reading

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The Mississippi state flag waving along with the national flag of the United States of America
Image Credit: rarrarorro - Adobe Stock

Time for Washington to Take a Lesson from Mississippi

Though one could point to many areas in which Mississippi has struggled in the past, the state is clearly now on a roll. Washingtonians would be wise to compare what they are doing versus what our state is doing. Here are just a few immediately identifiable differences in trends between the two states in two essential categories, the economy and education. The Economy: By any of these measures, Mississippi seems to be getting it right — while Washington appears to be heading in the wrong direction. Donald Nielsen Education: By any of these measures, Mississippi seems to be getting it right — while Washington appears to be heading in the wrong direction. The time may have come when we would Read More ›

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New Hampshire (USA) flag waving on the wind
Image Credit: Lulla - Adobe Stock

“Live Free or Die” State Becomes First Universal School Choice State in the Northeast

With Governor Kelly Ayotte’s signature on Tuesday, New Hampshire became the first state in the Northeast and the 17th state in the nation to enact universal school choice. New Hampshire joins Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming in empowering all parents statewide with a portion of their children’s education funding to select the K-12 education avenue of their choice. Previously, New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program, which began in 2021, was restricted to only families meeting a certain household income threshold. However, during this legislative session, the state House and the Senate took up separate bills to make all students eligible for the program. On March 13, House Bill Read More ›

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close-up portrait of sad little child covering ears with hands and looking away
Image Credit: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS - Adobe Stock

Fearmongering and Falsehoods Over Education Dept. Shutdown

Unsurprisingly, there is tremendous fearmongering marked by falsehoods from the opposition regarding President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Public school personnel are already claiming that special education funding has been cut and that closing the department will devastate their ability to educate students. These claims are unfounded. Read More ›
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Cute boy and girl  reading book in library
Licensed via Adobe Stock

Banning Smartphones Helps. Now Bring Back the Books.

This summer, several states have proposed banning smartphones in public schools or introducing programs that will limit kids' phone use during school hours. So far New York, Indiana, Ohio, California, and Oklahoma have proposed bans or restrictions, showing rare bipartisan concern over the issue. Read More ›
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Bored and discouraged student
Licensed via Adobe Stock

Uniform Schools Yield Uniformly Poor Results

Parents who have two or more children know how totally different children can be. Even with the same two parents, living in the same house, eating the same food, and having very similar learning experiences, children will still turn out to be different in personality, interests, and even appearance. So why would we stick with an education system that treats all children alike? Read More ›
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Head erased with pencil
Photo by quickshooting on Adobe Stock

Staggering Learning Loss

Students fortunate enough to have their school move toward a hybrid learning model may begin to return to campus two days per week. However, many districts implementing a hybrid learning format are only allocating four days a week to some form of student learning. Why? Read More ›