…..Three things stand out as reasons why charter school leaders and board members might consider making the switch. First, in places where charters are authorized by local public school districts, ESAs give the option of decoupling. The relationship between a charter and its authorizing school board is often a tenuous one, where charters must show…

The amount of money a student can receive in a voucher also rose by 12%, the same percent increase given to traditional public schools. High school students can now get up to $8,407, and kindergarten through eighth grade students can get up to $6,165. Traditional public schools got an estimated $1.54 billion increase in funding,…

As of Friday, the Iowa Department of Education says it has received 15,538 applications for an Educational Savings Account, or ESA, to provide state funding for a student to attend a private K-12 school. A Legislative Services Agency analysis projected 14,068 would enroll in the first year of the program. The application period runs through June 30th,…

After stumbling on a Jonathan Haidt Ted Talk and then reading The Rightous Mind, it became clear that Haidt was on to something that was describing our current culture in America. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and author, has made significant contributions in describing and analyzing the current situation in America. Haidt’s work focuses on…

The curriculum, which emphasizes a return to core virtues and subjects like math, science, civics and classical texts, puts a strong emphasis on the “centrality of the Western tradition” — or a historical focus on white, Western European and Judeo-Christian foundations — and “demands moral virtue of its adherents.” Hillsdale College, a politically influential private…