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Married with kids is making a (modest) comeback
More children are growing up in stable, two-parent families -- but fewer adults are getting married.

Joanne Jacobs
14 hours ago2 min read
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School safety is top reason parents use choice to leave public schools
Bullying is the primary reason parents use choice programs to flee public schools.

Joanne Jacobs
7 days ago2 min read
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Kids want to play in the real world, but parents think they're safer online
Children have more freedom to roam online than to play without supervision in the neighborhood park -- or even their own yards.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 162 min read
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What do parents want? Public schools are competing for students
Public schools don't have a monopoly any more. Parents are using taxpayer-funded school choice to find alternatives.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 63 min read
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Mystery of the missing middle-schoolers
Seeking stronger academics and less disruption, parents are choosing private schooling and homeschooling over public middle schools.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 251 min read
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Eat your spinach and do your homework: Rigor is unpopular
Everyone says they value a rigorous education -- but many don't want to do the work.

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 143 min read
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Don't blame parents for things they can't control
Parents can send children to school rested and ready to learn, but schools have to do their part too.

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 32 min read
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What's a 'good' school? Parents have more choices, need more info
As school choice expands, parents need to evaluate test scores to find a "good school."

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 193 min read
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Five years to destroy public faith in schools
Public schools' response to the pandemic has caused permanent damage.

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 103 min read
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Johnny, Jelani and Juan can't read: Is it Mom and Dad's fault?
Don't blame parents for children's reading struggles.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 173 min read
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Parents say kids are learning in school, but students say 'meh'
Parents overestimate how well their children are doing in school.

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 291 min read
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Too many toys, not enough fun
American families have lots of toys, but kids get the most play value from the basics, such as blocks.

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 122 min read
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'Give yourself a break' is bad advice: Do difficult things!
Young people need to believe they can do difficult things. Don't tell them they're fragile.

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 62 min read
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Sleepovers aren't for sissies
Do American kids need more math tutoring and fewer sleepovers?

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 30, 20242 min read
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'Brain rot' is the word for Gen Alpha
"Ohio" means "weird" in Gen Alpha slang. Hmmmm.

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 29, 20241 min read
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Who's truly disadvantaged? Look at single parenting, not race or poverty
Growing up in a single-parent family is a huge disadvantage in life, writes Fordham's Michael Petrilli in Forbes. If racial preferences...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 25, 20242 min read
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Who benefits from universal choice? Mostly families with kids already in private school
Arizona's universal choice program mostly benefits middle- and upper-middle-class families who already had children in private school.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 16, 20242 min read
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Tutoring is booming: Parents are paying to give their kids an edge
Many more parents are paying for in-person or online tutoring.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 9, 20242 min read
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The honesty gap: 'How are parents supposed to understand this?'
States are hiding pandemic learning loss by lowering the bar for "proficiency" on state tests.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 26, 20242 min read
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$100 to read a book: This doesn't seem like a viable plan
My sixth-grade teacher wanted us to read 10 books during the school year. Whenever we read a book, we were supposed to fill out an index...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 5, 20242 min read
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