Author Archives: Don Soifer

May 16, 2011Don Soifer

Education Department Overstepping Federal Law? Issue Brief Empire-building aspirations by officials in charge of federal programs are nothing new. But the Obama Administration officials running the U.S. Department of Education are taking this time-honored practice to new levels, and in doing so appear to be [Read More...]

April 27, 2011Don Soifer

Don Soifer Interviewed on NPR’s Kojo Nnamdi Show on Virginia Charter Schools This 5-minute excerpt is from Lexington’s Don Soifer’s interview on one of the Washington, DC-area’s top public radio talk shows, the Kojo Nnamdi Show on 88.5 FM WAMU. The guest host was Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher, and my fellow [Read More...]

April 12, 2011Don Soifer

Americans Are Dangerously Ignorant of History Manchester (NH) Union-Leader No recent indicator of Americans’ ignorance of their nation’s history has been more distressing than the high percentage of adults and schoolchildren who can’t even pass the simple test required of immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. While recent [Read More...]

March 17, 2011Don Soifer

Boehner, House GOP Move To Restore D.C. Opportunity Scholarships Washington Examiner For more than 70,000 schoolchildren in the nation’s capital, choices exist and progress is evident, but excellence remains troublingly scarce. Alternatives, especially charter schools and out-of-boundary placements, often offer significant improvements, and there is evidence of progress in [Read More...]

March 9, 2011Don Soifer

MULTICULTURALISM FOSTERS ISOLATED COMMUNITIES Europe’s leaders seemingly have awakened from a long slumber to discover that state-sponsored multiculturalism threatens the fabric of their societies. Their somber conclusions should cause reflection by Americans about the potential threats to national identity here, and how educational institutions [Read More...]

February 11, 2011Don Soifer

New Jersey Teacher Union Contract Perks Issue Brief The leaders of New Jersey’s teacher unions characterize their fervent opposition to choice-based reforms as being steeped in their commitment to classroom excellence. But by opposing educational options that would allow parents to choose the best school setting [Read More...]

February 11, 2011Don Soifer

School Reform As Seen By N.J. Teacher Union Leaders Issue Brief New Jersey’s teacher union leaders have continued to adamantly insist that their opposition to choice-based school reforms is with the best interests of students at heart. But, as the following recent public statements indicate, the organizations they lead [Read More...]

January 27, 2011Don Soifer

Radical NEA Waiver Plan Abandons Restraint, Integrity The National Education Association, along with others among the nation’s entrenched education interest groups, are aggressively lobbying Education Secretary Arne Duncan to make radical use of agency waivers to selectively eviscerate the union’s least favorite school responsibilities under the No [Read More...]

January 10, 2011Don Soifer

Virginia Needs Charter High Schools Richmond Times-Dispatch The Virginia Board of Education expects to finalize new statewide guidelines for reviewing charter applications at its public meeting Jan. 13. The new procedures are based on changes signed into law last year, and should prove helpful for [Read More...]

January 2, 2011Don Soifer

Pensions Crises Introduce Unions to New Realities Daily Oklahoman Brother, can you spare $3.6 trillion? Currently in the United States, state and local government employees’ pension and retiree health-benefit plans are under water to the tune of some $3.6 trillion, according to researchers at the Kellogg School [Read More...]