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Blog: School Choice

Education
September 26, 2016

More Mass. Charter Public Schools: Daughter of Brown v. Board of Ed Plaintiff Makes the Case

Last Monday, Pioneer hosted the event “Equal Access to Excellence: Charter and District School Reform,” which was co-sponsored by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Center for Education Reform, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association,...
Education
April 21, 2016

Join Us May 4th: "Best Practices from Urban Charter Public Schools"

As the charter public school debate heats up, it’s important to remember that urban charter schools are Massachusetts’ best option for closing achievement gaps. On May 4th, we’ll hear from a national charter school leader, a noted researcher, as well as charter...
Education, Opportunity
March 23, 2016

Addressing Inequality through K-12 Education in Boston

According to a new Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) study cited by The Boston Globe, nearly half of Boston residents make under $35,000 per year. These findings, coupled with a January Brookings Institution report ranking Boston number one nationally in income inequality, paint...
Education
November 4, 2015

What True Education Reform Leaders Think About MCAS & Charters

An op-ed in Tuesday’s Boston Globe urges Massachusetts policymakers to adopt the Common Core-aligned PARCC test because MCAS is supposedly too outdated to help prepare our schoolchildren for future success. But as Pioneer has argued in our recent book, and numerous reports,...
Education
October 15, 2015

Pathways to Equal Opportunity: Vocational-Technical Education & the Liberal Arts

A century ago, two prominent African-American educators, W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, initiated a national debate between proponents of vocational-technical education and those who favor liberal arts as the best means of achieving equality of opportunity. This debate continues today. Please...
Education
August 3, 2015

Kids and Families Deserve More: Catholic Education and School Choice

Pioneer held an education forum on Friday, July 31, 2015, “Know-Nothings’ Nativism, Catholic Education and School Choice,” with a keynote address by Salem State University Professor Nancy Lusignan Schultz, author of Fire & Roses: The Burning of the Charlestown Convent, 1834. Dr. Cara Candal...
Education
July 21, 2015

Join us 7/31: "Know-Nothings' Nativism, Catholic Education, and School Choice"

In the wake of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling against the constitutionality of Douglas County’s school voucher program, Pioneer Institute is co-sponsoring a breakfast forum on “Know-Nothings’ Nativism, Catholic Education, and School Choice.” Event co-sponsors include Parents Alliance for Catholic Education, Harvard’s...
Education
March 18, 2015

Suing to Lift the Charter School Cap

  Lawsuit – who is part of it – Michael Keating (Foley-Hoag), William F. Lee (WilmerHale), Paul F. Ware Jr. (Goodwin Procter).  Good on them for doing it.  Is it a civil rights issue?  You bet it is.  The long history of...
Education
March 2, 2015

The Civil Rights Issue of Our Era

Black History Month may have come and gone but Pioneer believes we must fight year round to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality education without regard to zip code or race. Massachusetts has in the past and must continue...
Education
July 16, 2014

Pioneer Institute Statement on Senate Charter School Cap Lift Vote

The Senate Turns Back the Clock Today, the Massachusetts State Senate voted against S2262, a bill to lift the cap on charter school enrollment in the state’s lowest-performing public school districts. The Senate bill would have tied charter school expansion to full...