MORE ARTICLES
Becket Fund’s Eric Rassbach on Loffman v. CA DOE, Religious Liberty, & SchoolingNovember 27, 2024 - 10:30 am
Pioneer Institute Statement on Vocational-Technical School AdmissionsNovember 26, 2024 - 8:00 am
FY2026 Consensus Revenue Hearing – Forecasting of Revenues is Tricky BusinessNovember 25, 2024 - 8:00 am
CUNY’s Carl Rollyson on William Faulkner & Southern LiteratureNovember 20, 2024 - 10:36 am
Pioneer Institute Study Finds Massachusetts Saw Four-Fold Loss of Income to Net OutmigrationNovember 19, 2024 - 11:25 am
Massachusetts Job Market Bears WatchingNovember 18, 2024 - 2:10 pm
NH Gov. Chris Sununu on School ChoiceNovember 13, 2024 - 2:02 pm
Five Reasons Why Project Labor Agreements Are Bad Public PolicyNovember 12, 2024 - 9:27 am
Statement of Pioneer Institute on MCAS Ballot Failure and State of Education in MassachusettsNovember 6, 2024 - 2:01 pm
Dr. Helen Baxendale on Great Hearts Classical Liberal Arts Charter SchoolsNovember 6, 2024 - 12:08 pm
Little settlement with words
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /byWords have history, and that is really why they have power. All it takes is one breath to dredge up all sorts of memories and associations. It’s eye-popping when you read a great observer (plug in your favorite literary reference), but in the realm of politics that history is mainly playing off emotions and seeking to motivate one to action or inaction. Education is probably the place where the jargon and sharp-edged words are most prominent; e.g., “drill and kill,” “the field” (guess what you are excluded!), “choice,” and so on. This morning reading through the news, and I was curious about the statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that East Jerusalem was not a “colony.” It struck me […]
Prop 2 1/2 Jersey style
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog /byDavid Halbfinger of the New York Times reports that Governor Christie is proposing “deep cuts” in state spending, which will amount to something like 5 percent of the state budget. Interestingly, Christie is taking a page out of Massachusetts’ lore and seeking to replicate Prop 2 1/2: Mr. Christie’s idea for a 2.5 percent cap on increases in property taxes, modeled on Proposition 2 ½ in Massachusetts, would allow no exceptions except by local referendum and would apply to towns, school boards and counties. He also is calling for new handcuffs on towns and school districts as they bargain with unions, to prohibit towns from awarding contracts with pay increases, including benefits, of more than 2.5 percent.
NPT: Rumblings in the non-profit underground?
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /byThe Non-Profit Times sends almost daily emails with surveys and tips on management. I never really open them (catchy eblast titles is something they need a little work at…). Today’s stood out: Survey: No Cash On Hand At 12% of Charities Wow. That’s an eye-catcher. Admittedly, I am not going to dig into the methodology today, as we have a lot on the plate, but, if accurate, things are even more volatile in the non-profit world than I had thought. America’s nonprofits expect that 2010 will be financially more difficult or as difficult as 2009, according to a survey, the results of which were released by Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF). And, some of them don’t have enough cash on hand […]
Calling all reporters!
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /byMy last blog noted that states will now have to adopt the common core standards or give up much of a chance at the RttT funds. And, yes, I did call Arne Duncan a schoolmarm. 😉 So, one wonders, what exactly did DESE represent to their USED interrogators [;-)] earlier this week? Isn’t that a matter of public record? Will some reporter ask that question? If they don’t, we will.
EdWeek: Adopt standards or forget RttT funds
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Common Core, Blog: Education, Jim Stergios, News, Related Education Blogs /byYesterday, the Globe published an editorial that made the reasonable argument that if Massachusetts’ academic standards are higher than the final product coming out of two trade groups, supported by the Obama administration, then the state should not adopt them. But the piece said more. It noted that The Obama administration isn’t going to force states to adopt the new standards. But it is implying that uncooperative states could hurt their chances for federal grants. There ought to be a way that Massachusetts can qualify for such funds without making unnecessary curriculum changes. Problem is that EdWeek‘s Catherine Gewertz published a report the very same day entitled “Ed Dept to States: In Race to Top, Only Common Core Will Do” […]