Charter schools, when explained, get support
VCU survey shows most know little about charter-school concept
Staff Report
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Virginia residents are not well informed about charter schools but a majority support them when charter school programs are explained, according to a new statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Commonwealth Education Poll finds only 8 percent say they have heard or read a lot about them, 27 percent have read or heard some, and the majority of 64 percent have heard or read nothing or not too much about charter schools. When a charter school program is described, a 56 percent majority favors a charter school program, while 26 percent oppose and 18 percent are undecided. Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell made increasing the number of charter schools in Virginia one of his key proposals for education. Continue reading “Charter schools, when explained, get support” »
Focus | Broad-based, bipartisan support for school choice
Story by Chris Graham
With AFP Video
Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents support school-choice policies including legislative initiatives that would create tax-credit scholarships and school vouchers, according to a new poll released by a coalition of groups that back school choice.
The poll, commissioned by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research Inc., surveyed through live interviews 1,203 likely Virginia voters in the Oct. 1-5 time frame. Sixty-two percent of those polled think of Virginia’s public-school system as “good” or “excellent,” but similar majorities also back tax credits for private-school scholarships, school vouchers and special-needs vouchers, and when parents of current K-12 were asked were they would prefer to send their children, public schools beat out private schools by only a narrow 40 percent-to-39 percent margin. Continue reading “Focus | Broad-based, bipartisan support for school choice” »
Class warfare as a matter of choice
I have to admit to being somewhat of two minds on the school-choice issue that is championed by the likes of 20th District Del. Chris Saxman, whose sales pitch is a strong one at first glance. Saxman’s most recent legislative proposal would have capped tuition tax credits available to parents to go toward a child’s private education at the amount of money that the state provides for the average child’s public-school education, “so it is a net neutral at worst for just about every locality,” as Saxman pointed out in an exchange of e-mails with me a couple of weeks ago. Continue reading “Class warfare as a matter of choice” »
Adam Schaeffer and Chaim Katz | The best gift for kids is a better education
Another Christmas has come and gone, and the New Year is here with the resulting resolutions. Many of us use this time of year to reflect on the spirit of giving, especially in the midst of rising unemployment and uncertainty. Some people had less to give or perhaps nothing at all, or even relied on the giving of others, but many people continued with their charity despite their own increasing hardships. Continue reading “Adam Schaeffer and Chaim Katz | The best gift for kids is a better education” »
Adam Schaeffer | To improve education, let parents choose schools
The school year is in full swing, and a lot less learning is taking place than one might anticipate. However, it’s not just the kids. Virginia ’s politicians still haven’t learned a thing about education reform.
According to the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the nation’s report card, two out of three Virginia 8th graders in public schools are not proficient in reading. Twenty percent of Virginia eighth-graders score so poorly that they are basically off the chart because their level of literacy is so low. Continue reading “Adam Schaeffer | To improve education, let parents choose schools” »
Stop the Presses | If health-care reform were up to me …
Posted by afp on August 26, 2009 · 22 Comments
Even then, though, what I’ve been mulling over the past several weeks would fit into the single-payer model that I envision being politically palatable maybe around 2035. Continue reading “Stop the Presses | If health-care reform were up to me …” »
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with chris graham, health care reform, school choice