With much respect to Education Next… Mike Thomas contemplates the virtues of home schooling. We’ve looked at what motivates attempts to regulate is. KUNR starts diving deep on Nevada’s education savings accounts. We’ve spoken with Seth Rau of Nevada Succeeds about the program’s challenges and potential. The L.A. Times introduces Shavar Jeffries, the new leader of Democrats for… Read more »
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Florida roundup: Testing, Catholic schools, school choice and more
Testing. State Sen. Don Gaetz pledges to pursue changes to state testing policy. The Buzz. More students participate in SAT testing, but just over a third rate college-ready. Orlando Sentinel. Palm Beach officials say students should be allowed to use the SAT in place of state assessments. Sun-Sentinel. Palm Beach Post. Catholic schools. The Diocese of… Read more »
Charter schools, facilities and fairness
The Orange County School Board wants to build a new school to relieve overcrowding, but it has to jump through local zoning hoops that don’t apply to charter schools in the same way. The Orlando Sentinel breaks it down. School leaders had strong neighborhood support for the relief school. But Orange County commissioners turned it… Read more »
Florida looks to next round of digital learning policy upgrades
In recent years, Florida has upgraded its digital learning policies. Legislation passed in 2014 required districts to come up with digital classroom plans. The idea was that if they were going to get extra state funding to buy computers or boost their bandwidth, they would need to tie their spending to real changes in the classroom. Now, some key lawmakers and… Read more »
This week in school choice: Valid critiques welcomed
We’re awash in tenth-anniversary takes on New Orleans’ schools after Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, some bring us no closer to the complicated truth. A recent New York Times column by business journalism professor Andrea Gabor provides a telling case in point. It raises a few legitimate points, some of which emanate from within the reform movement. But it provides… Read more »
Florida school boards matter, a lot
Florida is home to the most “consolidated” system of of education governance in the country, according to a new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The report’s authors base this conclusion on the fact that Florida places much of its state decision-making authority in the Board of Education, and local power rests in the hands of a… Read more »
Florida Board of Education member: Lawsuit threatens public school finances
A lawsuit aimed at the country’s largest private school choice program could have effects beyond the tens of thousands of students who receive tax credit scholarships, and the private schools they attend. In a guest column published last week in the Tampa Bay Times and Florida Times-Union, state Board of Education member Gary Chartrand writes that… Read more »
Florida roundup: Back to school, charters, desegregation and more
Charter schools. Two shuttered charter schools leave the Broward school district on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sun-Sentinel. A parent says she was almost barred from enrolling her child in an embattled charter school after she criticized it. Palm Beach Post. A Sun-Sentinel guest column praises lawmakers for considering new charter school regulations. WFSU looks… Read more »
This week in school choice: Is the NOLA debate settled?
As the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, empirical evidence is mounting. It’s harder than ever to deny the transformation of New Orleans’ school system after the storm produced unparalleled gains in student achievement. It may be time to move beyond a narrow debate about whether the reforms “worked.” Some of the critiques, especially those coming from outsiders,… Read more »
This week in school choice: Catholic schools and the mix of old and new
America’s Catholic schools are deep-rooted community institutions, and still make up the largest swath of the nation’s private schools. Yet many of them are in the midst of reinventing themselves, often drawing lessons from top charter school networks to attract new students and strengthen their academics. Kathleen Porter-Magee reflects on this mix of tradition and transformation, which… Read more »
