MORE ARTICLES
Jeffrey Meyers on Edgar Allan Poe, Gothic Horror, & HalloweenOctober 30, 2024 - 11:44 am
Mountain State Modifications: Tiffany Uses ESA Flexibility to Pivot Quickly For Her Son’s EducationOctober 24, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Study Published by Pioneer Institute Shows Massachusetts Learning Loss Among Nation’s WorstOctober 24, 2024 - 10:31 am
U-TX at SA’s Catherine Clinton on Harriet Tubman & the Underground RailroadOctober 23, 2024 - 11:30 am
Award-Winner Tom Segev on Israel’s Founding Father, David Ben-GurionOctober 16, 2024 - 11:59 am
Pioneer Institute Study Finds MCAS, Education Reform Have Significantly Improved Academic AttainmentOctober 16, 2024 - 11:46 am
McAnneny October Monthly Musings – Ballot InitiativesOctober 11, 2024 - 2:17 pm
Homeschooling with Hope: Katie Switzer’s ESA ExperienceOctober 10, 2024 - 11:24 am
Lynch Foundation’s Katie Everett on School Finance Model for Catholic Schools & School ChoiceOctober 9, 2024 - 11:30 am
Pioneer Institute Study Finds Wide Range of Approaches to Compliance with MBTA Communities LawOctober 6, 2024 - 9:12 pm
How big of a deal was the 2010 ed reform law?
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Education, Blog: School Choice, Jim Stergios, Related Education Blogs /byBack in January 2010, there was a lot of hoopla around the passage and signing of the new Achievement Gap law. At the time: “We are standing up for children,’’ Patrick said before an upbeat gathering of educators… And Education Secretary Paul Reville released this statement: Last week, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Governor Deval Patrick signed historic education reform legislation which will forever alter the landscape of public education in Massachusetts. The most significant piece of education reform legislation since the 1993 Education Reform Act, the Achievement Gap bill signals the beginning of a new chapter in education reform. With hindsight (and time to unpack the law’s provisions), the answer is that the achievement gap law was a […]
Rhee Out in DC
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Education, Blog: School Choice, Jim Stergios, Related Education Blogs /byGot sad news in the middle of a screening of Waiting for Superman last night. Somewhere right after the section on how bad the DC schools are, I got a text message that Michelle Rhee would be stepping down today. Yup. Today Michelle Rhee is announcing that she is resigning in a “mutual” decision aimed to refocus the schools on kids and learning, rather than on the tug of war that might ensure between her and newly elected Mayor Vincent Gray (above, at right). The Washington Post is reporting She will be replaced until at least the end of the school year by Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson, a close associate. Rhee and presumptive mayor Vincent C. Gray recently reached a […]
Higher State Charter Caps: A Small Step in the Right Direction
/0 Comments/in Charter Schools, Press Releases, Press Releases: Charter Schools, Press Releases: Education, Press Releases: School Choice, Related Education Blogs /byHIGHER STATE CHARTER CAPS A SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION New Study Finds Vague Language, Bureaucracy and Focus on Compliance Likely to Open the Door to More Political Interference, Limit Effectiveness Contact Jamie Gass at 617-723-2277 ext. 210, or jgass@pioneerinst.wpengine.com Charter School Caps and Strings Attached BOSTON – While the limited increase in the number of charter schools allowed in a bill enacted in January is a step in the right direction, vague language, provisions that pull charters into the very bureaucratic web they were designed to bypass, and a focus on promoting compliance over excellence limit the progress to baby steps, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute. In “Charter School Caps and Strings Attached: The […]
Pension Protest Style Points
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, News /byI am increasingly dismayed at the lack of style at American (and especially Boston) protests. Seems we have gotten in the habit of going “military” with protesters being dolled out in the equivalent of uniforms. The old “sea of humans” and “huddled masses” thing just doesn’t cut it in a 21st century world where fashion never sleeps. A quick sampling of comparables we might want to start emulating. We’ll stick to pensions, because of the number of countries where pension protests are occurring, and especially the ability to get the French to weigh in on this important question. First, the Aussies: The Brits show that their former colonies are still hundreds of years behind in character (and they have gotten […]
"Race to Solvency" for our cities?
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /byA press release from the Milken Institute notes: Vallejo, Calif; Harrisburg, Penn; the entire state of Illinois; and, of course, California…they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Across the United States, we’ve got a full-blown state and muni budget mess on our hands. To find a way forward, the Milken Institute and the Kauffman Foundation brought together a diverse group of state and local officials, union representatives, experts from the capital markets, money managers, academics, public-sector attorneys and representatives from bond rating agencies. The report, Ensuring State and Municipal Solvency, lists a number of potential reforms, including the establishment of rainy-day funds, agency consolidations, and control boards for states and municipalities. Yup. We got those things. Have helped, but not […]