top of page


Dead wood in the groves of academe
The U.S. has led the world in higher education but our "university system is beginning to molder," writes Adrian Wooldridge in Bloomberg....

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 22, 20231 min read


Desperately seeking kindergarteners in Portland, preschoolers in NYC
Four- and five-year-olds are in short supply in Portland, Oregon, reports Rachel Saslow in Williamette Week. Schools are competing for...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 15, 20232 min read


Dreams are lost in the community college 'maze'
Community college was "a weird maze," recalls Santos Enrique Camara, who'd hoped to study audio engineering at Washington's Shoreline...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 7, 20232 min read


Fewer students means fewer schools
"Faced with millions in budget shortfalls and declining enrollment," Seattle Public Schools is looking at closing schools and laying off...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 13, 20231 min read


The students who never returned
A quarter-million students who left public schools during the pandemic are missing, according to an analysis of 21 states and the...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 13, 20232 min read


Schools have more teachers, fewer students
Schools are adding teachers while enrolling fewer students, writes Chad Aldeman, policy director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 1, 20231 min read


If strike closes LA schools, it could be 'nail in the coffin'
A threatened strike by Los Angeles Unified's service workers -- custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special-education aides --...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 26, 20231 min read


Choice lets parents find a school that respects their rights
"Families should not be stuck in an education system that actively undermines parental rights and ideologically grooms children, argues...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 25, 20231 min read


Don't push good teachers over the fiscal cliff
School districts are hiring more staffers, even as enrollments decline. When federal pandemic relief funds run out in 2024, who will be...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 7, 20221 min read


Restless in Seattle: Asians, achievers are 'quiet quitting' public schools
Asian-American and affluent parents are"quiet quitting" Seattle Public Schools, writes Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat. Overall,...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 15, 20222 min read
bottom of page