K-12 Education | 2006 Archive

Consolidation of schools into mega institutions is costly and can't meet the individual needs of students.

BOSTON, MA — A new report on statewide testing by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) says that most states have made progress in developing clear grade standards, but many have not aligned critical tests with a strong set of content standards.

The 2006 short session of the General Assembly that began May 9th will probably end this week. The following quick overview illustrates the extent to which the status quo mentality towards education issues prevails in North Carolina politics.

RALEIGH — N.C. legislators can protect taxpayers by limiting spending, encouraging school choice, and strengthening private property rights. Those are a few of the more than 75 recommendations outlined in Agenda 2006, a new Policy Report published by the John Locke Foundation.

In 1955, Nobel Laureate and economist Milton Friedman launched the school choice movement with his progressive views on government and education in the book, Economics and the Public Interest. Challenging widely-held ideas about public education, Friedman proposed allowing students to attend private schools at public expense.

RALEIGH — North Carolina schools need a better way to teach students with limited English-speaking skills, a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report recommends. The best method, the report says, is to adopt Direct Instruction methods.

PHOENIX, AZ — This paper, published by the Alliance For School Choice, investigates the quality of charter schools in Texas in terms of mathematics and reading achievement. Charter and public schools show similar achievement levels.

Close readers of the John Locke Foundation’s articles and research reports may have spotted a common theme of recent work: illegal immigration.

For those interested in North Carolina politics and public policy, there is a far easier version of the TV game “Treasure Hunters” available now in the comfort of your own home.

RALEIGH — North Carolina will spend $10,000 each to train 100 literacy coaches that Gov. Mike Easley called for in the fiscal 2006-7 budget. The cost would have been nearly twice as much had a key lawmaker not intervened during late budget negotiations.

Several weeks ago, I predicted budget negotiations in Raleigh would lead to a windfall for public education. I was right on the money.

In debating issues from the Iraq War to local school construction, it is wise to choose the middle course — which does not mean a moderate course.

RALEIGH — It could be at home, or the beach, another state, or perhaps a different country. These places may become schoolrooms for North Carolina students as cyber schools become a reality as an alternative-base learning environment.

The state legislature passed a budget that raised spending 10 percent and set the state up for another fiscal fall. But many North Carolinians will learn little more about it than the fact that it contained a big pay raise for teachers.

CHAPEL HILL — A report by the University of North Carolina’s FPG Child Development Institute advocates for a new approach that can help early educators and parents ensure early school success for all children, including those at risk for learning difficulties.

The progressive education movement, essentially founded by philosopher John Dewey’s disciples, wreaked havoc on schools for decades.

The staccato pops of Independence Day fireworks have come and gone for yet another year. But for most of us, they served their patriotic purpose, calling to mind the “shot heard round the world” – the gunfire launching the American Revolution on April 19, 1775 at the battle of Old North Bridge.

RALEIGH — While it pays to be a school administrator in North Carolina — in many cases, very well, the employment deals offered to school system bureaucrats are woven into an intricate and multilayered state compensation system that can be difficult to decipher for those who fund it: North Carolina taxpayers.

The subtitle of a new book on John Dewey reads: “How the patron saint of schools has corrupted teaching and learning.” It’s all too true.

CHARLOTTE — Phil Berman is not a teacher, but his job is crucial to the effectiveness of Charlotte’s public schools. Berman is the executive director for building services, overseeing the maintenance and operation of more than 150 school facilities across Mecklenburg County.