Public Schools
Charter Schools
Read about PRI's new national education survey
New Poll Shows Voters See Room for Improvement in School Boards
The just-released national survey, conducted for the Pacific Research Institute by Echelon Insights, found that 49% of respondents said that their local public school boards were fair/poor/very poor. Just 36% thought their boards were excellent or good. Those who rated their school board’s performance as poor or very poor were ...
Lance Izumi
September 11, 2023
Crime
Wayne Winegarden – Free Cities Index
Our guest this week is PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden who discusses his new study “The Free Cities Index.” Many of America’s cities have been on the decline for years, while other cities have thrived and attracted more and more Americans. Wayne examined a multitude of variables – taxes, crime, ...
Pacific Research Institute
September 5, 2023
Education
Read new survey on public education
New PRI Poll: As New School Year Begins, Voters See Room for Improvement with Local Schools
SACRAMENTO – As students head back to school, a new national survey commissioned by the California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute finds that voters are more dissatisfied with their local school boards than their neighborhood schools, and see room for improvement in public education. When asked how ...
Lance Izumi
August 28, 2023
Blog
Read about latest attacks on charter schools
Los Angeles and Oakland Get “F” Grades for Charter Funding Gaps
The University of Arkansas study compared funding for regular public schools and charter schools in 18 cities across the country using 2019-2020 budget data. Historically, regular public schools have been funded more generously than charter schools, which are autonomous publicly funded schools independent of school districts, but that gap is ...
Lance Izumi
August 21, 2023
Classroom Ideology
Harvard-UNC SCOTUS ruling puts pressure on K-12 to do better
With the U.S. Supreme Court striking down race preferences in university admissions in the much-anticipated Harvard-University of North Carolina case, the pressure is now on K-12 schools to produce college-ready students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups. In the Harvard-UNC case, the court said that both institutions discriminated against Asian American applicants, who had the highest objective academic ratings, by using subjective ...
Lance Izumi
July 10, 2023
Classroom Ideology
66% of US 4th graders are below proficient in reading
Why Can’t Children Read? Blame the Failed Way We Teach Reading
As the reading abilities of America’s children plummet, the question arises: why? Contrary to popular belief, the COVID pandemic is not the main cause. The real answer lies in the failure of most teacher training programs to instruct aspiring teachers in the most efficient and scientifically proven methods of teaching ...
Lance Izumi
June 29, 2023
Blog
Charters Shortchanged Despite State Funding Increases
L.A. Charter Schools Receive Less Funding Than Regular Public Schools
While Governor Gavin Newsom has touted how he has increased state education funding during his tenure, charter schools have seen less funding compared to regular public schools, with the gap widening in places like Los Angeles. A new study by the University of Arkansas analyzes the funding disparity between charter ...
Lance Izumi
May 2, 2023
Blog
ATTN Governor Newsom: New York Governor Hochul’s charter school proposal is what’s best for students
Ironically, parents and supporters of the group Alliance for Quality Education showed up to New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office last Tuesday to protest her recent “pro-charter school” proposal. The New York Governor’s recent budget proposal would allow more than 275 more charter schools in New York City by removing ...
Emily Humpal
March 9, 2023
California
Watch: Videos from 2023 PRI California Ideas in Action Conference
Keynote Speaker: Keith Knopf of Challenges and Opportunities of Doing Business in California Keith Knopf, the president and CEO of The Raley’s Companies, shares how state policies like Prop. 47 and green mandates affect the challenges and opportunities of doing business in California. Success Stories Turning Around Urban Communities Watch ...
Pacific Research Institute
February 20, 2023
Blog
Ultimate Solution to CRT: Parental Choice
ULTIMATE SOLUTION TO CRT: PARENTAL CHOICE By Lance Izumi January 25, 2023 In the new Pacific Research Institute book The Great Parent Revolt: How Parents and Grassroots Leaders are Fighting Critical Race Theory in America’s Schools, which I co-authored with Wenyuan Wu and McKenzie Richards, we tell the stories of ...
Lance Izumi
January 25, 2023
Read about PRI's new national education survey
New Poll Shows Voters See Room for Improvement in School Boards
The just-released national survey, conducted for the Pacific Research Institute by Echelon Insights, found that 49% of respondents said that their local public school boards were fair/poor/very poor. Just 36% thought their boards were excellent or good. Those who rated their school board’s performance as poor or very poor were ...
Wayne Winegarden – Free Cities Index
Our guest this week is PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden who discusses his new study “The Free Cities Index.” Many of America’s cities have been on the decline for years, while other cities have thrived and attracted more and more Americans. Wayne examined a multitude of variables – taxes, crime, ...
Read new survey on public education
New PRI Poll: As New School Year Begins, Voters See Room for Improvement with Local Schools
SACRAMENTO – As students head back to school, a new national survey commissioned by the California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute finds that voters are more dissatisfied with their local school boards than their neighborhood schools, and see room for improvement in public education. When asked how ...
Read about latest attacks on charter schools
Los Angeles and Oakland Get “F” Grades for Charter Funding Gaps
The University of Arkansas study compared funding for regular public schools and charter schools in 18 cities across the country using 2019-2020 budget data. Historically, regular public schools have been funded more generously than charter schools, which are autonomous publicly funded schools independent of school districts, but that gap is ...
Harvard-UNC SCOTUS ruling puts pressure on K-12 to do better
With the U.S. Supreme Court striking down race preferences in university admissions in the much-anticipated Harvard-University of North Carolina case, the pressure is now on K-12 schools to produce college-ready students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups. In the Harvard-UNC case, the court said that both institutions discriminated against Asian American applicants, who had the highest objective academic ratings, by using subjective ...
66% of US 4th graders are below proficient in reading
Why Can’t Children Read? Blame the Failed Way We Teach Reading
As the reading abilities of America’s children plummet, the question arises: why? Contrary to popular belief, the COVID pandemic is not the main cause. The real answer lies in the failure of most teacher training programs to instruct aspiring teachers in the most efficient and scientifically proven methods of teaching ...
Charters Shortchanged Despite State Funding Increases
L.A. Charter Schools Receive Less Funding Than Regular Public Schools
While Governor Gavin Newsom has touted how he has increased state education funding during his tenure, charter schools have seen less funding compared to regular public schools, with the gap widening in places like Los Angeles. A new study by the University of Arkansas analyzes the funding disparity between charter ...
ATTN Governor Newsom: New York Governor Hochul’s charter school proposal is what’s best for students
Ironically, parents and supporters of the group Alliance for Quality Education showed up to New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office last Tuesday to protest her recent “pro-charter school” proposal. The New York Governor’s recent budget proposal would allow more than 275 more charter schools in New York City by removing ...
Watch: Videos from 2023 PRI California Ideas in Action Conference
Keynote Speaker: Keith Knopf of Challenges and Opportunities of Doing Business in California Keith Knopf, the president and CEO of The Raley’s Companies, shares how state policies like Prop. 47 and green mandates affect the challenges and opportunities of doing business in California. Success Stories Turning Around Urban Communities Watch ...
Ultimate Solution to CRT: Parental Choice
ULTIMATE SOLUTION TO CRT: PARENTAL CHOICE By Lance Izumi January 25, 2023 In the new Pacific Research Institute book The Great Parent Revolt: How Parents and Grassroots Leaders are Fighting Critical Race Theory in America’s Schools, which I co-authored with Wenyuan Wu and McKenzie Richards, we tell the stories of ...