Category: School Choice

Choice Media‘s Philadelphia Kickoff of National School Choice Week is 9 -11 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 22, from 9-11 a.m. at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, reports Commonwealth Foundation..

The event includes breakfast and a screening of The Ticket, a documentary that takes viewers on a historic whistlestop train tour across the country, featuring different forms of school choice and the children served.

Following the documentary, a distinguished panel of experts — including Commonwealth Foundation’s James Paul — will lead a conversation about school choice.

The other panelists are:

Bob Bowdon – director of The Ticket and Executive Director of Choice Media
David Hardy – spokesman for PhillySchoolChoice.com
Ina Lipman – executive director of Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia
Mike Wang – managing mirector of the Philadelphia School Partnership

Tickets are  $1 plus a $1.04 service charge and  can be acquired here.

School Choice Kickoff Is Jan. 22

Matthew Brouillette of Commonwealth Foundation informs us that for the first time in seven years new charter school applications  — there are 40 of them — are under review in Philadelphia.

This gives a bit of hope to those poor kids stuck on waiting lists.

He notes that in October, legislation was passed in October allowing thousands of more kids to attend a school of their parents choice.

You think school choice is bad thing? Then just imagine if you had to use the supermarket/electrician/lawyer/doctor the government picked for you.

School choice is a good thing just as being able to choose your supermarket its.

Brouillette also tells us some not-so-good New Year’s news. Seven Pennsylvania government union PACs have shoveled $7.6  million to candidates in 2013-14. This is an increase of 53 percent in just two years.

Brouillette notes that this money comes from dues collected at taxpayer expense as per a corrupt law.

Good New Year’s News

The brutal beating of 13-year-old Destiny Hughes, a seventh grader at Water Valley High School in Mississippi, was caught on camera by fellow students, who it should be noted also stopped the assault as the teachers must have been otherwise preoccupied.

“You know, the school has a policy against bullying and violence, but if they’re not going to enforce it, it’s not worth the paper it’s printed on,” said Destiny’s mother, Rhonda, who pointed out that her daughter had had numerous run ins with the girl prior to the assault captured on camera.

Mrs. Hughes is now suing the school and said she will be homeschooling her children.

Here is the video of the assault that originally ran on on WTVA in Tupelo.

If parents had the power to fire their schools — and teachers — this sort of thing would be far less frequent as those getting the money would have a strong incentive to nip it in the bud.

It should further be noted that school choice is not the end of public education as by definition voucher dollars would be tax dollars. Vouchers would expand education and increase its quality actually.

Further, if one opposes school choice ask yourself this: If parents cannot be trusted to choose their children’s teachers why can they be trusted to vote?

If one is honest one will conclude that since they can be trusted to vote (and choose their children’s doctors and food products and clothing), then then can be trusted to choose their children’s teachers and schools

Water Valley Beating Shows School Choice Need

Hat tip IJReview

A report by SFGate, has revealed that teachers in the San Francisco Unified School District skip are absent about 11 times a school year which is about five days more than a typical student.

SFGate says that the San Francisco teacher absentee rate is “even a smidge below average” compared to other large urban districts

It said that in non-teaching jobs — which should be noted go for 12 months and not just nine — the absentee rate is about four days per year.

If there is no penalty for failing to do one’s job well those having said jobs are far less less likely to do their jobs well.

Parents need the power to fire teachers and even entire schools. Vouchers will give them the power. The biggest opponents of vouchers are bad teachers and those they pay to represent them to legislators.

Hat tip Reason.com

Teachers Skip School More

Kudos to Dayna Perry for winning a KIPP Foundation award for excellence in teaching, Aug.1.

Dayna is a teacher at KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Academy, a charter school in North Philadelphia. The award was bestowed on 10 teachers nationwide based on track records in improving student performance, commitment to helping students succeed and leadership in the classroom and their schools. It comes with $10,000.

KIPP stands for the Knowledge Is Power Program and is a national nonprofit network of 162 charter schools that are focused on preparing students for college.

Charter schools — including cyber ones — along with homeschooling and vouchers are the future, and salvation, of education in this nation.

The  red-tape filled, union-ruled public schools are dinosaurs that deserve the tar pit.

Dayna Perry Kudos