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
Teachers Union Worse Than Hollywood Portrayal
Pennsylvania State Education Association President Mike Crossey takes issue with the film “Won’t Back Down” for not matching “real-life experience” on teachers unions. He’s right—in real…
Media
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Top 5 Charter School Myths
Session days in the Pennsylvania legislature are dwindling, but the assembly still has time to pass essential reforms to how charter schools are run. The valuable reforms contained in…
Media
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How Much Do Philadelphia Schools Spend?
Following Matt’s appearance on WHYY yesterday morning, we’ve received questions over our calculation on Philadelphia school district spending per student. The error was ours. Based on the latest spending…
Media
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“Won’t Back Down” Captures Heart of Education
“Won’t Back Down” is a movie about education that fittingly begins and ends with a close-up of a child reading aloud. Education debates in America frequently whirl…
Media
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Parental Choice + Competition = Better Schools
A new study of academic performance in Ohio finds that traditional public schools facing competition from charter schools experience greater gains in student learning. In summarizing the findings, the…
Media
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Pa. Must Pull Parent Trigger to Save Education
Martin Luther King Jr. believed that, "unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality." If correct, then no stronger love or enduring truth can personify his…
Commentary
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Charter Expansion Would Boost Student Learning
Priya wrote about the recent decline in state test scores and in the number of schools making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), noting seven facts union bosses don’t want you…
Media
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5 Facts on the Parent Trigger in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation to reform the state charter school law. This legislation may include a "parent trigger" to convert failing schools into charter schools. …
Fact Sheet
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Pennsylvania’s Academic Performance and Implications for Charter School Reform
The 2011-12 state PSSA results show declines across the board, and fewer districts and schools making Adequate Year Progress. Here are some key facts concerning this latest development, and what…
Memo
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5 Fixes for Property Tax Fires
Yesterday, I testified before the House Select Committee on Property Tax Reform, presenting on the best tax policy to finance government operations, and on…
Media
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Bread, Freedom and Halftime Sickles?
Workers of the world unite at the 50-yard line? Apparently, that’s the tune played recently at a halftime show by the New Oxford High School Marching Band whose ” St.
Media
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7 Education Facts Unions Don’t Want You to Know!
Pennsylvania is reeling from the Friday release of student test scores for 2011-12, which show declining student performance in our public schools. Kids did worse on the Pennsylvania System…
Media
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Approaches to Property Tax Reform
Testimony of Nathan A. Benefield to the Pennsylvania House Select Committee on Property Tax Reform Good morning, my name is Nathan Benefield; I am the director of policy analysis for…
Testimony
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Harrisburg’s Horrid Decade of Despair
With soaring crime, a city in bankruptcy and families on the financial brink, children trapped in Harrisburg School District have to wonder how bad it can really get. …
Media
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How Pennsylvania Teachers Salaries Stack Up
If the Chicago teachers union walk-out on school children or the WGAL story on sick-time pay has you wondering about teacher salaries in Pennsylvania, you’re in luck. Our…
Media
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“Mighty” Teachers’ Union Strikes Chicago
Some 25,000 members of the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) went on strike today, leaving 400,000 students out of school and parents scrambling to find safe places for their children to…
Media
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PSBA Chooses Scores Over Kids
Yesterday, Priya posted on how a Philadelphia area family faces criminal charges for trying to put their child in a better school, while demand for Pennsylvania’s new Opportunity Scholarship…
Media
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Is Caring for Your Kids Criminal?
Hamlet and Olesia Garcia are facing criminal charges in Montgomery County for enrolling their daughter in the suburban Lower Moreland Township school district when they appear to live in…
Media
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Public School Failures Leave Graduates Unemployable
William Marsh would like to hire a couple of good workers for his steel bar manufacturing company in Warminster, Pa. But he has a problem: He can’t find good…
Media
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Back to School Numbers
With kids returning to school this week, here are some fast facts about education spending and performance in Pennsylvania. $14,865: The amount Pennsylvania school districts spent per student in…
Media
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Opportunity Scholarships a “Choice for a Better Future”
This week, the Times-Herald of Montgomery County published my letter to the editor on underperforming schools and why Pennsylvania’s new opportunity scholarships matter: In “Norristown School…
Media
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