The Choice Channel

“The findings demonstrate the feasibility of improving labor market preparation and successful school-to-work transitions without compromising academic goals and preparation for college. Investments in career-related experiences during high school can produce substantial and sustained improvements in the labor market prospects and transitions to adulthood of youth. In fact, Career Academies are one of the few youth-focused interventions that have been found to improve the labor market prospects of young men.” (06/28/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4suqqg

“The following letter was sent to Gov. Deval Patrick. We write to applaud you for building on the success of the charter school model with the administration’s ‘readiness schools’ proposal. By encouraging innovation, autonomy and enhanced choice, these schools will have the flexibility to address individual student needs. We are disappointed, however, that your support for charter schools stops short of proposing an expansion of charters themselves. We urge you to reconsider raising the caps that currently prevent charter expansion in the places where these schools are most needed.” (06/30/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4c8pxh

“WHY is it that significant reform is opposed with the claim that research is needed, yet proposals to conduct such research are also opposed? WHY does the present system not only lack a research base but much of it functions in direct contradiction to research findings? WHY, for example, do we educate students by building a box called a school, inside of which are little boxes called classrooms, occupied by students in rows facing the front of the room, where an adult talks 75-80% of the time; that is, the adult talks three to four times as much as all of the students combined?” (06/30/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4ahxn6

“In the first of his three op eds on this topic, Dr. North takes the view that the academic cartel will soon break down. Since it was written in 2000, eight long years ago, and this particular scheme to bilk the public is still very much alive and kicking, we must take his prediction as more of an expression of hope than an actual expectation. … As for the actual analytics of higher education, I am in full accord with Gary; this ‘industry’ is one heavily protected by government favoritism. Without the deleterious arm of the state, the academy would look very different.” (06/28/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4gmqqu

“On April 1 America’s Promise Alliance, a coalition of the nation’s education elite, released a report on the school dropout problem, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Conclusion: The dropout situation is considerably worse in big-city schools than in suburban ones. Surely this was no April Fools’ Day joke, because the disparities between education outcomes in inner-city and suburbia are of serious concern. But neither was this exactly stop-the-presses news–statisticians have demonstrated the gap in test scores as well as dropout rates for decades. This particular study, however, drew on U.S. Education Department data to document the difference in high school graduation rates between the nation’s 50 largest cities and their suburbs.” (06/08)

http://tinyurl.com/3pgoz6

“The stunning achievement levels racked up by students in New York City charter schools make it clear that the Legislature is duty-bound to give many more children the same opportunities for a high-quality education. All those lawmakers who have blocked the growth of charter schools in the city must, in all decency, reconsider their opposition based on how well the schools did on this year’s standardized English and math tests. The performance was extraordinary - topping by wide margins even the recently celebrated gains scored by students in public schools at large.” (06/28/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4rzm3z

“More than 1,200 former inmates returned to Philadelphia public schools this year. But don’t start fitting them for caps and gowns just yet. They are among the 6,000 school-age youth in Philadelphia who are under the supervision of a judge or court. Most of them won’t graduate, either. Nor will the bulk of the 10,000-12,000 Phildelphia teens who become parents this year. About 70 percent of them will drop out within four years of the birth of their first child.” (06/27/08)

http://tinyurl.com/6kqxw8

“As Governor Patrick aims to reduce the achievement gap between white and minority students in public education (’Patrick targets gaps in learning,’ Page A1, June 23), his Readiness Report leaves out the most effective mechanism for improving education for all students in Massachusetts: school choice. Patrick’s plan does not include proposals for a school voucher plan, an education tax credit, or lifting the cap on the number of charter schools. School choice programs have granted access to better education for students across the United States.” (06/27/08)

http://tinyurl.com/58wh6o

“In November, Floridians could vote on school vouchers without knowing that they’re voting on school vouchers. To avoid that kind of deceptive ballot manipulation, the Leon County Circuit Court should rule favorably on a request by education organizations and civil rights groups to strike proposed Amendments 7 and 9 from the fall ballot. Judging by its title on the ballot, Amendment 7 is intended to protect ‘Religious Freedom.’ Who wouldn’t vote for religious freedom?” (06/27/08)

http://tinyurl.com/6qxc4c

“State education policymakers have an invaluable research tool in the form of Indiana University’s Center for Evaluation & Education Policy. And just in time, the center has delivered a thorough and thought-provoking study of the bold new world of virtual education. Its recommendations should serve as a guideline for lawmakers as they consider the future of online learning in Indiana. A summer study committee of the General Assembly is about to look at virtual schools, currently not covered by Indiana law.” (06/27/08)

http://tinyurl.com/5jytx6