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Black parents want choices, but Chicago plans to limit options
Black parents are the most likely to choose charter, selective enrollment or magnet schools in Chicago, reports Sarah Karp for WBEZ. She...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 22, 20242 min read
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Union-backed group claims choice is 'rooted in racism'
The union-backed Partnership for the Future of Learning has launched an anti-choice campaign charging that "voucher programs" are "deeply...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 22, 20242 min read
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Success Academy charters are #1 in New York in math, #3 in reading
Success Academy charter students are the best in New York state in math, third best in English Language Arts (ELA) among schools with 95+...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 19, 20241 min read
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Charters are growing: Latino enrollment is way up
As district-run public schools lose enrollment -- 1.5 million students since 2019 -- charter schools are adding students, according to a...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 20, 20231 min read
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Choice, selective schools perpetuate 'inequity,' says Chicago mayor, school board
"Equality in misery" is the new plan for Chicago Public Schools, writes Paul Vallas, who lost the race for mayor to Brandon Johnson, a...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 18, 20232 min read
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'Liberal arts' education is now 'classical,' which makes it 'right wing'
"Classical" charter schools are a right-wing plot to "destroy democratically governed public schools while turning back the clock of...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 27, 20232 min read
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Black homeschoolers plan microschool, if Texas OKs ESAs
Texas may provide $10,400 per student for parent-directed education, if Gov. Greg Abbott can push a compromise bill through a third...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 3, 20232 min read
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Urban charters produce more brains for the buck
Urban charter schools use "fewer dollars to achieve better outcomes" than traditional public schools enrolling similar students,...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 3, 20231 min read
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How AZ parents spend ESAs: Specialty schools, private schools -- and karate lessons!
How are Arizona parents spending Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) money? They're paying for educational products and services,...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 10, 20232 min read
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KIPP schools are game changers
KIPP charters are game changers, concludes a new Mathematica study. Compared to similar students who applied to KIPP but lost the...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 14, 20232 min read
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For failing students, lockdown was freedom, school is 'prison'
School is "like being in prison," says 14-year-old Kieran, who has dyslexia and ADHD. He prefers doing physical labor with his father....

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 9, 20232 min read
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Death wish: Contempt for parents will destroy public ed
Public schools are trouble. Trust is low. Enrollment is falling. Parents are embracing new alternatives. Is transgender policy the hill...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 25, 20232 min read
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Homeschooling is so much work
In Hard Lessons from a Veteran Homeschooler, Larissa Phillips talks about the challenges of educating her two children in rural New York....

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 21, 20233 min read
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DIY schooling leaves home: Microschools, co-ops, hybrids, pods ...
When schools went remote, many parents took charge of their children's education, and learned how to find online and community resources,...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 21, 20232 min read
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Competing for kindergarteners
Kindergarten enrollment has fallen by 17 percent in the last six years in district school in New York City, reports the New York Post. In...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 8, 20232 min read
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CREDO: Some charters are achievement 'gap busters'
Black, Hispanic and low-income students gain the most in reading and math compared to similar students at district schools, concludes a...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 22, 20231 min read
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First the Catholics, now the Jews: More religious charters in OK?
Oklahoma has approved the first religious charter school in the nation, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The online school...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 18, 20231 min read
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Teachers are thriving in charter, private schools
Teachers, Facing Increasing Levels of Stress, Are Burned Out, according to a March story in the New York Times. That seems to be true for...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 13, 20231 min read
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Why parents choose virtual schools
Virtual schooling has a bad reputation, writes Ian Kingsbury, a senior fellow at the Educational Freedom Institute, in City Journal....

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 6, 20232 min read
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Canceling SkippyJon: Everyone wants to censor something
Skippyjon Jones, about a Siamese cat who thought he was a Chihuahua, was a huge hit when it came out in 2003, recalls James V. Shuls. His...

Joanne Jacobs
May 3, 20231 min read
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