School Choice
Commentary
California Dropout Study Sparks Controversy
A study of California’s high school dropout rate has sparked a debate about the merits of nontraditional schools. According to the study, 41 percent of California’s dropouts come from nontraditional schools such as charter and alternative schools, which educate 12 percent of the state’s children. Critics of the study, released ...
Commentary
Beware ‘less-than-best’ schools
FORBES magazine recently released another popular “best” list, this one rating the top suburbs in America. The selections derive from several factors, including school quality. The indicators, however, do not necessarily guarantee a top-quality school. Forbes’ analysis looked at graduation rates, per-pupil spending, and student-to-teacher ratios. However, none of this ...
Commentary
Home-school ruling gets failing grade
KKLA Radio (Los Angeles), April 3, 2008 Orange County Register, April 1, 2008 CA Capital News.com, April 2, 2008 The Flash Report, April 1, 2008* The Eureka Reporter (CA), March 24, 2008 The March arrest of a Los Angeles public-school assistant principal on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student ...
Commentary
California Likely to Reject Federal Options to Reform Failing Schools
With California facing a cash-strapped state budget, some choice advocates are calling for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to follow his tough reform talk by expanding parental options in education. In his January 2008 State of the State speech, Schwarzenegger touted his intention to be the first governor to use “powers ...
Education
Court Out of Touch with Reality in Homeschool Decision
SACRAMENTO – The March arrest of a Los Angeles public-school assistant principal on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student is the most recent in a burgeoning line of sexual and criminal misconduct cases involving public-school teachers and administrators. Yet, a recent California court decision would force parents who homeschool ...
Commentary
No more Homeschooling in CA?
Boy am I lucky I got orders to Okinawa instead of California. It was really a choice between the two. If you haven’t read by now, “The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have ...
Commentary
Monopoly players shouldn’t pass ‘Go’
ABC’s John Stossel in a “20/20” report examined America’s education system in a segment called “Stupid in America.” It wasn’t pretty. Teacher unions and bought-and-sold politicians don’t look so good when a reporter of Stossel’s ilk tells the unvarnished truth about public schools. The unions moaned, and one in New ...
Commentary
Commentary: Vicki Murray
Forbes.com, February 15, 2008 That steep mortgage may not buy your kids a decent education. A growing number of middle-income families are in homes they can barely afford to keep and cannot afford to sell at a loss–all so that their children can go to “good” suburban public schools. But ...
Classroom Ideology
Pell Grants for Kids a Good Idea
As someone who strongly believes that *ALL* parents (not just wealthy ones) should have true school choice in this country, I’m glad to see President Bush call for the creation of a “Pell Grants for Kids” program in his final State of the Union address. While the details of the ...
Commentary
School choice can halt high tide of mediocrity
“The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.” Sound like the education section of a current presidential candidate’s stump speech? It’s actually from the landmark 1983 Department of Education study, “A ...
California Dropout Study Sparks Controversy
A study of California’s high school dropout rate has sparked a debate about the merits of nontraditional schools. According to the study, 41 percent of California’s dropouts come from nontraditional schools such as charter and alternative schools, which educate 12 percent of the state’s children. Critics of the study, released ...
Beware ‘less-than-best’ schools
FORBES magazine recently released another popular “best” list, this one rating the top suburbs in America. The selections derive from several factors, including school quality. The indicators, however, do not necessarily guarantee a top-quality school. Forbes’ analysis looked at graduation rates, per-pupil spending, and student-to-teacher ratios. However, none of this ...
Home-school ruling gets failing grade
KKLA Radio (Los Angeles), April 3, 2008 Orange County Register, April 1, 2008 CA Capital News.com, April 2, 2008 The Flash Report, April 1, 2008* The Eureka Reporter (CA), March 24, 2008 The March arrest of a Los Angeles public-school assistant principal on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student ...
California Likely to Reject Federal Options to Reform Failing Schools
With California facing a cash-strapped state budget, some choice advocates are calling for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to follow his tough reform talk by expanding parental options in education. In his January 2008 State of the State speech, Schwarzenegger touted his intention to be the first governor to use “powers ...
Court Out of Touch with Reality in Homeschool Decision
SACRAMENTO – The March arrest of a Los Angeles public-school assistant principal on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student is the most recent in a burgeoning line of sexual and criminal misconduct cases involving public-school teachers and administrators. Yet, a recent California court decision would force parents who homeschool ...
No more Homeschooling in CA?
Boy am I lucky I got orders to Okinawa instead of California. It was really a choice between the two. If you haven’t read by now, “The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have ...
Monopoly players shouldn’t pass ‘Go’
ABC’s John Stossel in a “20/20” report examined America’s education system in a segment called “Stupid in America.” It wasn’t pretty. Teacher unions and bought-and-sold politicians don’t look so good when a reporter of Stossel’s ilk tells the unvarnished truth about public schools. The unions moaned, and one in New ...
Commentary: Vicki Murray
Forbes.com, February 15, 2008 That steep mortgage may not buy your kids a decent education. A growing number of middle-income families are in homes they can barely afford to keep and cannot afford to sell at a loss–all so that their children can go to “good” suburban public schools. But ...
Pell Grants for Kids a Good Idea
As someone who strongly believes that *ALL* parents (not just wealthy ones) should have true school choice in this country, I’m glad to see President Bush call for the creation of a “Pell Grants for Kids” program in his final State of the Union address. While the details of the ...
School choice can halt high tide of mediocrity
“The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.” Sound like the education section of a current presidential candidate’s stump speech? It’s actually from the landmark 1983 Department of Education study, “A ...
