Public Schools
Commentary
Education Achievement Has Declined Radically Since World War II
Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2009 206 pages, hardcover, ISBN: 978-0-86571-631-5, $24.95 John Taylor Gatto’s Weapons of Mass Instruction is an articulate, compelling description of the state of U.S. education, in which the author details the unnecessary and in fact ...
Commentary
President Obama’s Education Vision Falls Short
In early March, President Obama addressed the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on his vision for public education. The president promised that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would move beyond party politics to use “only one test” when deciding how to use taxpayer money. That test would be “not whether an ...
Commentary
Montana Considers School Choice Bill
School Reform News (Heartland Institute – Chicago, IL), April 1, 2009 Montana families may soon have more than just government-mandated public schools to choose from. On February 5 the state Senate Tax Committee heard SB 342, sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Essman (R-Billings). At press time the bill was pending ...
Commentary
Indiana Legislators Consider Tax Credit Measure
The Indiana state legislature is considering a bill to establish a tax credit scholarship program for families to send their children to private K-12 schools. S.B. 528—introduced in January by state Sen. Carlin Yoder (R-Elkhart County)—is designed to benefit low- and middle-income families. Businesses and individuals who donate to scholarship-granting ...
Education
Citizen’s Guide to California Public School Finance
In any given state, legislatures spend more on elementary and secondary education than any other major program, including healthcare, higher education, social services, and the criminal justice system. California is no exception. At $40 billion, K–12 education represents the largest share of the state general-fund budget. Yet few people comprehend ...
Commentary
Pacific Research Institute and Just for the Kids—California Launches California School Finance Center Database
Sacramento, March 31, 2009 – The Pacific Research Institute and Just for the Kids – California announce the launch of the California School Finance Center database (https://schoolfinancecenter.org/). It compiles publicly-available information on public school revenue, achievement, and student demographic data from a dozen California Department of Education sources to present ...
Commentary
More educating with less money
Orange County Register, March 27, 2009 Flash Report, March 29, 2009 CA Forward, March 27, 2009 Award-winning charter schools show public schools how to succeed. The Oakland Charter Academy and the Our Community Charter School in the San Fernando Valley have won the Hart Vision “Charter School of the Year” ...
Commentary
School choice for more than just Obama, Gates
Bill Gates recently released his annual letter on the state of his foundation. It turns out that he, President Obama and Chicago school chief Arne Duncan, the president’s pick for education secretary, have something in common. All say that the key experience in their life was their attendance at their ...
Commentary
Obama Should Look to Sweden for Education, Not Banks
Heritage Foundation “Foundry” Blog, March 16, 2009 A month ago, Obama explored the notion of nationalizing the banks under the Swedish model. Instead of the Swedish banking model, Obama should look at the school voucher program in Sweden for inspiration. The Pacific Research Institute recently had a video Op-Ed on ...
Commentary
Math lesson
Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), March 15, 2009 Jack O’Connell, California’s superintendent of public instruction, recently claimed that Education Week’s latest Quality Counts report “ranks us a dismal 47th in the country” for school funding. That ranking needs some clarification, but the revenue that school districts actually receive would ...
Education Achievement Has Declined Radically Since World War II
Weapons of Mass Instruction by John Taylor Gatto Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2009 206 pages, hardcover, ISBN: 978-0-86571-631-5, $24.95 John Taylor Gatto’s Weapons of Mass Instruction is an articulate, compelling description of the state of U.S. education, in which the author details the unnecessary and in fact ...
President Obama’s Education Vision Falls Short
In early March, President Obama addressed the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on his vision for public education. The president promised that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan would move beyond party politics to use “only one test” when deciding how to use taxpayer money. That test would be “not whether an ...
Montana Considers School Choice Bill
School Reform News (Heartland Institute – Chicago, IL), April 1, 2009 Montana families may soon have more than just government-mandated public schools to choose from. On February 5 the state Senate Tax Committee heard SB 342, sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Essman (R-Billings). At press time the bill was pending ...
Indiana Legislators Consider Tax Credit Measure
The Indiana state legislature is considering a bill to establish a tax credit scholarship program for families to send their children to private K-12 schools. S.B. 528—introduced in January by state Sen. Carlin Yoder (R-Elkhart County)—is designed to benefit low- and middle-income families. Businesses and individuals who donate to scholarship-granting ...
Citizen’s Guide to California Public School Finance
In any given state, legislatures spend more on elementary and secondary education than any other major program, including healthcare, higher education, social services, and the criminal justice system. California is no exception. At $40 billion, K–12 education represents the largest share of the state general-fund budget. Yet few people comprehend ...
Pacific Research Institute and Just for the Kids—California Launches California School Finance Center Database
Sacramento, March 31, 2009 – The Pacific Research Institute and Just for the Kids – California announce the launch of the California School Finance Center database (https://schoolfinancecenter.org/). It compiles publicly-available information on public school revenue, achievement, and student demographic data from a dozen California Department of Education sources to present ...
More educating with less money
Orange County Register, March 27, 2009 Flash Report, March 29, 2009 CA Forward, March 27, 2009 Award-winning charter schools show public schools how to succeed. The Oakland Charter Academy and the Our Community Charter School in the San Fernando Valley have won the Hart Vision “Charter School of the Year” ...
School choice for more than just Obama, Gates
Bill Gates recently released his annual letter on the state of his foundation. It turns out that he, President Obama and Chicago school chief Arne Duncan, the president’s pick for education secretary, have something in common. All say that the key experience in their life was their attendance at their ...
Obama Should Look to Sweden for Education, Not Banks
Heritage Foundation “Foundry” Blog, March 16, 2009 A month ago, Obama explored the notion of nationalizing the banks under the Swedish model. Instead of the Swedish banking model, Obama should look at the school voucher program in Sweden for inspiration. The Pacific Research Institute recently had a video Op-Ed on ...
Math lesson
Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), March 15, 2009 Jack O’Connell, California’s superintendent of public instruction, recently claimed that Education Week’s latest Quality Counts report “ranks us a dismal 47th in the country” for school funding. That ranking needs some clarification, but the revenue that school districts actually receive would ...
