This is going to be the first in a series of articles looking at alternative choices to public schools and outcomes. Do students going to private schools or charter schools or who are home schooled do better, worse or the same as their counterparts in public schools? We know that public schools have become more expensive that charter or private or home schools. Locally to highest spend per student in a local public school district is over $21,000/student/year. Private schools are less than 1/2 of that. Without further ado let's take a look at an article originally published in Education Next written by Patrick J. Wolf This week the sporting world turns its attention to Indiana as … [Read more...]
Charter Schools – Good or Bad?
Washington State approved the formation of charter schools in 2012 (https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/charter-schools-narrowly-win-approval-in-washington/). The approval was for up to 40 schools. What's happened since the approval? Today we bring you a information that may be useful in judging the utility and value. Where do you go to learn more about charter schools in Washington State? https://wacharters.org/ Here is a link to the 2019 Washington State Charter School Report in case you want details: WA_Statre_Charter_School_Performance_Report_2019 Why consider a Charter School? You are not happy with public schools Here are some Frequently Asked Questions and … [Read more...]
Is it time for school vouchers in Washington State?
Should parents have a choice where to send their child to K-12 school? Washington State spends (depending on the district) anywhere from slightly over $12,000/year per student to over $19,000/year per student. We have Charter Schools; Private Schools (religious and not); Home Schooling and Public Schools. There is growing use of "on-line" education as well that will likely continue to expand. Technology is driving changes in education...so do we adapt or continue to live in the past and only allow use of taxes to pay for public schools (and limited support for Charter schools)? Bye-the-way: Steve Jobes even supported school vouchers in 1995 - … [Read more...]
Charter Schools are Legal!!!
Teacher unions have been fighting charter schools in Washington State claiming use of public funds, for what the unions say are the equivalent of privates schools, is illegal. On Thursday, October 25, 2018, the Washington State Supreme Court issued their ruling. There are currently about 3400 students in 12 charter schools. The legislation allows the formation of "up to" 40 schools. What did the court conclude? (You can read the entire ruling on the following website near the bottom of their article: https://www.kuow.org/stories/washington-supreme-court-rules-on-charter-schools Charter schools CAN receive public funds Charter schools do NOT violate the State constitution The … [Read more...]
Are public schools going the way of Newspapers and the Post Office?
The US Post Office has been an American Institution. Mail delivered in rain, sleet and snow. Union represented. Well paid people. Nice pensions and healthcare. Postal workers (prior to 1984) DO NOT participate in Social Security...they are part of the federal pension plan. They contribute 7-8% of their earnings into the plan. Post 1984 new employees participate in both the Federal Plan (at a reduced rate) and Social Security. In 2017 the Postal Dept lost $2 billion. It is $15 billion in debt and has over $100 billion in unfunded pensions and healthcare obligations. You may find the report in this link of interest: … [Read more...]
School vouchers – should parents have choice?
As Charter Schools gain traction. As religious/private schools grow. As Home Schooling expands...the question coming to the fore more and more is whether parents should have vouchers and use those to determine where their children go to school. Is the public school system antiquated and out of touch? As parents exit the public school system are the children remaining more challenged and thus perform at a lower level? What are the Pros and Cons of Vouchers and should parents have the right to use the money the way they see fit? How many states (as of early 2017) have a Voucher program? State_Voucher_List_March_2017 You will see that 16 States do have a Voucher system. That number … [Read more...]
Students Can’t Hide From Common Core No Matter What School they Attend
From an article at Nancy Bailey's Education Website The more I read about Common Core and education reform, the more I am convinced that one of the most important issues is that all students will have to be instructed with these standards if they choose to attend college. A misconception exists about students in private or parochial schools being lucky that they won’t have to mess with the Common Core. But this is a myth, unless these schools will be willing to take criticism when their seniors wind up not answering correctly on the SAT/ACT tests to get into their dream colleges. I’m not saying students will be better prepared for college, but they will have to learn what is on … [Read more...]
Washington State Superintendent Candidate Positions Comparisons
The ballots are showing up in the mail and people are starting to vote. For those who consider education one of the cornerstones of our future in Washington State you have a choice to make. Two candidates who differ in various ways. Based on their responses to questions we bring you a list of nine (9) questions with the side-by-side responses to each in the candidates own words. No summary from us...just their words. If you don't want to scroll through the page here is the document as a pdf: ospi-candidate-position-summary-comparison-2016 We've set up tables for each of the questions with columns for each candidate. If the finance side of the equation is important to you then here are … [Read more...]
What’s your ideal educational system?
This from an article at The Freedom Foundation - author is Jamie Lund. You can get more information about him on his Facebook Page We spend ten billion dollars each year to assure that citizens are educated. The recent public debate over charter schools highlighted some strong differences of opinion about what the ideal education system should look like. The diagram simplifies the discussion. A system of public education can have many or few who are permitted to offer education. Likewise, a system can have one or many acceptable learning outcomes. Our current system in Washington is nearly a monopoly on providers and fairly uniform on learning targets. It is indicated by the red … [Read more...]
Teachers union, others to sue state over new charter school law
From The News Tribune ..... Charter school opponents plan to sue the state over a new law that aims to keep the privately run, publicly funded schools open in Washington. The Washington Education Association announced its intention Thursday night to file a lawsuit over the state’s amended charter school law. Other groups that oppose charter schools will also be involved in the suit, the statewide teachers union said. Eight charter schools currently operate in Washington, three of which are in Tacoma. It isn’t the first time the teachers union and a coalition of other groups have challenged the state’s law allowing charter schools, which Washington voters approved in 2012. The … [Read more...]