Education

Commentary

Obama’s Voucher Plan Isn’t Enough

In order to head off a public-relations catastrophe, Barack Obama has spun a partial about-face in his opposition to the school-choice voucher program for low-income students in Washington, DC. The president’s move, however, falls far short of truly saving the program and helping the legions of disadvantaged children in the ...
Commentary

Giving Failure a Pass

SACRAMENTO – The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California, spends $10 million a year to “house,” with full pay and benefits, about 160 teachers deemed unsuitable for the classroom, according to “Failure Gets a Pass,” a recent series in the Los Angeles Times. “If I had my ...
Commentary

Options are the Best “Alternative” Education Policy for Parents

(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Located about an hour north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a gateway city to California’s renowned Wine Country in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This “jewel of Northern California” ...
Commentary

Capistrano Unified Recall Leader Weighs In On Film, Is Mum About Excluded Journalist

As if to demonstrate why anyone would be interested in a movie about school districts, Capistrano Unified delivered some of its trademark drama at last night’s premier of Not As Good As You Think (which we previewed here). Capistrano Dispatch editor Jonathan Volzke apparently wasn’t invited to the event — ...
Commentary

One Last Hope for DC Voucher Program

In early May, President Obama presented a revised 2010 budget that included $12.2 million for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. The proposal represented a “compromise” solution to DC’s embattled voucher program, but is hardly a gain for low-income students and their parents. The DC voucher plan currently awards up to ...
Commentary

Film: Capistrano district poster child for ‘broken’ school system

New documentary showcases the problems of one O.C. school district. The Capistrano Unified School District is portrayed in a new, 49-minute documentary film as a case study in what is wrong with the American public school system and how politics, misplaced priorities and lack of oversight can derail what should ...
Commentary

Washington D.C. Premiere of “Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School”

The Washington DC Premiere of “Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School” at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium. PRI’s Lance T. Izumi, Executive Producer and Author, and Director Nick Tucker answer questions in a panel discussion. Our national conversation about education reform often focuses ...
Education

CA School Finance Center mentioned on CA State Senator Huff Capital Weekly Report

California State Senator Bob Huff mentioned the California School Finance Center database developed by PRI and Just for the Kids in his weekly message to constituents. Senator Huff comments on legislative activities for the Week of May 11th. The California School Finance Center database developed by PRI and Just for ...
Commentary

Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning? Lessons from Georgia and Oklahoma

Campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama pledged to help states implement taxpayer-funded universal preschool–preschool for all.[1] The President’s early education plan, for which he has advocated spending up to $10 billion annually in fed­eral expenditures, encourages states to provide pre­school for every child.[2] As President, Obama reinforced his ...
Commentary

Changing the way our schools are financed

San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 2009 California’s fiscal outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association, along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, claims California’s per-pupil funding now ranks 47th nationally. In ...
Commentary

Obama’s Voucher Plan Isn’t Enough

In order to head off a public-relations catastrophe, Barack Obama has spun a partial about-face in his opposition to the school-choice voucher program for low-income students in Washington, DC. The president’s move, however, falls far short of truly saving the program and helping the legions of disadvantaged children in the ...
Commentary

Giving Failure a Pass

SACRAMENTO – The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest in California, spends $10 million a year to “house,” with full pay and benefits, about 160 teachers deemed unsuitable for the classroom, according to “Failure Gets a Pass,” a recent series in the Los Angeles Times. “If I had my ...
Commentary

Options are the Best “Alternative” Education Policy for Parents

(This post was co-authored by Evelyn B. Stacey, Education Studies Policy Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute in Sacramento, California. Located about an hour north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a gateway city to California’s renowned Wine Country in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys. This “jewel of Northern California” ...
Commentary

Capistrano Unified Recall Leader Weighs In On Film, Is Mum About Excluded Journalist

As if to demonstrate why anyone would be interested in a movie about school districts, Capistrano Unified delivered some of its trademark drama at last night’s premier of Not As Good As You Think (which we previewed here). Capistrano Dispatch editor Jonathan Volzke apparently wasn’t invited to the event — ...
Commentary

One Last Hope for DC Voucher Program

In early May, President Obama presented a revised 2010 budget that included $12.2 million for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. The proposal represented a “compromise” solution to DC’s embattled voucher program, but is hardly a gain for low-income students and their parents. The DC voucher plan currently awards up to ...
Commentary

Film: Capistrano district poster child for ‘broken’ school system

New documentary showcases the problems of one O.C. school district. The Capistrano Unified School District is portrayed in a new, 49-minute documentary film as a case study in what is wrong with the American public school system and how politics, misplaced priorities and lack of oversight can derail what should ...
Commentary

Washington D.C. Premiere of “Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School”

The Washington DC Premiere of “Not as Good as You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School” at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium. PRI’s Lance T. Izumi, Executive Producer and Author, and Director Nick Tucker answer questions in a panel discussion. Our national conversation about education reform often focuses ...
Education

CA School Finance Center mentioned on CA State Senator Huff Capital Weekly Report

California State Senator Bob Huff mentioned the California School Finance Center database developed by PRI and Just for the Kids in his weekly message to constituents. Senator Huff comments on legislative activities for the Week of May 11th. The California School Finance Center database developed by PRI and Just for ...
Commentary

Does Universal Preschool Improve Learning? Lessons from Georgia and Oklahoma

Campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama pledged to help states implement taxpayer-funded universal preschool–preschool for all.[1] The President’s early education plan, for which he has advocated spending up to $10 billion annually in fed­eral expenditures, encourages states to provide pre­school for every child.[2] As President, Obama reinforced his ...
Commentary

Changing the way our schools are financed

San Diego Union-Tribune, May 10, 2009 California’s fiscal outlook continues to worsen. Concern is now mounting over the impact the state’s budget deficit will have on education funding. The California Teachers Association, along with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, claims California’s per-pupil funding now ranks 47th nationally. In ...
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