Education
The High Cost of Pa. K–12 Education Failures
Key Points The cost and risk of failure in our K–12 system is high. Low academic achievement is a predictor of lower lifetime incomes and higher costs for taxpayers. On…
Read More: The High Cost of Pa. K–12 Education FailuresPennsylvania’s future is in the hands of the next generation. Parents and students—not activist agendas—should drive the Commonwealth’s education policy. While policymakers have been entrusted with ensuring the next generation receives a quality education, parents should be empowered to choose the quality education that meets their unique child’s needs. Charter schools and tax credit scholarships are integral pieces of school choice, but more reforms are needed to make school choice a reality for all Pennsylvania students.
Education
Guest Post: A rural charter school embraces its “rural-ness” and finds happiness, too
Note: This commentary was originally published by National School Choice Week. When people think of charter schools, they often think of schools that serve students in densely-populated cities or…
Media
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Gesu School: Education Choice in Action – Part II
He's a former pharmaceutical executive and she's concluding Ph.D. studies in reading literacy and assessment. Bryan Carter and Annette Pickett could choose more lucrative careers. Yet they've devoted their lives…
Media
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Gesu School: Education Choice in Action – Part I
Drive down Schuylkill Expressway, exit 342 past the Philadelphia Zoo, across the Girard Bridge—eventually you’ll arrive in North Philly, home of Gesu School. The surrounding neighborhood has all the…
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Education Spending 2017-18: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
In early 2017, Rep. Dave Reed acknowledged the importance of education spending to everything the General Assembly tackles: We have an amazing opportunity. … We get to…
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School Choice Progress in PA 2017-18
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. This African saying, attributed by some to Desmond Tutu, has been successfully employed by school choice advocates in…
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Teacher shortage? Try competition.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to … tinker with markets. That isn’t the original ending to that sentence, but it is certainly accurate. There…
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Pittsburgh School Choice Fair
When I walked into the Pittsburgh School Choice Fair on Saturday, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I certainly did not anticipate being blown away by the diversity of…
Media
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Education Is a Necessity and We Should Fund It Like It?s One
Note: This commentary was originally published by Education Post. Letting parents choose the school or schooling that best fits their child shouldn't be so controversial. We don’t question the…
Media
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Tax Credit Scholarships: Raise the Limits!
As shown in a recent CF report, Pennsylvania is a state at risk. Violence in schools, while decreasing, still occurs at a significant level. Pennsylvania’s achievement gaps are…
Media
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Fact Sheet: School Funding and Student Outcomes
Conversations about improving education often devolve into who will spend more. This enables some policymakers to offer a one-dimensional solution—funding—to a multi-dimensional issue—education. Key questions are ignored when the only…
Fact Sheet
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Grandma, What Do You Mean Schools Were Assigned by Zip Code?
My kids can’t imagine a world where nearly any question can’t be answered in mere seconds. Despite growing up without the internet, I can barely imagine it myself. In a…
Media
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Will School Choice Reach the Supreme Court Next Year?
Annie Jackson, a waitress at Roxy’s Café in downtown Harrisburg, knows firsthand why families need school choice. Annie waitressed eight months into her pregnancy to pay private school tuition for…
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Pennsylvania’s Opportunity Gap
As highlighted in a recent CF report, 50 percent of student tax credit scholarship applications since 2012 have been denied due to program limits. “In 2016-17 alone, almost…
Media
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The Need for Charter Schools
For 133,000 children across Pennsylvania, charter schools do more than provide an education. Charter schools provide an alternative for kids whose needs aren't met in district schools—they…
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Applying to a Philly Charter School Just Got Easier
For many families, navigating a mystifying and meandering path through rows and rows of corn stalks has become a favorite fall tradition. Often—especially for the more adventurous kids—getting lost in…
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School Choice: Diverse Options for Diverse Families
The Long and Winding Road. In addition to being a great song by the Beatles, this phrase sums up my family’s educational journey. My children spent time in a local…
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Unions and their Impact on Teachers
Conventional wisdom tells us unions are good for teachers. But is this true? While teachers’ unions have certainly benefited union leadership, rank and file teachers should carefully evaluate the…
Media
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Education Funding Principles
With mid-term elections nearing, both candidates for governor are wrestling with how to create a better education system, including a more equitable funding system. Here are five principles any education…
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Back-to-School Disappointment for Thousands
Thousands of kids across Pennsylvania are finishing up their first month of school. For many of them, the beginning of the school year is an exciting chance to catch up with…
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Opportunity Denied: To Meet Demand, Tax Credit Scholarship Caps Must Expand
The 2018-19 state budget included a $25 million expansion of Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. This will allow up to 15,000 additional students to receive scholarships. While helpful, 52,857…
Memo
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Opportunity Denied: 50,000+ Tax Credit Scholarship Applications Rejected Annually
Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarship programs are so popular that they could double in size and still not meet demand. That’s a major finding of a new report by the…
Press Release
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