As 21st century school systems continue to emerge, low-income parents will continue to regard public charter schools as the means through which their children have equal access to quality education. This report is a response to the National Education Association's (NEA's) policy statement on charter schools. In the statement, the NEA calls for a…

This report compares average rates of frequent teacher absence (more than 10 days) for teachers with and without union or union-like contracts in traditional public schools and charter schools. The study's rationale is that such absences substantively harm students and cost taxpayers billions of dollars. It finds that teachers contractually…

Teachers in New Haven, Connecticut, recently ratified a contract that Education Secretary Arne Duncan praised as an "important progressive labor agreement" for its provisions on teacher evaluation and school reform. This article presents a conversation with David Cicarella, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, about the…

The recent flap over the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) charter school report is surprising, not because the study used the wrong methods or reached the wrong conclusions, it didn't, but because AFT's conclusions are nothing new. The AFT study "is" the first to use the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) as its…

The changes in the New Orleans public school system are proceeding at break neck speed. There is currently a bill in the Louisiana State Senate which would allow the state to sell, lease, or give New Orleans school buildings to any institution that has operated schools for 25 years. This would be done with a no-bid process. The money would not go…

Reviews the report "Do Charter Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment After 10 Years" created by the American Federation of Teachers. Argues that rather than being serious research, the report is an indictment against charter schools for the purpose of retaining the union's power in public schools. (WFA)

Early 20th century Progressive reformers established elected school boards as a means of shielding public school systems from the politics and patronage of corrupt city governments. Citizens, rather than political dons or their favored appointees, would govern the community's schools with the community's interests at heart. Today, however, elected…

There are almost 3,000 charter schools operating in the United States. In Arizona about 500 charters enroll about 74,000 students. The question of whether charter schools "work" is, therefore, of considerable interest to policymakers and the public nationally and in Arizona. To charter school proponents, the fact that charters exist is…

Teachers' unions are formidable foes of meaningful education reforms. Their control of education results from nearly four decades of political power during which they have pressured lawmakers and school board members to shape education policies, laws, and contracts in their favor. The resulting frustration of long-ignored parents is manifesting…