We've run articles in the past about shortening the school week to 4 days. Today is an update from The Hill: Facing mounting challenges, schools embrace the 4-day week | The Hill 850 districts have made the move and more are considering Hundreds of U.S. school districts have sought to combat the teacher shortage and raise the quality of life for their students and faculty by making a big change: a four-day week. The trend of a four-day week has been rising among American companies and schools since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many finding benefits to having an extra day off. In schools, most students and teachers are getting Friday or Monday off while having … [Read more...]
Public vs. Private K-12 education cost review July 2023
As parents finish a school year and vaguely think about the Fall we thought it might be helpful to pull some information together about cost of public vs private schools. What follows is the most current data varying from 2021 up through 2023. For the 2023 school year, there are 39 private schools serving 5,466 students in Clark County, WA (there are 145 public schools, serving 75,243 public students). 7% of all K-12 students in Clark County, WA are educated in private schools (compared to the WA state average of 9%). As we closed out the 2022/23 school year the private school tuition costs were about $9,585. Public school cost numbers may vary depending on the source. The State of … [Read more...]
Are you happy with what your children learn in school?
Today we share an article published at the Pew Research Center written by JULIANA MENASCE HOROWITZ The article discusses parents views of what should and should not be taught in schools and comes to the conclusion that while unhappy most parents won't rock the boat. Saying that, the number of students being removed from public schools continues to accelerate so their conclusions may not be totally accurate. Give the article a read either at the original site or by reading below...then...share your thoughts. Note: The full article is REALLY long so grab something to drink and plan on spending 10-15 minutes reading and pondering. Parents Differ Sharply by Party Over What Their … [Read more...]
School Voucher efforts across the United States
Given all the Covid learning issues (masks, forced vaccination attempts, mental health concerns, etc.) are school vouchers getting any attention? The answer appears to be yes. Today we share links we found to articles about states across the country who are entertaining creating a voucher system. If you like what you see then talk to your local school board as well as your state house and senate reps. Utah - https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/2022/feb/18/school-voucher-bill-makes-waves-on-capitol-hill/ Oklahoma - https://kfor.com/news/oklahoma-legislature/school-voucher-bill-narrowly-passes-in-senate-committee/ Arizona - … [Read more...]
Comparison of Private and Public Schools
From an article at Thought Co written by Robert Kennedy. For those of you considering private vs. public schools his take on some of the differences. You may be considering whether private or public schools are better options for an obtaining an education. Many families want to know more about the differences and similarities between them. Learning about what private and public schools offer can help students and parents make an educated choice. What's Taught Public schools must adhere to state standards regarding what to teach and how to present it. Certain subjects, such as religion, are taboo. Rulings in many court cases over the years have determined the scope and limits of the … [Read more...]
The Public Education Complex Is Not on Our Side…It’s Time for Good People to Get Ugly
Kira Davis brings us a perspective today that may ring a bell with some parents. Give it a read and share your thoughts. I have been a school choice advocate and activist for nearly 20 years. I have long been of the opinion that the best way to push forward with school choice advocacy was to build bridges, educate people on the process, support legislation, stay away from heated rhetoric that turns away potential allies from other parts of the political spectrum, and never, ever, ever get unpleasant with your opponents. Well, I’ve changed my mind. It’s time to get unpleasant. Hell, it’s time to get downright ornery. On Thursday The New York Post reported that the National … [Read more...]
Blue State Blues: Record Number of Students Flee Nation’s Largest Public School Districts
Are parents really taking their children out of public schools or is it a myth or only temporary? Are parents really concerned about Critical Race Theory (CRT); Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE); Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.); Common Core (CC) and other topics? Here's an article from PJ Media and Gwendolyn Sims that you may find interesting. Give it a read and share if you think it's important to others. This week the three largest public school districts in the U.S. announced that they are in the middle of a massive and continuing problem: record low enrollment numbers. The New York Times reported that since the fall of 2019 enrollment in New York City’s (NYC) public school … [Read more...]
Comparison of Private and Public Schools
From an article at ThoughtCo written by Robert Kennedy an interesting look at the pros and cons of private vs. public schools. It's important to note that there are religious private and for-profit private which have vastly different costs. Religious private have dramatically lower costs in most cases. Let's see what M. Kennedy has to say... You may be considering whether private or public schools are better options for an obtaining an education. Many families want to know more about the differences and similarities between them. Learning about what private and public schools offer can help students and parents make an educated choice. What's Taught Public schools must adhere to … [Read more...]
Hoosiers Score Benefits from Private School Choice
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...]
Public Schools: Tearing Human Minds to Pieces?
From an article at Intellectual Takeout...what say You? https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/public-schools-tearing-human-minds-pieces/?fbclid=IwAR3tWajafQi95R1zb0d-hNVpsvi7IEUavyFX4V2kGB82G0PWUkfkHkzvrLc Recently CNN and the Human Rights Campaign partnered to present an hours long forum with the Democratic presidential candidates on LGBT issues and the proposed Equality Bill. Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and the rest all endorsed the bill, which would, among other things, repress biblical teaching and remove tax-exempt status from churches holding traditional beliefs regarding marriage. During the event, this exchange took place: ‘In California we’re already starting … [Read more...]