated, particularly schools participating in voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs. But au contraire mon frères et sœurs. In examining […]
“…[I]t may surprise you to learn that in a growing number of states, legislators are setting aside public money to pay for private school tuition – and rich people are benefiting,” Valerie Strauss wrote last year on The Washington Post’s website. Actually, the WaPo education writer’s class-warfare demagoguery should surprise readers more, particularly when it is […]
A recent Huffington Post article took the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to task for how some MPCP students with special needs are being treated in their schools. First, to be clear, author Shayna Pitre cited an inaccurate number that voucher opponents have propped up for years when attacking the nation’s first modern school choice […]
In 1979, there were 9,640 Catholic schools in the United States. By 2011, there were 6,841. That decline has been caused by a number of factors, each of which is worth exploring further—as are the policies that can contribute to their possible resurrection. From 2001 to 2011, the number of private Catholic schools decreased at […]