Rachel Langan
Senior Education Policy Analyst
Rachel Langan is the Senior Education Policy Analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation.
Rachel, a lifelong Pennsylvanian, graduated from West Chester University with a degree in Elementary Education and obtained her Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh.
Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, Rachel spent a decade working as the school librarian at two of the top-rated school districts in Chester County and has most recently worked on public school policy through grassroots organizations, both at the state and the local level.
Raised in the Pittsburgh area, she now lives and works outside of Philadelphia. Rachel is mom to five kids plus two dogs and enjoys renovating her 100-year-old home with her husband. When she has free time, you can find her curled up on the couch with a good book.
Education
Josh Shapiro Keeps Betraying Poor Pennsylvania Children
Originally published by The Wall Street Journal. Immanuel Christian School is in dire straits, but not for lack of students who want to go there. Demand is high for the…
Media Hit
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Shadow School Choice: When Public Schools Turn Students Away
Summary The School District of Philadelphia outsources special education to private schools when the district is unable to meet the student’s special education needs. The U.S. Department of Education guarantees…
Fact Sheet
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Don’t Punish Cyber Charters for Being Fiscally Responsible
Originally published on RealClearPennsylvania. Pennsylvania cyber charter schools are under attack for—of all things—not wastefully spending taxpayer money. The Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General recently …
Media Hit
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No Choice
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. In a recent Inquirer article, Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First, stated that “the overwhelming majority of parents choose public schools.”…
Media Hit
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Allentown students need more than strategic plans, they need choices
Originally published at The Morning Call The future for Allentown students is so bright they better wear shades. At least, that was the overarching theme of a recent public…
Media Hit
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Philadelphia public schools have an antisemitism problem — where does Shapiro stand?
Originally published at The Mercury An unsettling report dropped over the holiday break. The civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Education found that Jewish…
Media Hit
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Rachel Langan Guests on Lincoln Radio Journal to discuss EITC’s
You can hear this interview and more at www.lincolninstitute.org…
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A Tale of Two Philadelphia Schools
Originally published at Delaware Valley Journal A seven-minute walk separates Kensington High School and Liguori Academy, two high schools serving the East Kensington neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia. Kensington and…
Media Hit
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Pennsylvania’s Education Tax Credit Scholarships: How EITC Serves Children and Families in the Commonwealth
Key Findings Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) are state tax credit programs that give thousands of low- to middle- income students access to…
Executive Summary
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Special Needs Students Thrive in Cyber Charters
Originally published at Delaware Valley Journal Kris Hansen and her son Lucien are square pegs in a world full of round holes. If not for a cyber charter school,…
Media Hit
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Democrats Want to Cut Funding for PA Special Needs Students
Originally published at Delaware Valley Journal Pennsylvania Democrats are trying to cut funding for special needs students in Pennsylvania public schools. Now, brace yourself—the more you learn, the worse…
Media Hit
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Cutting cyber funding hurts Pennsylvania students
Originally published in The Mercury Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to cut funding to cyber charter schools. Other lawmakers, such as state Sen. Lindsey Williams, are seeking a moratorium on…
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How I became an advocate for school choice
Originally published at Broad + Liberty School choice opponents typically have never needed or wanted an alternative to public schools. I should know: I was one of them. As…
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School Choice Spotlight on Private Education – Syreeta Campbell
Syreeta lives in North Philadelphia and has chosen to send her son to private school because of the opportunities available to him there that are non-existent at his local…
School Choice Spotlight
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Empower students to vote with their feet
Originally published at Broad + Liberty Increasingly over the past three years, public schools and the students who attend them have become collateral damage to a culture war that…
Media Hit
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School Choice Spotlight on Private Education
Ana, a mom to two sons, lives in the Northeast section of Philadelphia. Her youngest—awarded a four-year scholarship to a private academy in the Kensington/Port Richmond section of Philadelphia—is…
School Choice Spotlight
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