Education
California
Vergara Overturned, But Teacher Tenure Conversation Changed Forever
The same week a state appellate court overturned a lower court’s ruling that barred teacher tenure, four families in Minnesota filed a similar lawsuit questioning the fairness of tenure laws and last in-first out policies. “There’s no doubt though that [Vergara v. California] has already changed the conversation,” Andy Smarick, ...
California
Friedrichs decision isn’t end in fight against public-sector unions
As expected, in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 4-4 tie vote in the critical Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case, which sought to determine whether non-union public employees could be forced to subsidize union collective bargaining. While the tie vote means that ...
Charter Schools
#ChartersWork School Profile: Pro-Vision Charter School
Pro-Vision Charter is an all-male charter school in Houston, Texas that addresses the needs of young men in underserved areas who are at risk of dropping out of school. Pro-Vision’s mission is to inspire hope and purpose in young people through access to academic, economic and social enrichment opportunities. Typically, ...
Commentary
New Study Gives NJ Public Schools Failing Grade
Many Garden State residents think that poor-performing schools are confined to low-income neighborhoods in the inner city. Yet according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute, the data show that public schools in New Jersey’s affluent suburbs are also failing. The study compiled SAT scores from predominantly middle-class ...
Commentary
Report: ‘Middle Class’ Schools In New Jersey Falling Short
More than one in four “middle class” public high schools in New Jersey had half or more of their students fail to reach the college readiness benchmark, according to a recent report from the Pacific Research Institute. Middle class schools were defined by the study as those who have one-third ...
California
Key Brown Education Legacy Program Comes up Short
In his 2016 State of the State address, Governor Jerry Brown touted the centerpiece of his education agenda, the Local Control Funding Formula, which simplifies the way in which local school districts are funded. Yet his key legacy program has experienced critical implementation problems and has exposed, once again, the ...
Education
Not As Good As You Think: New Jersey
Read the Study Read the Press Release Many middle-class New Jersey residents think that most low-performing schools are located in poor inner cities such as Newark, not in their nice neighborhoods or in their smaller towns. They need to think again. Based on a variety of indicators, many New Jersey ...
California
Admission By California’s State Attorney May Blow Union’s Case
During this week’s much-anticipated oral arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association U.S. Supreme Court case, which challenges mandatory teacher-union fees, a critical exchange took place between Justice Antonin Scalia, who is viewed as the swing vote in the case, and the attorney representing the State of California. The ...
Commentary
Statement from PRI Senior Director of Education Studies Lance Izumi on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
January 11, 2015 – The Pacific Research Institute issued the following statement by Senior Education Studies Director Lance Izumi on today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument on Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association: “The admission by the attorney for the State of California that the collective bargaining contract negotiated by ...
Commentary
Freedom, not union, key to teachers’ case
Almost everybody agrees that an employee – public or private – should be judged on his or her individual qualifications and performance. Yet, for many of the nation’s teachers, their freedom to be treated as individuals is barred by a collective bargaining process that treats them as a group. This ...
Vergara Overturned, But Teacher Tenure Conversation Changed Forever
The same week a state appellate court overturned a lower court’s ruling that barred teacher tenure, four families in Minnesota filed a similar lawsuit questioning the fairness of tenure laws and last in-first out policies. “There’s no doubt though that [Vergara v. California] has already changed the conversation,” Andy Smarick, ...
Friedrichs decision isn’t end in fight against public-sector unions
As expected, in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 4-4 tie vote in the critical Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case, which sought to determine whether non-union public employees could be forced to subsidize union collective bargaining. While the tie vote means that ...
#ChartersWork School Profile: Pro-Vision Charter School
Pro-Vision Charter is an all-male charter school in Houston, Texas that addresses the needs of young men in underserved areas who are at risk of dropping out of school. Pro-Vision’s mission is to inspire hope and purpose in young people through access to academic, economic and social enrichment opportunities. Typically, ...
New Study Gives NJ Public Schools Failing Grade
Many Garden State residents think that poor-performing schools are confined to low-income neighborhoods in the inner city. Yet according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute, the data show that public schools in New Jersey’s affluent suburbs are also failing. The study compiled SAT scores from predominantly middle-class ...
Report: ‘Middle Class’ Schools In New Jersey Falling Short
More than one in four “middle class” public high schools in New Jersey had half or more of their students fail to reach the college readiness benchmark, according to a recent report from the Pacific Research Institute. Middle class schools were defined by the study as those who have one-third ...
Key Brown Education Legacy Program Comes up Short
In his 2016 State of the State address, Governor Jerry Brown touted the centerpiece of his education agenda, the Local Control Funding Formula, which simplifies the way in which local school districts are funded. Yet his key legacy program has experienced critical implementation problems and has exposed, once again, the ...
Not As Good As You Think: New Jersey
Read the Study Read the Press Release Many middle-class New Jersey residents think that most low-performing schools are located in poor inner cities such as Newark, not in their nice neighborhoods or in their smaller towns. They need to think again. Based on a variety of indicators, many New Jersey ...
Admission By California’s State Attorney May Blow Union’s Case
During this week’s much-anticipated oral arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association U.S. Supreme Court case, which challenges mandatory teacher-union fees, a critical exchange took place between Justice Antonin Scalia, who is viewed as the swing vote in the case, and the attorney representing the State of California. The ...
Statement from PRI Senior Director of Education Studies Lance Izumi on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association
January 11, 2015 – The Pacific Research Institute issued the following statement by Senior Education Studies Director Lance Izumi on today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument on Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association: “The admission by the attorney for the State of California that the collective bargaining contract negotiated by ...
Freedom, not union, key to teachers’ case
Almost everybody agrees that an employee – public or private – should be judged on his or her individual qualifications and performance. Yet, for many of the nation’s teachers, their freedom to be treated as individuals is barred by a collective bargaining process that treats them as a group. This ...
