Caution: This week’s edition is not for the faint of heart, or easily offended. Yes, it is that kind of week - not just in Washington, DC but all over the country as cameras roll on Capitol Hill. But... WHAT IF THE WORLD paid as much attention to what’s happening to children and families in…

NERO FIDDLING.  All the national pundits and people who suck the air out of the room are focused on the she-said/he-said Supreme Court nominee drama in Washington. Meanwhile, the educational ‘Rome’ is burning. Consider the facts and the truth about the pitiful state of so many of our institutions – who are largely responsible for…

  IN MEMORIAM. The reminders and remembrances of 9/11 have mostly finished, and the words and sorrows of so many affected unite us in our shared conviction that this the greatest nation on earth, borne of independence and our God given inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness will not and must…

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!  It’s hard to believe we are here, again. Most of us experienced a uniquely-September barrage of incoming communication, demands and work post Labor Day’s annual lull, not to mention the reality of hearings, strikes, educational conflict and more. Here’s just a smidgeon that we’re watching this week. What’s on your mind? Let us know by dropping…

BATON ROUGE IS HOT. Yep, you read that right.  Dozens of schools, including the city’s very first, Children’s Charter School, took kids back to school this year, and the opportunities in this community that was once close to the bottom of all Louisiana are not promising and innovative. Thanks to the variety of local and…

BACK TO SCHOOL WITH TEACHER STRIKES.  The teachers union in Puerto Rico is gearing up for a strike next week. Among their list of demands: no to educational opportunity that would bring desperately needed educational options to families on the island. This strike is yet another indication of why the Janus v. AFSCME case was…

A PERSONALIZED FUTURE. An overview of the Summit Learning Program and four schools that have adopted the approach provides a glimpse into a future of education that could be closer than many think. An excerpt: “Twenty percent of the school day is devoted to what Summit calls Personalized Learning Time, or what students more commonly…

JUST THE FACTS…OR NOT. A NY Times op-ed, “A Plea for a Fact-Based Debate About Charter Schools,” would appear to make a compelling case for reasoned discussion on charter schools but there are some glaring holes in the piece that make it less reasonable than it seems. For example, there is no mention of the…

POLITICS AS USUAL. As if on cue to lend credence to the wisdom of the Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision (which frees individuals from being forced to fund unions they don’t support) last week’s AFT annual meeting more closely resembled the quadrennial national party conventions than a gathering of teachers devoted to education and…

A NEW HOPE FOR RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS’ FREEDOM? The President’s nominee to fill the vacancy that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will create is Brett Kavanaugh, whose long history of rulings and opinions on education issues may allow for progress and real change for religious schools and school equity: Does A Justice Kavanaugh Mean That Blaine…