Opinion
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Parents: How To Make the Most of Online Schools
Opinion -The development of the Internet and the increasing public desire for educational choices have brought about a wide variety of online programs for school-age students. -
Push for Universal Preschool Grows
Opinion -The Institute for America's Future and the Center for American Progress, co-chaired by Arizona Gov. -
New Milwaukee Accountability Measures Work
Opinion -Five schools have been removed from the 15-year-old Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), and 51 others that applied for inclusion have been turned away over the past 18 months, thanks to stringent accountability measures enacted last year. -
Parental Rights, Student Privacy Take Center Stage on Capitol Hill
Opinion -Capitol Hill watchers can expect to hear a lot of arguing this fall about schools recommending that parents medicate their children before sending them to class. A longstanding U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Pierce v. -
School Choice Opponents Propose Diverting Voucher Funds
Opinion -Two Wisconsin state senators are trying to garner support for a plan to divert voucher money from low-income city children enrolled in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) to a school district in far northern Wisconsin. -
Education Highlighted at ALEC Annual Meeting
Opinion -Education policy topped the agenda at the 32nd annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Grapevine, Texas in early August. -
Waste Plagues NJ School Construction
Opinion -Many of New Jersey's poorest students, who have been looking forward to leaving dilapidated school buildings and going to sparkling new ones, could be facing disappointment as a corporation created to build their new schools seems to be falling apart. -
Home School Educates Children, Parents about ADHD
Opinion -The Sharon School in Nicholasville, Kentucky doesn't advertise, and it accepts only 20 students at a time. Parents must pay $4,000 a year to send their children there. But the school isn't an academy for children of privilege. -
KIPP Foundation Program Trains New Breed of School Administrators
Opinion -The reformers behind the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) are not strangers to innovative education reform. Therefore, it should come as no surprise they are now training principals not only to lead schools, but to found them. -
Student Achievement Emerges as Civil Rights Issue in Maryland
Opinion -The Anne Arundel County, Maryland board of education agreed to settle an 18-month-old federal class-action civil rights lawsuit in August, pledging to improve student achievement, after local and national groups complained the county places -
Alternative Principal Programs Gain Ground
Opinion -This summer, former Massachusetts state legislator Mark Roosevelt got a new job in the private sector. -
Alternative Programs Commended
Opinion -The U.S. Department of Education in August commended six alternative administration programs for their effectiveness, in the report Innovations in Education: Innovative Pathways to School Leadership. -
‘Direct Instruction’ Narrows Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap
Opinion -A new report shows that "direct instruction" (DI), a teaching method relying heavily on phonics and repetition, has helped raise reading and math scores, particularly among minority and low-income students, in Milwaukee's public schools. -
Early Intervention Program Aims to Keep Kids out of Special Ed
Opinion -A Colorado Springs, Colorado school district is implementing a pilot program to address one of the greatest challenges classroom teachers face: meeting struggling students' needs as soon as they appear. -
Florida’s Voluntary Pre-K Program Gives Parents New Options
Opinion -One of the nation's largest early-learning school choice initiatives kicked off August 15 when more than 90,000 four-year-olds headed to class in Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten Program. -
Illinois Schools’ Spending Gap No Mystery
Opinion -More than 800 separate school districts and varying costs of living across the state of Illinois are two of the factors contributing to a per-pupil spending gap of more than $19,000 between the costliest and least-expensive school districts in the state, -
Public School Choice Grows in Massachusetts
Opinion -An obscure Massachusetts law passed in 1991 enabling students to attend public schools outside the district designated for them by the government is beginning to force public schools across the Bay State to fight with each other for enrollment. -
State Takes Over Special Education in Baltimore
Opinion -A 20-year-old lawsuit against Baltimore City's failing special education system ended in July when a federal judge ordered the state to assume control of the program. -
‘Suspicious’ Accounting Error Leads Illinois School District to Seek Tax Cut
Opinion -Last November, after Huntley, Illinois narrowly passed a referendum raising taxes to support four new schools in District 158 (D-158), a certified public accountant with three children in the district discovered the newly administered tax increase was -
Texas Governor Requires School Districts in the State to Spend 65% of Their Funds in the Classroom
Opinion -After the state legislature failed in two special sessions this summer to pass school finance reform measures, Texas Gov. -
Texas Charter Schools Seek Funding Equity
Opinion -Despite being required to meet the same performance standards as other public schools, Texas charter schools must do so with less state money, a study released August 1 concluded. -
Governors Agree on Education Data Guidelines
Opinion -After a report from the watchdog group Education Trust delivered a stinging rebuke this June, the governors of 46 states and Puerto Rico agreed on July 17 to adopt a standard formula for determining high school graduation rates. -
Choosing the Best School for Your Child
Opinion -Thanks to the expansion of Ohio's voucher program and a host of legislative victories for school choice reforms nationwide in 2005, more parents than ever before have additional options in helping meet their children's educational needs this year. -
Virtual Classrooms Abound on Internet
Opinion -Just as online college and graduate programs have broadened the range of options in higher education, virtual charter schools and online classes are gaining popularity among the K-12 set.
