Congress is expected to soon approve legislation that threatens to end the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program—the federal school voucher program that has helped thousands of disadvantaged children attend a safe and effective school of their parents’ choice. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program has proven to be highly popular and effective. A federal evaluation published by the Department of Education reported that students receiving scholarships made statistically significant improvement in reading achievement compared to their peers who remained in public school. A broad, bipartisan coalition—including a majority if the D.C. city …
Imagine if 20 years ago on the south side of Chicago two thousand low-income, predominantly African-American families were given an opportunity to take their children out of failing and violent schools and send them to a school where they had a chance to graduate and attend college. What if this program had numerous studies that showed the students within the program were making statistically significant gains in reading? What if the program was so wildly popular that for every one scholarship that was awarded, there were four applicants? And then, …
A promising performance-pay program is under attack in the Boston public school system, which is trying out some new and innovative school reforms. The plan was to allow Advanced Placement teachers to receive $100 bonuses for each student who passes an AP exam, and teachers could be rewarded up to $3,000. But the Boston Herald reports that the Boston Teachers Union is trying to put an end to the innovative plan: Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston’s best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics …
Youth violence, substance abuse, homelessness, and deteriorating neighborhoods ravage both low-income communities and prosperous suburbs alike. There is a great need to explore both the root causes of these problems and their effective solutions. The Bob Woodson Show—“What Works and Why”—premiered yesterday with this very aim. Focusing on solutions to some of America’s most troubling societal problems, each week the show provides examples of effective solutions, and special guests provide first-hand testimonies as to how their lives or neighborhoods have been changed for the better. Host Bob Woodson then directs …
