Public Schools
Commentary
The Reality of Common Core in the Classroom
If one asked most people a couple years ago about the Common Core national education standards, the response would have been a blank stare. Now, Common Core is a front-burner political issue because parents are discovering that their children are struggling under the new standards. Common Core is a set ...
Commentary
Suburban Chicago’s schools: Not as good as parents think
Are Illinois’ public schools that serve many middle-class children performing well? Their parents think so. But many of these schools are not as good as they think. That’s according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute, which analyzed school performance in Illinois using several different methodologies and found ...
Commentary
Where’s Weyermuller: Is School Choice the Answer?
“Not as good as you think” is the title of an extensive Illinois education study released this week in Chicago. The subtitle is: “Why Middle Class Parents In Illinois should be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools.” The author Lance Izumi introduced the 152 page study at a breakfast sponsored ...
California
Killing fair play for charter schools
Recently, the enemies of school choice won a significant victory. A small, but very important, amendment to the California Education Code, Assembly Bill 2225 by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, died in the Assembly education committee voted down by Democrats in a party-line vote. This bill merely said that ...
Commentary
Suburban Schools Not Actually That Good, Studies Find
The schools middle-class families send their kids to arent as good as parents think, say two recently released studies from different sources. A national study released in May found that U.S. students whose parents have college degrees perform worse than peers from comparable families in other countries. In the United ...
Education
Not as Good as You Think
Why Middle-Class Parents in Illinois Should Be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools Parents know how important good schools are when deciding where to live. Thats why many are willing to stretch their budgets for a home near a good school. But parents should not be convinced by tree-line ...
Charter Schools
CTA Attacking Charter Schools Again
If its spring then it must be time for the California Teachers Association (CTA) to make another one of its frontal assaults on charter schools, the independent public schools that promise better results in exchange for greater freedom to operate. The CTAs chosen vehicle this time around is Democratic Assembly ...
Charter Schools
The War on Charter Schools
Newly installed New York mayor Bill de Blasio ignited a nationwide firestorm of protest by his decision to close down three charter schools, which are independent, mostly nonunionized, deregulated public schools run by parents, nonprofits, and others. Yet there has been very little national notice of a similar recent action ...
California
Teachers Union Cheers Victory Over Poor Latino Childern
During a 1954 congressional hearing, U.S. Army counsel Joseph Welch famously asked Senator Joseph McCarthy, Have you no sense of decency? The same question may be asked of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), which featured a splashy cover photo and story on its February/March magazine that celebrated the defeat ...
Commentary
Obama the populist?
From his State of the Union to follow-up speeches in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, Barack Obama is playing the populist on issues ranging from the minimum wage to unemployment benefits to retirement savings. He sides rhetorically with the little guy, victimized by big forces and big institutions. Yet, when ...
The Reality of Common Core in the Classroom
If one asked most people a couple years ago about the Common Core national education standards, the response would have been a blank stare. Now, Common Core is a front-burner political issue because parents are discovering that their children are struggling under the new standards. Common Core is a set ...
Suburban Chicago’s schools: Not as good as parents think
Are Illinois’ public schools that serve many middle-class children performing well? Their parents think so. But many of these schools are not as good as they think. That’s according to a new study from the Pacific Research Institute, which analyzed school performance in Illinois using several different methodologies and found ...
Where’s Weyermuller: Is School Choice the Answer?
“Not as good as you think” is the title of an extensive Illinois education study released this week in Chicago. The subtitle is: “Why Middle Class Parents In Illinois should be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools.” The author Lance Izumi introduced the 152 page study at a breakfast sponsored ...
Killing fair play for charter schools
Recently, the enemies of school choice won a significant victory. A small, but very important, amendment to the California Education Code, Assembly Bill 2225 by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, died in the Assembly education committee voted down by Democrats in a party-line vote. This bill merely said that ...
Suburban Schools Not Actually That Good, Studies Find
The schools middle-class families send their kids to arent as good as parents think, say two recently released studies from different sources. A national study released in May found that U.S. students whose parents have college degrees perform worse than peers from comparable families in other countries. In the United ...
Not as Good as You Think
Why Middle-Class Parents in Illinois Should Be Concerned about Their Local Public Schools Parents know how important good schools are when deciding where to live. Thats why many are willing to stretch their budgets for a home near a good school. But parents should not be convinced by tree-line ...
CTA Attacking Charter Schools Again
If its spring then it must be time for the California Teachers Association (CTA) to make another one of its frontal assaults on charter schools, the independent public schools that promise better results in exchange for greater freedom to operate. The CTAs chosen vehicle this time around is Democratic Assembly ...
The War on Charter Schools
Newly installed New York mayor Bill de Blasio ignited a nationwide firestorm of protest by his decision to close down three charter schools, which are independent, mostly nonunionized, deregulated public schools run by parents, nonprofits, and others. Yet there has been very little national notice of a similar recent action ...
Teachers Union Cheers Victory Over Poor Latino Childern
During a 1954 congressional hearing, U.S. Army counsel Joseph Welch famously asked Senator Joseph McCarthy, Have you no sense of decency? The same question may be asked of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), which featured a splashy cover photo and story on its February/March magazine that celebrated the defeat ...
Obama the populist?
From his State of the Union to follow-up speeches in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, Barack Obama is playing the populist on issues ranging from the minimum wage to unemployment benefits to retirement savings. He sides rhetorically with the little guy, victimized by big forces and big institutions. Yet, when ...
