Carolina Journal Print Columnists
Articles by Kristen Blair

(1.31.08) School Choice Gets a Boost
A high school diploma is a critical determinant of later vocational and life success. In our competitive global economy, kids who don’t graduate don’t stand a chance. Not only do high school dropouts face long odds when it comes to securing gainful employment, research shows they’re also at risk for a host of adverse outcomes, including poverty, single parenthood, and incarceration.

(1.24.08) Safe at School?
Recent news reports are likely to arouse parental concern about school safety. On Tuesday, four students were shot just after their dismissal from Ballou High in Washington, D.C. Closer to home, a fifth-grader in Charlotte, North Carolina brought a loaded .32-caliber revolver to Sterling Elementary last week, ostensibly to impress classmates.

(1.17.08) Fundamentals of Teacher Quality
When it comes to helping kids achieve academically, teachers matter. Policymakers with widely divergent views on education reform agree on this. Research has shown that teaching efficacy is a critical – perhaps even the most important – determinant of a student’s academic achievement.

(1.10.08) Rebel with a Cause
Advocates of local control and a lean education bureaucracy have a new champion in Washington, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Hired last June by Mayor Adrian Fenty, the 37-year-old Teach for America alumnus and founder of The New Teacher Project has garnered national attention for her tough stance on bureaucratic accountability and education reform.

(1.04.08) Johnny Won’t Read
The decline of reading as a national pastime has far-reaching educational and economic implications.

(1.03.08) Education Issues 2008
Hope for change is evergreen. No matter the past – each year ushers in its own newfound commitment to bettering the world. Our desire to begin again may seem predictable, even a bit banal, but it serves a worthy purpose nonetheless: nascent, unwearied resolutions often galvanize us into meaningful action.

(12.20.07) Pressure to Leave This Law Behind
For loyal supporters of the federal education law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), 2007 has been a lonely year indeed. Public sentiment – as measured through newspaper editorials, blogs, and even television sitcom banter (according to Education Week’s David Hoff) – has unequivocally hardened against President Bush’s signature education law.

(12.13.07) The Still-Gathering Storm
Is the U.S. on “a losing path” when it comes to maintaining our competitive edge in the global economy? Norman Augustine – former Lockheed Martin CEO and chairman of a National Academiescommittee on 21st century competitiveness – thinks so.

(12.06.07) Best Practices for American High Schools
New 2008 rankings of the nation's premier public high schools from U.S. News and World Report are likely to provide fresh insights for reform-minded educators nationwide.

(11.29.07) Blue Ribbon Testing Reform
There’s a growing consensus that our state testing program is due for a major overhaul. But ideas on how to fix it vary widely. Last week, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability (formed in May by the State Board of Education) circulated draft proposals for change.

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