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Vitamin Parents Part 2: Twin Moms Converting a Decent Traditional School Experience Into a “Wow” Homeschool OneSeptember 26, 2024 - 11:50 am
Edward Achorn on Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, & SlaverySeptember 25, 2024 - 11:45 am
Vitamin Parents Part 1: Twin Moms Converting a Decent Traditional School Experience Into a “Wow” Homeschool OneSeptember 19, 2024 - 12:21 pm
PRI’s Lance Izumi on The Great Classroom CollapseSeptember 18, 2024 - 7:20 am
Learning From California: Policy Lessons From Golden State ExodusSeptember 17, 2024 - 10:35 am
Is Massachusetts at a Turning Point – 10 Data Points That Give Me PauseSeptember 12, 2024 - 3:57 pm
From Stress to Success: How Daniella Transformed Her Son’s Learning with ESA FundsSeptember 12, 2024 - 11:46 am
AFC’s Denisha Allen on School Choice & Black Minds MatterSeptember 12, 2024 - 9:54 am
New England Short Circuit: Distorted Incentives Drive Energy Prices Up and Reliability DownSeptember 10, 2024 - 10:30 am
From Garden to Table: How Alicia Garcia Reshapes Home Ec with ESAsSeptember 5, 2024 - 11:59 am
Kerry should leave lending standards alone
/2 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Housing, News /byOur compassionate Sen. John Kerry is at it again, in behalf of the demographic he professes to understand so well – the middle class. The multi-millionaire Massachusetts senator is complaining that the federal lending rules created to prevent another mortgage meltdown will prevent middle-class, credit-worthy borrowers from buying a home. What he dislikes in particular is a proposed regulation that would require some homebuyers to make a down payment of 20 percent to qualify for a low-interest loan. In a letter to Shaun Donovan, secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development; Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke; and Sheila C. Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Kerry wrote, “None of us — and none of you […]
Squishy jobs
/0 Comments/in Blog, Economic Opportunity, News /byWhat to make from the latest jobs report? After the April jobs report which showed an increase of around 250,000 jobs, and expectations that the non-farm payroll would increase around 150-175,000 jobs, the creation of only 54,000 jobs in May is a huge disappointment — especially coming a full year after the Summer of Recovery. Of course, there are snarky responses, and lots of people I’ve spoken to this morning have focused on the fact that the hiring announcement from McDonald’s nominally constituted May’s entire job growth number. The more meaningful response is what we gave to Mark Mardell of BBC TV: There is just a ton of uncertainty out there. The economy’s growth rate is slowing, and we know […]
Mother Courage
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Education, Blog: School Choice, Jim Stergios, Related Education Blogs /byEarlier this week, I shared a couple of videos introducing the Chelsea-based Phoenix Charter Academy (PCA). PCA is unique in that it focuses on getting at-risk students back working at school, but also insists on high-quality academic achievement. The academic culture at PCA is critical to the school’s success, and in order to establish a culture of learning, there has to be a foundational behavioral culture of order, respect and rules. In order to get to that point, PCA seeks to provide a base of support for its students that will give them room to focus on academics. The goal is not just to stay in school, but to meet and beating academic and behavioral expectations. PCA’s in-school support ranges […]
The ‘Big Shrink’ – Massachusetts Firms’ Dramatic Drop in Size
/0 Comments/in Economic Opportunity, Press Releases, Press Releases: Economic Opportunity /byPioneer Institute study calls on lawmakers to respond to state’s inability to create jobs
More Bad News for Governor’s Regulatory Regime for Payment Reform
/2 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Healthcare, Healthcare /byA Washington Post article today is sure to influence the debate in the beltway on reforming our health delivery system towards accountable care organizations (ACOs), one can only hope it will reach the leaders of the Commonwealth before they pass the Governor’s “phase II” payment reform legislation. ACOs are the skeleton that Governor Patrick is attempting to fuse his alternative payment methods with. ACOs are the hot concept in health policy circles, as the Obama Administration is rolling out new regulations to form ACOs for the Medicare population. Many experts believe that as the Medicare delivery system goes, so does the rest of the health care market. So the article brings to light many concerning devolpments that should influence the […]