
Education
The kids are not all right
Originally published at Broad + Liberty Our children’s test scores are down. They haven’t even reached pre-Covid levels, which wasn’t anything to brag about then. And the students are…
Read More: The kids are not all rightEducation 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.
Related Issues
Education
PSEA Exposed: Vex, Lies and Audio Tape
Nestled in the $4.2 million the Pennsylvania State Education Asssociation spent in 2010-11 on political activities are some very telling expenditures on polling firms. For example, remember the much-touted…
Media
Read More: PSEA Exposed: Vex, Lies and Audio TapeEducation
The Growing Lobbying Might of the PSEA
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest government union with 192,000 members, spent an astonishing $2.6 million in 2009-10 on “political activities and lobbying.” If that seems like a…
Media
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Charter School Reform
Pennsylvania charter school enrollment grew from 982 students in 1997 to 91,000 in 2010, as more parents exercised choice in their children's education. On average, charter schools receive and spend…
Fact Sheet
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The Cost of Pennsylvania’s Education Failures
Lawmakers are considering providing school choice to low-income children trapped in violent and failing schools. While some lawmakers are concerned about the cost of school vouchers, the cost of educational…
Fact Sheet
Read More: The Cost of Pennsylvania’s Education FailuresEducation
Ode to Joy – A Concert of Hope
Why school choice? Listen to mother, Joy Herbert, explain why it’s really her only hope. …
Media
Read More: Ode to Joy – A Concert of HopeEducation
Patriot News (Mostly) Endorses School Choice
This week, the Patriot News editorial board wrote an endorsement of a school voucher proposal in Pennsylvania. Here is the key pro argument: The case for vouchers is…
Media
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A Word on Hellholes
As I got in the car yesterday to begin a very long drive home from Pike County, I learned of a letter Sen. Vincent Hughes had sent requesting that I…
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School Choice in Pa. is Cure for Disaster
An excellent commentary by Jeanne Allen in the Delaware County Times sums up the case for school choice and the empirical evidence: Pennsylvania’s neighbors have led by example…
Media
Read More: School Choice in Pa. is Cure for DisasterEducation
Four of Five Philadelphia Students Not Proficient in Reading or Math
Yesterday, the National Center for Education Statistics (part of the U.S. Department of Education) released district perfomance data on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This is part…
Media
Read More: Four of Five Philadelphia Students Not Proficient in Reading or MathEducation
Are School Vouchers Constitutional in Pennsylvania?
Several attacks on school choice claim that using state funds for vouchers that might go to private schools is unconstitutional. Here are some facts and legal analysis on that issue.
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Hughes’ Boos a Ruse
In the absence of facts and any plausible excuse for poor performance, it’s always a good time to attack the messenger. As if on cue, this well-worn strategy was trotted…
Media
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Lorenzo’s Boil: Why Father Not PSEA Knows Best
It’s just over 24 hours ago that children and parents trapped in failing and violent Pennsylvania schools delivered to Harrisburg lawmakers 4,300 messages of urgency and hope. Among the messengers was Lorenzo…
Media
Read More: Lorenzo’s Boil: Why Father Not PSEA Knows BestEducation
Educrats Fight for System Not Kids, Taxpayers
The Sharon Herald posted an article Sunday about anti-voucher signs popping up around the Sharon, Sharpsville and Greenville areas in Mercer County. I’ve seen these signs in Western Pa.
Media
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PSEA Ignores Children’s Cries for Help, Facts
Following the Commonwealth Foundation’s press conference with legislators highlighting how one violent act occurs every 17 minutes in Pennsylvania’s worst-performing schools, the Pennsylvania State Education Association retorted: “In…
Media
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Dear Reluctant Rural Republican…
A friend just forwarded me some objections offered by a Republican member of the House of Representatives from a rural area who’s reluctant to support a comprehensive school choice bill…
Media
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Chart of the Day: Public School Enrollment vs Staff
One of the drivers of education spending is an increase in staff sizes while enrollment has declined. Data from the PA Department of Education indicates that from 1999-2000 to…
Media
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What Will You See in 17 Minutes?
Seventeen minutes is a small sliver of time for most people. In those few moments, most people could take a shower, prepare a meal, or watch half a sitcom. But…
Commentary
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Radical Reform Required…Now!
My friend Nick Pandelidis, a physician and entrepreneur in York, has published an excellent piece on school choice in the York Daily Record. After recounting much data, he concludes:…
Media
Read More: Radical Reform Required…Now!Education
Pennsylvania’s School Choice Movement Must Address the ‘Bottom 5%’
Pennsylvania has a simple choice to make. We can embrace change and welcome educational reform or we can choose to satisfy ourselves with the tired old policies of the past that,…
Commentary
Read More: Pennsylvania’s School Choice Movement Must Address the ‘Bottom 5%’Education
Improving Public Education…Through School Choice
Here is a letter to the editor I submitted to the Pocono Record, correcting the record on school choice: Your editorial, “Support your public schools” bashes school choice…
Media
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The Right Questions for Penn State
Stacy Brown of the Pennsylvania Independent—which, in the interests of full disclosure, CF launched but no longer controls in any way—is asking the right questions this morning in his…
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