Education
The School Scramble Michael Fletcher remains unconvinced that private schools can deliver a better education than failing, urban public schools ("Milwaukee Will Vouch for Vouchers", March 20). But meanwhile in the same issue, a Post story declares, "there are far more children in parochial schools in Northern Virginia than there are desks for them."
GAO Report Shows Bilingual Pressure To say that a recent General Accounting Office report "vindicates" the federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights from accusations that it aggressively pushes bilingual education programs on school districts is not merely inaccurate, it is irresponsible ("OCR Seen as Unbiased," March 7, 2001).
Battles for School Choice Being Fought on a Broad Front School vouchers went down heavily as election-day propositions in California and Michigan last November. Although fundamental reform is always a tough sell as a stark yes or no on a ballot, the school-choice movement appeared to have collapsed like a bride's soufflŽ.
Tax Credits Can Be a Tool of Education Reform in Virginia Much hoopla attended the release of President George W. Bush’s education reform plan Tuesday, as well it should have. The former Texas Governor made accountability for results in K-12 schooling the cornerstone of his presidential campaign.
Secretary Paige’s Most Urgent Education Challenges As Superintendent of Houston's public schools since 1994, Dr. Rod Paige has distinguished himself as an education reformer who is not afraid to depart from conventional educational wisdom in a quest of academic results. The passing rates of children in his 90-percent minority district on the state's TAAS test have risen from 37 percent in 1995 to 73 percent this year. In the cause of reform, he has allowed children in failing schools to choose private alternatives and has converted some of the district's schools into independently run charter schools that are accountable for results.
Where Does the Education Money Go? In the wake of defeats for statewide voucher initiatives in California and Michigan, the president of the nation's largest teachers union was quick to draw the lesson that Americans want even more money pumped into the existing structure of public education.
Investing in Charter Schools: “Markets on the Edge of Change” As the charter school movement continues to grow and mature throughout most of the United States, one important new development has been the increased involvement of for-profit charter school companies. Such companies combine a commitment to improving educational opportunities for America's children with business models that incorporate distinct advantages such as specialization and economies of scale...
Prop.203 Already Working As Arizona school districts begin to develop strategies for complying with the newly-passed Proposition 203, they would be well served to pay attention to what has worked in California. The new Arizona law was based on California’s Proposition 227, which passed in 1998, effectively eliminating the state’s bilingual education programs.
Choosing Integration Finally Could Be a Reality in Virginia WITH VIRGINIA leading the way, "freedom of choice" became a Southern strategy for blunting the impact of mandatory school desegregation after the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision of May 1954.
Still A Choice If Ryan Lizza is correct, the teacher-union chiefs shouldn't be beaming so much at Al Gore's professions of fidelity to their agendas. ("Same Lesson," August 21.) The "dirty little secret" is that many Democrats are fed up with "the unions' resistance to standards with teeth." And proponents of school vouchers shouldn't be so chipper either...