The 7th grade class in Highland Park, Michigan’s school district was given an assignment: Write a one-paragraph essay on “what could make the school better.” Former Alabama congressman Artur Davis, who celebrated National School Choice Week at The Heritage Foundation’s event “Choosing to Succeed,” presented a particularly alarming response: [Y]ou …
Every child learns in a unique way. That’s why families should have access to choice in education, former congressman Artur Davis argued at the Heritage Foundation event “Choosing to Succeed: A Conversation about Educational Opportunity”. Davis was one of the first supporters of Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, but he …
The third annual National School Choice Week is officially underway. Once again, school choice advocates—including parents, teachers, schoolchildren and administrators, and many others—will come together to promote educational choice, with more than 3,600 events taking place nationwide. School choice is something to celebrate, because it gives families the power to …
The supply of elementary school teachers greatly exceeds the demand for them among public-school districts, according to data collected by Education Week. This fact has a number of implications for education policy, but one of them—not directly mentioned in the article—stands out: If elementary-school teachers are truly “underpaid,” as teacher …
The third annual National School Choice Week is around the corner. And so is “the first-ever nationwide, whistle-stop train tour” to commemorate the week. The Whistle-Stop Train Tour will make a cross-country trek, with “14 very special events along the tour’s route” in support of school choice; hosted by “[p]arents, …
What happens when a government program simply does not do what it is supposed to do? Head Start, the federal preschool program, says it “promotes the school readiness of children ages birth to 5 from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social and emotional development.” But the government’s own evaluations …
Christmas, the quintessential celebration of family time, and New Year’s, a day of resolutions, provide a great opportunity for parents to ensure that family togetherness lasts the whole year—by pledging to spend more time with their children and their activities. As decades of research have revealed, the more time and …
Education reform is critical for all Americans, but it has a particular importance and potent potential impact on America’s fastest growing demographic. Nearly 50 percent of Hispanic students fail to graduate with their class, which shows the vulnerability of many Latino youth trapped in poorly performing schools. But one state, Indiana, …
Legislation to provide $60 billion to areas affected by Hurricane Sandy includes $100 million for the federal Head Start day care program. According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, funding for the FY 2013 Disaster Assistance Supplemental bill will be used to repair 265 Head Start centers. Specifically, funds appropriated to …
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), proposed a “bar exam” for public-school teachers in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week. Modeled after the bar exam for aspiring lawyers, the new test would be intended to produce highly effective teachers. But it would do nothing of …
