Education is the first stepping-stone on the path to success, but Pennsylvania students face severe inequality among public school districts. Thousands who can’t afford private school are trapped in failing schools or situations that aren’t the right fit. The solution to this crisis is school choice. By offering families options outside their zip code-assigned district schools, students are better able to find their path to success. Charter schools, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts (ESAs), homeschooling, and other types of education choice must become a priority in Pennsylvania.

Education

Ten Tips to Balance the Budget

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • April 8, 2010

Contrary to Gov. Rendell's rhetoric, there are a plethora of reforms and cuts that can balance the budget without taking more from the pockets of Pennsylvania taxpayers. Here are ten…

Commentary

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Education

Gov. Rendell Learned His Lesson

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 6, 2010

Last year, Gov. Rendell went on a bus tour across Pennsylvania, at taxpayer expense, to lobby for more education spending. Rendell was…

Media

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Education

Is Choice Harming Public Schools?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • April 2, 2010

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story this week about the number of students (314,000 over nine years) served by Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC provides tax…

Media

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Education

Operation Restore Launched to Preserve School Choice in PA

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 31, 2010

The REACH Alliance launched Operation Restore, a campaign to restore the funding for Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program to $75 million.  The EITC, which before…

Media

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Education

College Just Got Cheaper, for Government Workers

  • March 31, 2010

When the Obama Administration couldn’t get the Student Loan Overhaul through the Senate last year, they created a scheme to tacking it onto the unrelated healthcare bill. This bill…

Media

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Education

Rhetoric vs. Reality on Higher Ed

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 29, 2010

I got an email alert from Student PIRGs with the lead in, “College just got less expensive.” Really, that happened? Did anyone notice? Uh no. What they meant is…

Media

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Education

Some Facts About School Choice for Joe Hoeffel

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 26, 2010

In the Democrat contest for Pennsylvania Governor, Joe Hoeffel came out swinging, attacking Anthony Williams for supporting school choice. Apparently, Hoeffel thinks the…

Media

Read More: Some Facts About School Choice for Joe Hoeffel

Education

Establishment Continues to Attack Cyber Schools

  • Nathan Benefield
  • March 18, 2010

At a hearing yesterday, Pennsylvania School Boards Association touted additional proposals to cut off funding for cyber charter schools. One of these proposals would be that cyber schools would…

Media

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Education

The Green Schools Ruse

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • March 16, 2010

Yesterday the House passed Rep. Drucker’s bill to exclude any costs associated with making a school building LEED certified from a possible…

Media

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Education

Who’s to Blame for the Rising Costs of Higher Ed?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • February 24, 2010

Rendell’s FY 2010-11 budget funds state related universities at the same level as FY 2009-10 budget. University officials claim they need an increase in state funding to keep tuition…

Media

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Education

Climategate is an Embarassment

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 12, 2010

Penn State sophomore Samuel Settle pens a letter on why he is embarrassed of professor Michael Mann’s behavior, and his school’s white-washing of an investigation. Click here for our…

Media

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Education

Penn State Whitewashes Climategate Investigation

  • February 3, 2010

HARRISBURG, PA – The Commonwealth Foundation today released the following statement in response to Penn State’s internal investigation of alleged scientific misconduct by Michael Mann, a prominent global warming…

Press Release

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Education

PSU Clears Mann on 3 of 4 Allegations

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 3, 2010

Penn State’s internal investigation into the scientific conduct of Michael Mann cleared him of three of the four allegations against him. The report states they could find “no credible…

Media

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Education

Milwaukee Voucher Program Raises Graduation Rates

  • Nathan Benefield
  • February 2, 2010

A new study from School Choice Wisconsin finds that students receiving a scholarship through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) were 18% more likely to graduate than Milwaukee…

Media

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Education

The Higher Education Bubble

  • February 2, 2010

Subsidies in the form of loans or grants to students have been an integral part of higher education…

Media

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Education

The Growth and Benefits of Cyber Education

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 27, 2010

The Heritage Foundation has a new background on online education, from a national perspective.  They write: As many as 1 million children (roughly 2 percent of the…

Media

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Education

Mann-Made Global Warming?

  • Matthew Brouillette
  • January 19, 2010

Climategate was born in late November 2009 with the release of more than a thousand emails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia…

Commentary

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Education

New Head Start Study Shows No Long-Term Effects of Preschool

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 14, 2010

A study on students in Head Start released yesterday by the US Department of Health and Human Services shows no long-term academic improvement from the program.  In fact, the…

Media

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Education

Climategate & Penn State

  • January 12, 2010

Just days after news broke about what has been dubbed "Climategate," Penn State University (PSU) announced that it would investigate the conduct of Michael Mann, a professor in PSU's Department…

Fact Sheet

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Education

PA’s “Race to the Top” Plan Upsets Cyber Schools and PSEA

  • Nathan Benefield
  • January 11, 2010

The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” plan – attempting to get about $400 million from federal taxpayers via the “stimulus” – has drawn a number of critics.

Media

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