In the November 2020 election, California’s powerful teachers’ unions spent over $20 million promoting Prop. 15, which would have increased taxes on commercial properties. Other unions, mostly in the public sector, spent another $17 million to promote Prop. 15. But voters weren’t buying it. Prop. 15 failed. Overall, in November 2020, California’s government unions spent nearly $70...
A new CPC analysis suggests that South LA charter schools have 37% more college-ready SAT-taking students than comparable district schools nearby. The analysis compares the California Department of Education’s SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks at charter and district high schools located in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in South Los Angeles (Zip Codes: 90001, 90002, 90003,...
President Biden calls for national unity, but his words ring hollow. The resignation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos the day after the Capitol protests spurred National Education Association President Becky Pringle to spew, “Resigning 13 days before the end of this administration does nothing to erase the harm Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has done to this...
Late last month, Governor Newsom announced a $2 billion plan to support reopening K-6 public schools for in-person learning by providing districts money if they agree to a timetable for reopening starting in mid-February. But Newsom is playing both sides. He’s trying to support both families who want their kids back in school and the teachers...
In what amounts to a “1984 Project,” school districts across the country have turned into reeducation camps. In December it was revealed that the San Diego Unified School District had hired Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, two brazen race hustlers posing as “trainers” to jam their radical racial separatist agenda down the throats of...
Diane Ravitch’s arguments against school choice miss the mark by miles. The latest anti-school choice rant comes to us courtesy of Diane Ravitch, “a historian of education,” who is the Arthur Clarke of her field. When she writes, the reader is treated to science fiction dosed with a substantive amount of snake oil for good...
Poor governance, beginning long before the bungled response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to a recall campaign that may very well put California Governor Newsom into a fight for his political life in the Spring of 2021. If a suitable challenger emerges to replace Newsom, he could end up in well deserved political exile. But what’s happening in...
When it comes to California’s political dysfunction, over and over, the story’s already been told. Failing schools, crumbling infrastructure. Highest taxes, highest unemployment, and highest cost-of-living. Hostile business climate. Crippling, punitive regulations and fees. Widest gap between rich and poor. Burning forests, lawless streets. Record numbers of homeless. Unaffordable housing. Water rationing, electricity blackouts. And...
Several recent stories about teachers unions can be used for classroom instruction. Lesson plans are a teacher’s daily guide for what students need to learn and how it will be taught. Because educators are always looking for new and interesting ways to engage kids, I have a few ideas that can be used to further...
“We acknowledge that we meet on stolen land.” The above quote kicks off a contemptible “White Privilege” PowerPoint presentation that the San Diego Unified School District is forcing its teachers to watch. Authored by Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi, two high-profile race hustlers, all the usual victimology blather is in full bloom – you...
With a Biden presidency looming, charter schools are once again under attack. “I remember seeing a bumper sticker when the telephone company was all one…and it said ‘We don’t care. We don’t have to.’ And that’s what a monopoly is. That’s what IBM was in their day. And that’s certainly what the public school system...
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck hard back in April 2020, California’s teachers’ unions went into overdrive. The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) released a lengthy document outlining what they believed to be “Safe and Equitable Conditions for Starting LAUSD in 2020-21.” In a report published by the California Policy Center that same month, Larry Sand explained the deal...
Teacher union leader claims we should follow the science, but then she ignores it. When pressed about the reason for closing schools as a way to limit the spread of Covid-19, the comment you mostly hear from the teachers unions and other shutdown hawks is, “Follow the science!” Typical is American Federation of Teachers president...
If Joe Biden becomes president, will he go along with the teachers union wish list? As I wrote last week, charter school students, kids who are in other school choice programs, and taxpayers could be getting the short end of the stick if Joe Biden becomes president on January 20th. To assist Biden with policy...
