By Kevin Mooney — Fresh from his overwhelming re-election victory, Gov. Bobby Jindal has unveiled an audacious education reform agenda that built around an expanded school voucher program, new charter schools, a rigorous teacher evaluation system and a revamped tenure system. With the Louisiana state legislature set to go back into session this coming March, the governor is expected to [...]

By Robert Romano — Recently ABC News highlighted the story of Leeton, Missouri, a town so small — a population less than 700 — and hard-hit by the lackluster economy that it lost its only grocery store. Residents were forced to travel to the next town just to get milk and eggs. Seeing a need, local school teachers Bonnie Seymour [...]

By Kevin Mooney — Louisiana school board candidates who favor vouchers and oppose tenure are expected to receive a boost from Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is up for re-election this fall, and a new political action committee. Jindal has been an ardent proponent of school choice initiatives, which puts him at odds with the teachers unions. All eight of the [...]

By Rebekah Rast — In 2008, America spent about $9,000 per student for their education.  With that kind of money, you’d expect American students to be ranked at the top academically, but they’re not. In fact, an article in the Atlantic states, “only 6 percent of U.S. students perform at the advanced-proficiency level in math, a share that lags behind [...]

By Victor Morawski – Should students be required to demonstrate their ideological purity on issues like “Climate Change” and “Global Warming” to receive their high school diplomas? My home state of Maryland thinks so and if John Sarbanes and Jack Reed have their way, students across the nation may soon have this burden thrust upon them. A recent press release [...]

By Rebekah Rast – Siemens, the German engineering group, is having difficulty filling job openings in the U.S. With an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent, how is that possible? Eric Spiegel, chief executive in the U.S. for Siemens, said in an interview with Financial Times that, “There’s a mismatch between the jobs that are available, at least in our portfolio, [...]

By Rebekah Rast – There is no denying the overlap and ineffectiveness of various federally funded programs.  And the federal government’s involvement in the education system is no exception. Even from looking at the President’s fiscal year 2012 budget, it seems not all federal education programs are worthwhile. Programs including Grants to Reduce Alcohol Abuse, Elementary and Secondary School Counseling [...]

George Mason University Economics Professor Don Boudreaux (who writes at the must-read blog CafeHayek.com) spoke on Fox Business’s Freedom Watch w/ Judge Napolitano about what would happen to supermarkets if they were run like the K-12 public education system:

By Rebekah Rast – On Sept. 13, 2010, six pilot schools began instructing students in grades Kindergarten through 12 at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles. The difference between this public school and most other public schools is the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools cost $578 million to build.  With art-covered walls, a marble memorial depicting the [...]

By Rebekah Rast – If you find an investment no longer meets your needs, you quit investing in it and find a worthy substitution. That is exactly what is happening within the public school system. Taxpayers are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their return on their public school education investment, so they are finding other solutions. A recent Rasmussen Reports national [...]