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Social movements such as women’s suffrage, Black civil rights, and parental choice in education involve the redistribution of social, political, and economic power. Because few groups in control of that power at the time are enlightened enough to share it voluntarily, these power struggles are usually contentious—but they don’t have to be. Although school choice […]
Today’s freakout comes to us from the comments section of the The Washington Post piece “Amicus brief on empirical data about school vouchers”. The article itself explains Douglas County, Colorado’s school voucher pilot program, which allows up to 500 students (out of 66,000 in the district) to receive an education voucher. The ACLU of Colorado […]
As an alumnus of private Catholic schools, I continually am surprised by the evolving notion that religious schools are dismissive of science. Indeed, much is being made about private school teachings that are deemed incompatible with science. But as a recent personal experience of my own shows, this generalization is taken oftentimes on faith. Indeed, kids in […]
Today’s freakout comes from an exchange between Randi Weingarten, president of the nation’s leading teachers’ union, and a group called the Badass Teachers Association (BAT). The tweet is a picture of Weingarten presenting to around 3,500 teachers at the American Federation for Teachers (AFT) national convention in Los Angeles. Weingarten’s approach is not surprising. As […]
Florida – Stephanie Linn @StephanieJLinn The Florida Education Association (FEA) filed a lawsuit challenging a newly enacted law that includes an education savings account (ESA) for students with special needs—called the Personal Learning Scholarship Account—along with an expansion of the existing Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. The FEA contends the law violates a state constitutional […]
In America’s public policy arena, Common Core debates box out practically every other type of policy discussion on K-12 education. This post sets out to address some basic questions about Common Core’s hardcore supporters and opponents. Who are they? Do these polarized groups have different backgrounds and perspectives? Where do the two groups stand on […]
July 31 would have been Milton Friedman’s 102nd birthday, and people all around the globe celebrated. The United States saw 74 Friedman Legacy Day events in 47 states and Washington D.C., and Friedman fans abroad celebrated in 23 other countries. In case you missed all of our Milton-centric posts on social media, we’ve recapped them […]
“The true test of any scholar’s work is not what his contemporaries say, but what happens to his work in the next 25 or 50 years. And the thing that I will really be proud of is if some of the work I have done is still cited in the text books long after I […]
Among the key ingredients for growing high-quality schools are a pipeline of talented leaders with the vision and skillset for launching those schools, and adequate time for those leaders to implement their ideas. In the charter sector, incubators have cropped up to help provide the assets of talent and time, leading to the creation of […]
One of the most common arguments put forth by opponents of school choice is that public dollars should not flow to private institutions. Consider, for example, this Facebook comment from John Herzig, superintendent of the Shidler (Oklahoma) Public Schools: But of course the education of our children isn’t like a road or running water, goods […]