Opinion
Busing isn’t making a comeback
While most parents place a high value on diversity, they also reasonably desire a sense of control over the circumstances of their children’s education, including its location.
Opinion
What’s the biggest problem facing schools today?
Recently I asked my 14-year-old son to identify the biggest problem at the public school he attends in Wake County. He didn’t hesitate to answer. “People who pay with cash or check in the lunch line,” he said. He explained that it takes longer for the cashier to process the transaction when students use cash...
Opinion
Downsizing Federal Role in Education
Queried about which unit of government should be most responsible for education, Americans overwhelmingly say decisions should be made by state or local officials.
Opinion
Downsizing Federal Role in Education
Queried about which unit of government should be most responsible for education, Americans overwhelmingly say decisions should be made by state or local officials.
Opinion
Money for Schools and Votes for Fools
The level of spending on public education has little meaning unless it is coupled with an emphasis on desirable and measurable student performanance.
News
Wake’s Busing for Diversity Not Making the Grade
RALEIGH — In early 2000, the Wake County Board of Education adopted a school assignment policy based on family income, which the board says is necessary to improve the educational outcomes of economically disadvantaged students and balance schools across the district. But North Carolina end-of-grade test data show student achievement for economically disadvantaged students in Wake County has declined since income-based assignments were instituted.
Opinion
Sunlight and Scrutiny
Justice Brandeis once referred to sunlight as the “best of disinfectants,” as he affirmed the central role of publicity in effecting social change. School officials in Wake County will soon learn just how true this is as they embark on a sizeable bit of housecleaning in the months to come.
Opinion
Lindalyn’s Journal
This past Tuesday marked the release of the 38th Annual Phi Delta Kappa (PDK)/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. Unfortunately, for those truth-seekers among us who want to know how Americans really feel, there’s no news here. It’s the same old stuff, with the same leading questions.
Opinion
Lindalyn’s Journal
For better or for worse, public opinion has always shaped public policy. More than 200 hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The basis of our government [is] the opinion of the people." This is as it should be. But what happens when public views are distorted by a steady barrage of misinformation and half-truths?
Opinion
Lindalyn
Support for school choice is on the rise in North Carolina. Recently, the John William Pope Civitas Institute released its July 2005 survey data on the perceptions of North Carolina voters. The survey revealed that a large majority (64 percent) of North Carolinians supports school choice.
News
Polling Fuels Debate on Education
RALEIGH — Americans like their public schools. In fact, they would rather reform public school than abandon them for alternatives such as transfers or private schools, according to the 2003 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll of American attitudes toward public schools. Vouchers cleared the Constitutional barrier in 2002, but the PDK/Gallup polling appeared to find the public less enthusiastic about them this year than last. But voucher advocates have long criticized the Gallup polling for using flawed language to generate a politically predetermined result. Polling in NC has found majority support for specific voucher proposals.
