This op ed about Scott County explains issues being faced by many districts. We find part of the problem is districts don’t want to appear “political” or ungrateful for the aid they are receiving and don’t do a good job of explaining how the game changed when the recession hit. We also find the point on the increased cap on local funding particularly significant. “The Joke Called ‘Local Control’ In response, the legislature has wiggled out of some of its responsibility by promising ‘local control.’ Everyone loves local control, right? What it really means is the legislature is...
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Kansas should avoid slipping into red on map of student achievement
As a state we should continue investing in our public education to avoid slipping into the red, yet two of the states legislative leaders talk most about emulating are Florida and Texas. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/13/student-test-scores-map_n_5312037.html?utm_hp_ref=tw...
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Leave a Comment MSNBC features closing of last school in Marquette, KS
MSNBC has done a feature on the closing of the last school in Marquette, KS which we posted about earlier this year. “The heart of a community is its school.” http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/the-heart-of-a-community-261803587655...
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Leave a Comment Expansion of charters causing harm in Pittsburgh
Here’s how charters are playing out in Pittsburgh: “So what’s the problem here? In Pittsburgh we’re being told that we can’t have these things because we’re going broke. We have a looming $46 million budget gap. Guess how much we spend sending kids to charter schools? $53 million. Yep, that’s right. We are spending more to send 10% of our kids to charter schools than it would cost to plug the budget gap, which is forcing 90% of Pittsburgh public school students to go without art, music, small class sizes, or ‘agile teaching.’” http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/when-charters-cause-harm-and-leaders-fail-to-lead/...
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