OCTOBER 19, 2011 | Commentary by JAY OSTRICH

Willie and Penny Can’t Read

We'll call them Willie, Penny, Ben and Frankie, four public school students from Philadelphia, Reading, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, respectively.  If they don't drop out of school and become clients of the state like many of their former classmates, they will soon graduate and compete in a global market for a dwindling supply of skilled and unskilled jobs.

OCTOBER 18, 2011 | News Release by JAY OSTRICH

Analysis Finds Failing Public Schools Racked by Violence

The Commonwealth Foundation released today an alarming new analysis of school violence that uncovered more than 4,500 criminal acts occurred at the 141 public schools scoring worst in the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.

OCTOBER 18, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Pennsylvania's Failing, Violent Schools

Nearly 82,000 children are enrolled in the 141 public schools with available data on violence in Pennsylvania's lowest-performing 5 percent on student proficiency. These schools reported more than 4,500 violent incidents in the 2009-10 school year alone.

OCTOBER 10, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Charter School Funding in Pennsylvania

Many school districts and other advocates complain about the charter school funding mechanism, arguing that it "drains funding" from school districts.  This charge must be considered in the context of charter school funding.

OCTOBER 10, 2011 | Policy Report by PRIYA ABRAHAM, NATHAN BENEFIELD

The Learning Revolution

How Cyber Schools and Blended Learning Transform Students' Lives

Online learning serves a significant and growing number of students, and represents a significant shift in how we educate Pennsylvania's children.  In light of the growth of cyber and hybrid schools and the debate over their accountability, this Report seeks to help Pennsylvania residents understand more about cyber charter schools, whom they serve, and how they operate.

AUGUST 24, 2011 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

Green Light More Education Tax Credits

Would you ever give a green light or a hard-earned nickel to a business model that showed it was going to hire more staff to service fewer customers by doubling the cost of production while keeping the quality substandard and worse than the global competition? Of course not, but that is exactly the model Pennsylvanians invested in through the public education system in the last decade.

AUGUST 17, 2011 | Policy Brief by ANDREW LEFEVRE

A Decade of Success: Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit

The EITC creates partnerships between parents, businesses, and scholarship organizations. These partnerships allow funding to follow students, giving children and their families choices of schools that best fit their needs. The success of the EITC program is demonstrated not just in the millions it has saved taxpayers and relief to high-growth school districts, but parental satisfaction with education outcomes. Demand for EITC scholarships far outweighs what is available from participating Scholarship Organizations across the commonwealth. For example, the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia had 95,000 applications for 7,700 scholarships awarded over the last decade.  The EITC provides choices parents demand and offers better outcomes for children.

JULY 6, 2011 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Corbett's First Inning Scorecard

July signals the coming of two breaks in Pennsylvania—Major League Baseball's All-Star break and the end of the state budget season.   Having endured his first budget as the commonwealth's chief executive, Gov. Tom Corbett has effectively finished the first inning of a nine-inning baseball game.  The question is, how did he do at bat?

JUNE 27, 2011 | Feature by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

The Razor's Edge of School Choice

When Vicky Miller and her daughter Emalie moved to Harrisburg because of a job and financial necessity, they considered their educational options. Five elementary schools in Harrisburg City School District returned PSSA scores with no more than 35 percent of students proficient in reading and math, including the one Emalie would attend.

JUNE 22, 2011 | Feature by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Father Knows Best for Son

Yesterday, we shared the story of Joy Herbert, a heavily involved parent of son, Anthony, 17, a former ‘A' student who was forced to drop out of school due violence.  But a few miles away in North Philadelphia, Lorenzo White and his son Lukious, 13, are faced with the same reality that finds thousands of Philadelphians trapped in schools where fewer than 20 percent of fourth and eighth-grade public school students are proficient in reading or math on the NAEP.