Education
Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocates
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer After a more than eight-year slog, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed what the Pennsylvania Constitution has said all…
Read More: Commonwealth Court ruling is a massive win for education choice advocatesEducation is the first stepping-stone on the path to success, but Pennsylvania students face severe inequality among public school districts. Thousands who can’t afford private school are trapped in failing schools or situations that aren’t the right fit. The solution to this crisis is school choice. By offering families options outside their zip code-assigned district schools, students are better able to find their path to success. Charter schools, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts (ESAs), homeschooling, and other types of education choice must become a priority in Pennsylvania.
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Education
Teacher: Forced Union Dues a “Kick in the Teeth”
This perspective on union spending by Pennsylvania public school teacher Rob Brough originally appeared at Free to Teach, a project of the Commonwealth Foundation. I left my teachers union…
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False Claims Fuel Charter Attacks
The Education Law Center has issued an attack on legislation to allow universities to approve new charter schools. In a single paragraph, a spokesman for the group makes makes…
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School Spending Transparency Coming to Pa.?
Pennsylvania earned a “C+” for providing citizens information on how public schools spend money, according to a recent report from the Cato Institute titled “Cracking the…
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Dues Deduction For Public Sector Unions Is An Offense To Taxpayers
It was the last straw for teacher Steve Calabro. When the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) ran advertisements claiming any teacher who didn’t contribute to the union PAC was part…
Commentary
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The Lost Year: How Seniority Harms Teachers and Kids
Rep. Vanessa Brown (D-Phila.) knows what it’s like to lose a good school teacher. For her son, it was nearly a matter of life and death. For years, Brown has…
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Cyber School Centers Embrace Community Values
Cyber schools have been falsely maligned as impersonal and anti-social environments for learning, but the truth is far different. Case in point: Achievement House Cyber Charter School is bringing blended…
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Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 2
Julie Raab and Keith Williams are speaking out about how union influence affects their teaching jobs. They, and many teachers across the state, are fed up with Pennsylvania’s unfair…
Media
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Voters Support Education Reform
Pennsylvania parents and voters want education reform. A new poll from StudentsFirst shows that Pennsylvania families strongly support educational reforms, including incentives for high performing teachers (74 percent support),…
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Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 1
Julie Raab and Keith Williams are speaking out about how union influence affects their teaching jobs. They, and many teachers across the state, are fed up with Pennsylvania's unfair…
Media
Read More: Podcast: Teachers on Union Exploitation – Part 1Education
Unions’ Taxpayer-Subsidized Politics
How would you feel if you were forced to pay for a political cause that worked against your own beliefs and values? Outraged? Victimized? Just plain angry? Many Pennsylvania teachers,…
Commentary
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Saving Pennsylvania’s Best Teachers
This week, Commonwealth Foundation placed billboards in Philadelphia subway stations to highlight the problem of seniority rules in our public schools. Currently, Section 1125…
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SAT Scores by State 2013
EDITORS NOTE: Click here for the 2014 SAT Scores by state We have compiled each state’s average SAT score into one, easy-access spreadsheet ranking states by their mean…
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How is Your Public School Performing?
The Pennsylvania School Performance Profile launched today, but will it deliver the “accountability system” Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq promised in a briefing earlier this month? Created through a…
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Pa. Teacher: Union Dues Deduction is “Wage Garnishment”
Did you know school districts and other government agencies collect unions’ dues and political action committee money from payroll, just like a tax? Teachers are speaking out about this…
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Union Abuses Force Pennsylvania Teachers to Speak Out
Did you know teachers’ unions can force many teachers in Pennsylvania to pay dues or a “fair share fee” that’s taken directly out of teachers’ paychecks? What’s more, this withholding…
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TODAY: Pennsylvania Teachers Protest Union Abuses
For Immediate Release The Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 Union Abuses Force Pennsylvania Teachers to Speak Out Teacher unions get special treatment; force teachers and taxpayers to…
Press Release
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How Unions Use Students as Bargaining Chips
When government unions engage in labor disputes, they use their power and monopoly to remind the public of the value of their service. However, schoolchildren should never have to bear…
Commentary
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School District Takes Lavish Retreat Amid Budget Crisis
If you’re one of the most violent school districts in Pennsylvania, failing your students, and borrowing to make ends meet, would you spend money on a lavish retreat? If…
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Let Teachers Make Their Own Union Choices
Joe Connolly is a public high school guidance counselor in central Pennsylvania. His school district recently introduced “fair share fees” for non-union workers—meaning educators like Joe will now be forced…
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Are Cyber School Students Second-Class Citizens?
Editor’s Note: Jake Swink is a summer intern at Commonwealth Foundation and, starting in September, will be an active duty 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force specializing in cyber…
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Unions First, Teachers & Students Last
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) might take legal action against the School District of Philadelphia for … wait for it … hiring back teachers. The Philadelphia School Reform Commission…
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