Lance T. izumi

California

California impedes digital learning

If there’s one area where California, the home of Silicon Valley, should be an education leader, it’s digital learning. However, a new national report card finds California lagging in expanding the use of digital technology, such as interactive software programs and online resources, to improve student learning. In October, the ...
California

For Parents, School Choice Is Easier Than Ballot Initiatives

There’s a grassroots parent revolt surging in California. Parents statewide and at the local level are pushing ballot measures to overturn unpopular government education policies. While the initiative process may be Democracy 101 in action, it would be easier for parents if they were simply given vouchers to choose the ...
California

California: The anti-education-reform state

Across America, state after state has enacted bold, far-reaching systemic education reforms. In contrast, California has not only failed to enact such fundamental reforms, but has actually gone backwards and passed laws that reduce accountability, protect special interests and preserve the status quo. In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation ...
California

Grading Jerry Brown’s charter school

In the State Capitol, bills hostile to charter schools, which are deregulated public schools independent of school districts, have snaked their way through the Legislature. If they reach Jerry Brown’s desk, it will be interesting to see what the governor decides to do, since he founded a successful charter school, ...
Commentary

Give Parents a Choice

President Obama’s new push for universal government-run preschool may not be what parents and children want or need. A major 2005 study by Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley gathered data from more than 14,000 kindergarteners, their parents and teachers, and measured social behavior and skills, like aggression and ...
Commentary

We Can Be Leaders in E-Learning

Expanding virtual learning opportunities is a critically important step for New Mexico. Virtual schooling was a critical component of the “Florida Model” for education reform, which helped transform achievement across student subgroups there from nearly worst to first within a decade. The Florida reform model has since been adopted by ...
California

How’s ‘Jerry Brown’s charter school’ doing?

In the state Capitol, bills hostile to charter schools, which are deregulated public schools independent of school districts, have snaked their way through the Legislature. If they reach Jerry Brown’s desk, it will be interesting to see what the governor decides to do, since he founded a successful charter school, ...
Commentary

Virtual School Plan Praised

A virtual school would give students in rural and low-performing schools access to honors, enrichment and remediation courses, improving achievement and graduation rates at a lower cost than traditional classroom instruction, according to a report by the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. Virtual schools offer other advantages over bricks-and-mortar ...
Commentary

The education victimizers in chief

When masses of unionized school teachers recently stormed into the state Capitol to protest in favor of higher taxes, they painted themselves as victims of Sacramento politics. Behind this scripted and bombastic street theater, the reality is that powerful and wealthy teachers unions are the victimizers in chief in the ...
Commentary

Lesson from Wisconsin

As Wisconsin government-employee unions protested against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-balancing proposals, teachers union members walked out of class, depriving thousands of children of their right to an education.The teachers’ callous, selfish actions demonstrate the need to give parents the ability to bypass the unionized government-monopoly school system. Mr. Walker wants ...
California

California impedes digital learning

If there’s one area where California, the home of Silicon Valley, should be an education leader, it’s digital learning. However, a new national report card finds California lagging in expanding the use of digital technology, such as interactive software programs and online resources, to improve student learning. In October, the ...
California

For Parents, School Choice Is Easier Than Ballot Initiatives

There’s a grassroots parent revolt surging in California. Parents statewide and at the local level are pushing ballot measures to overturn unpopular government education policies. While the initiative process may be Democracy 101 in action, it would be easier for parents if they were simply given vouchers to choose the ...
California

California: The anti-education-reform state

Across America, state after state has enacted bold, far-reaching systemic education reforms. In contrast, California has not only failed to enact such fundamental reforms, but has actually gone backwards and passed laws that reduce accountability, protect special interests and preserve the status quo. In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation ...
California

Grading Jerry Brown’s charter school

In the State Capitol, bills hostile to charter schools, which are deregulated public schools independent of school districts, have snaked their way through the Legislature. If they reach Jerry Brown’s desk, it will be interesting to see what the governor decides to do, since he founded a successful charter school, ...
Commentary

Give Parents a Choice

President Obama’s new push for universal government-run preschool may not be what parents and children want or need. A major 2005 study by Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley gathered data from more than 14,000 kindergarteners, their parents and teachers, and measured social behavior and skills, like aggression and ...
Commentary

We Can Be Leaders in E-Learning

Expanding virtual learning opportunities is a critically important step for New Mexico. Virtual schooling was a critical component of the “Florida Model” for education reform, which helped transform achievement across student subgroups there from nearly worst to first within a decade. The Florida reform model has since been adopted by ...
California

How’s ‘Jerry Brown’s charter school’ doing?

In the state Capitol, bills hostile to charter schools, which are deregulated public schools independent of school districts, have snaked their way through the Legislature. If they reach Jerry Brown’s desk, it will be interesting to see what the governor decides to do, since he founded a successful charter school, ...
Commentary

Virtual School Plan Praised

A virtual school would give students in rural and low-performing schools access to honors, enrichment and remediation courses, improving achievement and graduation rates at a lower cost than traditional classroom instruction, according to a report by the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. Virtual schools offer other advantages over bricks-and-mortar ...
Commentary

The education victimizers in chief

When masses of unionized school teachers recently stormed into the state Capitol to protest in favor of higher taxes, they painted themselves as victims of Sacramento politics. Behind this scripted and bombastic street theater, the reality is that powerful and wealthy teachers unions are the victimizers in chief in the ...
Commentary

Lesson from Wisconsin

As Wisconsin government-employee unions protested against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-balancing proposals, teachers union members walked out of class, depriving thousands of children of their right to an education.The teachers’ callous, selfish actions demonstrate the need to give parents the ability to bypass the unionized government-monopoly school system. Mr. Walker wants ...
Scroll to Top