Education
It’s the year of school choice, as is every year to follow
Originally published at LNP Those involved in the educational freedom movement often proclaim, “This is our year.” Yet, we can’t agree on which year that is. Forbes and the…
Read More: It’s the year of school choice, as is every year to followPennsylvania’s future is in the hands of the next generation. Parents and students—not activist agendas—should drive the Commonwealth’s education policy. While policymakers have been entrusted with ensuring the next generation receives a quality education, parents should be empowered to choose the quality education that meets their unique child’s needs. Charter schools and tax credit scholarships are integral pieces of school choice, but more reforms are needed to make school choice a reality for all Pennsylvania students.
Education
Public Education vs. Public Schooling
Neal McCluskey on the difference between “public education” and monopoly of government-run schools: Fortunately, there is a term that does strongly imply a system in which government provides…
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Should have studied Chemical Engineering at Dartmouth
WSJ.com has some interactive data on salaries of graduates by college, as well as by major. I was suprised that the median mid-career salary for my alma…
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Less than 60% of black males graduate in PA
The Schott Foundation has a new report out on black male graduation rates – in public schools – and the gap between black and white performance. In PA,…
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Georgia Charter School Success
Our sister think tank, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, highlights the success that charter schools are enjoying in the state. 85% of the state’s 71 charter schools met Adequate…
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Change He Can’t Believe In
Steve Chapman writes how Barack Obama – the “candidate of change” – rejects school choice (as policy, though he doesn’t practice what he preaches), despite its success. Obama…
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Construction Woes
A few schools in Pennsylvania are experiencing a money crunch–not because property taxes are too low, but because of school boards’ Edifice Complex. The Bethlehem School District and Danville…
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PHEAA Must Phace the Phacts.
The Board of Directors of PHEAA (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Association) too umbrage with our highlighting that government agency’s misuse and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Our response is…
Media
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School Choice Works
American’s for Tax Reform has a short primer on the success of school vouchers, scholarship, and tax credit programs: There have been a total of ten studies of…
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Obama on School Choice: For or Against?
The Cato Institute blog reports that Barack Obama told members of the American Federation of Teachers he is opposed to school vouchers, when referring to the “tired rhetoric about…
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For Autism, Try Vouchers, Not Mandates
John LaPlante points out on SPN Blog that instead of health care mandates, autism advocates should be pointing to tax credits or scholarships for autistic children. As opposed to…
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Preschool Study: No Evidence of Lasting Benefits
Adam Schaeffer writes on Cato-at-liberty that a recent study of universal preschool only shows what critics of government-run day care have been saying: that they offer only short-term…
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PSEA Hissy Fit
Too many public schools have a Liberace complex and feel no compunction against splurging taxpayers’ hard-earned money. So kudos to the Pleasant Valley School District for trying to lowering…
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School boards have no control over teacher salaries?
Tony Phyrillas laughs at school board members complaining about not having control over things like teacher salaries – you know, the salaries school boards establish (typically through labor contracts)…
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Voucher Valedictorian
Andrew Coulson comments on an NRO article highlighting a DC Opportunity Scholarship recipient who just graduated at the head of her class at Archbishop Carroll High School. The…
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Philadelphia private school managers a failure or success story?
The Fordham Institute blasts a Philadelphia Inquirer story calling the Philadelphia public school’s removal of six private managers a “blow to the experiment”: Kristen Graham of…
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Cyber School Funding Formula: The Wrong Mixture
State Rep. Karen Beyer, along with the Rendell administration, lobbyists for the teachers unions, and the school boards association, has been doggedly seeking to reduce funding for Pennsylvania’s public cyber…
Commentary
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Shady Accounting at the Pennsylvania Department of Education
Allegheny Institute’s latest policy brief reveals how the Pennsylvania Department of Education classifies federal monies as local tax revenue. “By making it appear that the local revenue…
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The Liberace Complex?
The York Daily Record has a story on the South Eastern School District paying $97,000 for – wait for it – a grand piano. I may have to…
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Academic progress? Think again
A new study by the Center for Education Policy claims significant improvement in student achievement across the country. The Cato Institute discounts the study…
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School Officials Raise Salaries Again
An article in the Pottstown Mercury today highlights the salaries of school officials in the Pottstown School District. The school board voted on raises for administrators twice in the…
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“Intellectual Diversity” means no Milton Friedman?
Several University of Chicago professors are protesting the university’s plan to unveil a Milton Friedman Institute, because that would “reinforce among the public a perception that the university’s faculty…
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