Education 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.

Education

SAT Scores by State 2013

  • Jessica Barnett
  • October 10, 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…

Media

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Education

How is Your Public School Performing?

  • Jessica Barnett
  • October 4, 2013

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…

Media

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Education

Pa. Teacher: Union Dues Deduction is “Wage Garnishment”

  • September 20, 2013

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…

Media

Read More: Pa. Teacher: Union Dues Deduction is “Wage Garnishment”

Education

Union Abuses Force Pennsylvania Teachers to Speak Out

  • September 19, 2013

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…

Media

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Education

TODAY: Pennsylvania Teachers Protest Union Abuses

  • September 19, 2013

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

Read More: TODAY: Pennsylvania Teachers Protest Union Abuses

Education

How Unions Use Students as Bargaining Chips

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 18, 2013

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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Education

School District Takes Lavish Retreat Amid Budget Crisis

  • September 17, 2013

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…

Media

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Education

Let Teachers Make Their Own Union Choices

  • September 12, 2013

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…

Media

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Education

Are Cyber School Students Second-Class Citizens?

  • August 30, 2013

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…

Media

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Education

Unions First, Teachers & Students Last

  • August 29, 2013

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…

Media

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Education

Podcast: Cyber School in Real Life

  • August 29, 2013

Meet Jake Swink. Jake is a 2013 graduate of Bloomsburg University with a degree in Computer Science. In a few weeks, he will be utilizing these skills as a 2nd…

Media

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Education

Five Facts on the Philadelphia Schools Crisis

  • Priya Brannick
  • August 22, 2013

Things have reached a fever pitch in Philadelphia as the city’s school district—the eighth-largest in America—is scrambling to close its $300 million deficit and open schools on time. As protestors…

Media

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Education

PSEA’s Political Cartoon Targets Corbett, Belittles Teachers

  • August 1, 2013

This perspective was written by Steve Calabro, a cyber charter school educator in Pennsylvania. This latest political email alert from the Pennsylvania State Education Association—using union dues, I might add—is…

Media

Read More: PSEA’s Political Cartoon Targets Corbett, Belittles Teachers

Education

School Districts’ Fund Balances Grow Despite Budget Squeeze

  • Priya Brannick
  • June 28, 2013

Despite claims of severe budget cuts, school districts’ fund balances—their rainy day funds—grew last year.  School districts increased their fund balances in 2011-12 by more than $200 million.  As of…

Media

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Education

The Truth on Cyber School Performance

  • Priya Brannick
  • June 28, 2013

Here is a letter to the editor I submitted to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Pennsylvania cyber school performance: Mary Niederberger reports on a new, largely positive charter school study…

Media

Read More: The Truth on Cyber School Performance

Education

Burger Flipper or National Merit Scholar?

  • June 27, 2013

Mechanicsburg student Colin Knott is a National Merit Scholar—putting him in the top one percent of students nationwide—and already has 25 college credits under his belt prior to his first…

Media

Read More: Burger Flipper or National Merit Scholar?

Education

Public School Staffing Up, Enrollment Down

  • Priya Brannick
  • June 27, 2013

In the last two years, schools have reduced their total staffing.  Yet despite this short-term decline, public school staff has increased by more than 17,000 since 2000.  Over the…

Media

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Education

The Canard of Corbett’s Education Cuts

  • Priya Brannick
  • June 26, 2013

Despite the popular claim that Gov. Corbett “cut $1 billion” in education spending in the state budget, state funding for public schools is at an all-time high.  In 2011-12, federal…

Media

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Education

6 Trends in Public School Spending

  • Nathan Benefield, Priya Brannick
  • June 24, 2013

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recently updated files from public schools’ annual financial reports and enrollment reports. Here are six key trends from those data.

Memo

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Education

SAT Scores by State 2012

  • June 24, 2013

EDITORS NOTE: Click here for the 2014 SAT Scores by state How did states compare on the SAT in 2012? The College Board’s 2012 annual report on college and…

Media

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Education

Happy National Employee Freedom Week, America

  • Priya Brannick
  • June 24, 2013

National Employee Freedom Week is about informing workers about their rights and empowering them to exercise their freedoms.  Ultimately, there are ways for workers to leave the Hotel California. We…

Commentary

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