Vicki E. Murray
Education
Early Graduation is a Student-Centered Option
Already, 21 states allow early graduation, according to the Education Commission of the States. And among the other 29, it’s not entirely clear whether state law actually prohibits it. Thirty-five states allow students to finish high school based on mastering proficiency standards in state tests rather than satisfying course credit ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 26, 2010
Commentary
Milwaukee School Choice Program Sets Example for California, Nation
Low-income Milwaukee students using vouchers to attend independent schools have a graduation rate 18 percent higher than students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), according to Graduation Rates for Choice and Public School Students in Milwaukee, 2003-2008, a new report by John Robert Warren of the University of Minnesota. California would ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 24, 2010
Education
Garden State Ripe for Tax-Credit Scholarships
So what changed? The study doesn’t say, but the Wall Street Journal notes that taxes on incomes starting at $500,000 increased 40 percent, from 6.37 percent to 8.97 percent beginning in 2004. Today, New Jersey faces a $2.2 billion budget deficit. Governor Chris Christie proposed freezing some spending and coming ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 16, 2010
Commentary
Tax-credit scholarships could ease school funding burden
Gov. Chris Christie has proposed freezing $475 million in education spending to help shrink New Jersey’s $2.2 billion budget deficit, focusing on school districts with budget surpluses. (“Deep budget cuts carry economic risk for N.J.,” Feb. 14.) This plan raises concerns about punishing fiscally responsible school districts. It also raises ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 16, 2010
Education
Taking the “Public Option” in Schooling to Task
For anyone still unconvinced that a single-payer (i.e. government-run) healthcare system is a good idea, try looking at the government-run schooling sector. The average per-pupil expenditure in government-run schools nationwide is nearly $11,000 compared to average private school tuition that’s less than $8,600. In spite of a 20 percent funding ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 16, 2010
Education
“Scholar Ladies” Sing Praises of Their Milwaukee Private School
As the Chicago Tribune reported, “The middle school students at HOPE Christian Schools may be single, but more important, they are scholars. The Milwaukee campus has become an online sensation by posting a video called Scholar Ladies,’ mimicking Beyonce’s hit Single Ladies’.” In the video the scholar ladies have gloss ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 11, 2010
Education
Will the Senate Save the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program?
Sens. Lieberman and Collins will hold a press conference this morning on the importance of saving the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) and their plans to offer a bipartisan reauthorization proposal as an amendment to legislation that is moving in the Senate. Last summer, Sens. Lieberman and Collins, along with ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 4, 2010
Education
The President’s Budget: “No Justifiable Reason” for Killing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
Still, buried within the appendix of president’s budget (p. 1244) is a $3.8 million cut to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP), which reduces funding for this much-needed program from $13.2 million to $9.4 million. To put this into better perspective, consider that eliminating about $4 million from a ...
Vicki E. Murray
February 3, 2010
Education
Rethinking Big ED
Federal education spending per student has nearly tripled in real, inflation-adjusted dollars since 1970, but student achievement has, at best, flatlined. Last week President Obama admitted “On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many ...
Vicki E. Murray
January 11, 2010
Education
The Obama Administration and the DC Student Voucher Program
Independent Women’s Forum, January 5, 2010 In his September 8 back-to-school speech, President Obama urged students to take responsibility for their actions. That is also good advice for the president himself and for his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, considering that their recent actions are hurting the prospects of low-income ...
Vicki E. Murray
January 5, 2010
Early Graduation is a Student-Centered Option
Already, 21 states allow early graduation, according to the Education Commission of the States. And among the other 29, it’s not entirely clear whether state law actually prohibits it. Thirty-five states allow students to finish high school based on mastering proficiency standards in state tests rather than satisfying course credit ...
Milwaukee School Choice Program Sets Example for California, Nation
Low-income Milwaukee students using vouchers to attend independent schools have a graduation rate 18 percent higher than students in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), according to Graduation Rates for Choice and Public School Students in Milwaukee, 2003-2008, a new report by John Robert Warren of the University of Minnesota. California would ...
Garden State Ripe for Tax-Credit Scholarships
So what changed? The study doesn’t say, but the Wall Street Journal notes that taxes on incomes starting at $500,000 increased 40 percent, from 6.37 percent to 8.97 percent beginning in 2004. Today, New Jersey faces a $2.2 billion budget deficit. Governor Chris Christie proposed freezing some spending and coming ...
Tax-credit scholarships could ease school funding burden
Gov. Chris Christie has proposed freezing $475 million in education spending to help shrink New Jersey’s $2.2 billion budget deficit, focusing on school districts with budget surpluses. (“Deep budget cuts carry economic risk for N.J.,” Feb. 14.) This plan raises concerns about punishing fiscally responsible school districts. It also raises ...
Taking the “Public Option” in Schooling to Task
For anyone still unconvinced that a single-payer (i.e. government-run) healthcare system is a good idea, try looking at the government-run schooling sector. The average per-pupil expenditure in government-run schools nationwide is nearly $11,000 compared to average private school tuition that’s less than $8,600. In spite of a 20 percent funding ...
“Scholar Ladies” Sing Praises of Their Milwaukee Private School
As the Chicago Tribune reported, “The middle school students at HOPE Christian Schools may be single, but more important, they are scholars. The Milwaukee campus has become an online sensation by posting a video called Scholar Ladies,’ mimicking Beyonce’s hit Single Ladies’.” In the video the scholar ladies have gloss ...
Will the Senate Save the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program?
Sens. Lieberman and Collins will hold a press conference this morning on the importance of saving the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) and their plans to offer a bipartisan reauthorization proposal as an amendment to legislation that is moving in the Senate. Last summer, Sens. Lieberman and Collins, along with ...
The President’s Budget: “No Justifiable Reason” for Killing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
Still, buried within the appendix of president’s budget (p. 1244) is a $3.8 million cut to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP), which reduces funding for this much-needed program from $13.2 million to $9.4 million. To put this into better perspective, consider that eliminating about $4 million from a ...
Rethinking Big ED
Federal education spending per student has nearly tripled in real, inflation-adjusted dollars since 1970, but student achievement has, at best, flatlined. Last week President Obama admitted “On the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math tests, 4th graders showed no signs of progress for the first time in many ...
The Obama Administration and the DC Student Voucher Program
Independent Women’s Forum, January 5, 2010 In his September 8 back-to-school speech, President Obama urged students to take responsibility for their actions. That is also good advice for the president himself and for his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, considering that their recent actions are hurting the prospects of low-income ...