Williamson County ranked the 17th wealthiest county in America in 2010 by Forbes.com, yet in 2008their public school district ranked only 59% in math and 74% in reading compared to their global counterparts (Williamson County vs. the nation = math 69%, reading 75%). Governor Haslam and Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris expect our children to compete against their global counterparts for the increasingly technical jobs – increasingly the only jobs that pay well enough to support a family, yet Norris finds it just too trying to free our children from their failed education system because of political “gamesmanship.” Silly me! I thought that was what we hired politicians to do on our behalf – deal with politics. We will lose approximately 10,000 more children this year who will drop out of high school as educational freedom gets flushed by the political cowards who care more about their reelection prospects than our children and the future of this state and country.
Category: Tabs
Haslam voucher bill dead this session
Chambers of Commerce & School Choice
Last year when the issue of school choice came up in Tennessee the Chambers of Commerce in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville Chambers of Commerce in Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville came out strongly against parental empowerment.
This is difficult to understand coming from an organization that should understand the power of competition to bring about lower costs and improved products and services. A recent study demonstrated
Educational Apartheid? Melodramatic?
With the recent Lincoln movie there has been resurgence of interest in our sixteenth president. Of course, we know who Abe Lincoln was because he was president, but what about Harriet Tubman? How is it nearly a hundred years after her death we remember the name of an ordinary black woman, a former slave? How is it we remember the name of Rosa Parks, another ordinary, otherwise powerless, black woman? We celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. annually as a national holiday. Why? What do all these people have in common? They all stood up against injustice, against insurmountable odds, all paying a price, some paying the ultimate price, their lives, fighting for freedom. Do we value freedom so little today we won’t risk a political fight or sacrifice TV viewing time?
ESAs The Way Of The Future
“[Vouchers], although important, work only with schools and don’t always allow parents to choose a different approach to education….ESAs, on the other hand, give parents the flexibility to fill in their children’s learning gaps with specialized services, like tutoring or online courses. There’s not any other tool that allows parents to do that.” -State Senator Rick Murphy (R-AZ)
The Friedman Foundation released a report by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D., “The Way of The Future, Education Savings Accounts for Every American Family.” We at TNSC are fans of ESAs and have written of them previously (Here). The report is roughly 19 pages and much of it is charts and graphs. It is very easy to read and wouldn’t take long at all. To read the report in full click Here. However, as is our fashion we will post a few snippets below and post a permanent link to the report on our Fact-Finding page for future reference.
Education savings accounts are the way of the future. Under such accounts—managed by parents with state supervision to ensure accountability—parents can use their children’s education funding to choose among public and private schools, online education programs, certified private tutors, community colleges, and even universities.
The Graph Says It All
The graph pretty much says it all. However, if you would like to read the report behind it, “The School Staffing Surge, Decades of Employment Growth in America’s Public Schools” (November 2012) by Benjamin Scafidi, Ph.D. with the Friedman Foundation click Here.
Compared to other nations’ schools, U.S. public schools devote significantly higher fractions of their operating budgets to non-teaching personnel—and lower portions to teachers. Meanwhile, the U.S. is one of the highest spending nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) when it comes to K-12 education.
What Kind Of Society Will We Create?
What happens to a society that doesn’t value children? A society where adults are no longer willing to sacrifice or provide for the needs of children. A society where being a parent is considered not a “real job.” A society where success is judged by how much you own, not how healthy, well adjusted, or productive your children grow up to be or if you have empowered them to attain their dreams and potentials. A society where children are seen as “burdens” not as gifts, blessings, and our future. A society that indebts their children, grandchildren and even generations beyond because they are unwilling to “cut back.”
What Is Best For Children
What is best for children in education?
► Creationism, Intelligent Design or Evolution?
► Religious or Atheistic world view?
► Diversity & multiculturalism or shared beliefs/interests/priorities/cultures/etc.?
► Defining family/marriage as traditional or discussing the multiple configurations of family/marriage?
► The three “Rs:” Reading ‘Riting & ‘Rithmatic?
► Whole word or phonics?
► Civic responsibilities or global obligations?
Education Tax Credit Scholarships, Part V
We continue our discussion of Education Tax Credit Scholarships (Part I, Part II, Part III, PartIV) with a final review of “The Public Education Tax Credit” December 5, 2007 by Adam B. Schaeffer, Cato Institute and a short review of “Do Vouchers and Tax Credits Increase Private School Regulation?” October 4, 2010 a working paper by Andrew J. Coulson, Cato Institute.
Another way of addressing concerns regarding the effect of a broad-based program is to phase it in by grade level, so that the change occurs gradually over a number of years.
Finally, a school choice program can be permanently means tested, reducing the benefits to wealthy families and the overall cost of the program. This is good policy as well as good politics. The goal of a universal school choice program is to enable universal freedom of choice in education, and that is not the same thing as universal participation in an education tax credit or voucher program.
Education Tax Credit Scholarships, Part IV
We continue our discussion of Education Tax Credit Scholarships (Part I, Part II, Part III) with a further review of “The Public Education Tax Credit” December 5, 2007 by Adam B. Schaeffer, Cato Institute.
Many school choice supporters prefer targeted programs over broad-based programs for one, or both, of two reasons. Some believe that starting with targeted programs is the best or only way of getting bigger, more inclusive programs in the future. Others support targeted programs because they are concerned only with helping those who have the fewest options and are served most poorly under our government-run school system. Still others hold some combination of these views, desiring bigger programs but convinced that helping low-income families first through targeted programs makes political and moral sense. Principles of politics, common sense, and real-world experience show that supporting targeted choice programs for these reasons is not advantageous.
Education Tax Credit Scholarships, Part III
We continue our discussion of Education Tax Credit Scholarships (Part I, Part II) with a review of “The Public Education Tax Credit” December 5, 2007 by Adam B. Schaeffer, Cato Institute.
This study begins with a detailed analysis of the two most powerful kinds of school choice reform: education vouchers and tax credits. Tax credits are more popular with the public and politicians, less likely to be challenged in court, and more likely to survive most court challenges. The school choice movement’s focus on targeted programs is not a helpful short- or long-term strategy, regardless of whether the goal is specifically to serve disadvantaged children or children from all families. Such regulations limit those programs’ effectiveness in delivering choice and increased student achievement, and sideline many of the most natural allies of school choice reform. Toward that end, this paper:
