by Jeanne Allen Yorktown Crier & Poquoson Post July 21, 2016 Imagine a bi-partisan commission focused on one of America's most pressing national issues. Imagine a consensus opinion on what needs to be done to save generations of American youth-at-risk. Now imagine ignoring those recommendations. Unthinkable to some, but the sad reality we see today.…

In a toxic and unpredictable election cycle, Gov. Mike Pence’s record on education is exactly what we need: a reminder that education is the essential lever to expand opportunity for all Americans.

Sometimes it takes a tragedy to remind us what’s important — and what not to take for granted. Nowhere is this more obvious for the education reform movement than in New Orleans.

Lately, education scholars at Washington, D.C.-based, nominally conservative think tanks have spun themselves into a tizzy about the education reform movement’s splintering into quarreling factions.

by Marilyn Anderson Rhames Education Post I’m a Generation X-er, but don’t you dare call me old. I’m fairly new to the fourth decade, but I am often mistaken as an early twenty-something. It’s a dubious misconception. Sometimes I’m flattered and other times it’s offensive. When I want to be taken seriously, I drop hints…

By Ovetta Wiggins Washington Post July 1, 2016 The president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence is doing something she has never done before: organizing volunteers to monitor the state’s Handgun Review Permit Board. The board, which hears appeals from people who have been denied gun permits, is one of at least three in the…

A quarter-century on, challenges loom for the school reform movement.

by Evan Smith Opportunity Lives June 21, 2016 Out of tragedy, an opportunity emerged. For decades the city of New Orleans was failing its children. The statistics make plain the reality of the situation: About 62 percent of students were enrolled in failing schools. And more than half of all students didn’t even graduate from…

There is no disagreement with the fact the charter school law in Pennsylvania is out of date, but what is needed is a comprehensive and holistic approach, such as in House Bill 530, rather than a limited review that chooses to cherry-pick the need for more stringent charter school accountability and oversight while ignoring district…

“There’s no excuse for the current state of America’s educational system,” Engler told the group last week. “We run the risk of falling even further behind if we don’t incorporate innovation and opportunity as bedrock principles.”