Analysis: California’s Charter School Renaissance Continues, While Public Non-Charter School Enrollment Continues to Shrink

By Brandon Ristoff
05/06/2021
Recent news has not been favorable to public schools in California. More and more students are leaving these institutions, according to data from the California Department of Education.  Over the past six years, California public school enrollment fell by 4%. This is part of a continual decline in K-12 enrollment that began in the 2004-05...

TAGS: California, education, school

Fixing K-12 education in California

By Edward Ring
04/26/2021
Supporters of education reform in California have never had a bigger opportunity than they do right now. In the past year, more parents than ever witnessed the selfish overreach of the teachers’ unions, at the same time millions of them experienced creative educational solutions that bypass the traditional public school system.  Meanwhile, an activist army...

TAGS: California, classrooms, education, K-12, Unions

The Superintendent Cannot Choose Your Doctor Either

By Greg Rolen
04/20/2021
Imagine a world where a bureaucrat can choose the one person with whom you share your greatest confidences, personal information, goals and vulnerabilities. Imagine a world where that same bureaucrat can use that vital information to control you, invade your privacy and harm your well-being. Imagine a world where this cruel hoax is government-funded.  I...

TAGS: Al Mijares, ed, education

Fighting, and Winning, School Choice in California

By Edward Ring
03/25/2021
There is going to be a school choice initiative on the state ballot in November 2022. While this is not an absolute certainty, the grassroots support for school choice is strong, and the infrastructure necessary to nurture a grassroots effort is now in place. The RecallGavin2020 campaign has proven the model, and fed up parents from Chula...

TAGS: classrooms, education, Newsom, school

Will California’s Schools Ever Fully Reopen? There’s Plenty of Money

By Edward Ring
03/18/2021
With a significant portion of the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package earmarked for K-12 public schools, concerns have arisen over potential misuse of those funds. As Fox News recently reported, “Multiple California school districts have discussed using state and federal COVID relief money to hand out bonuses for teachers and staff, with one district’s union even...

TAGS: education, LAUSD, public schools, reopening schools

Rescuing Public Education in California

By Edward Ring
03/11/2021
Depending on who you ask, California’s K-12 system of public education would be doing just fine if taxpayers threw another $30 billion (or more) per year into its insatiable maw, or, it is a failed model mostly because the teachers’ union agenda has ruined everything, from a crippling administrative overhead to mandating a curricula more...

TAGS: ed, education, K-12, Prop. 38, Public

South LA Charter Schools have 37% More College-Ready SAT-Taking Students than Comparable District Schools Nearby

By Brandon Ristoff
01/27/2021
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,...

TAGS: Charter schools, education

Gompers must choose what kind of future it wants

By Koppany Jordan
01/08/2020
In 2004, following decades of poor student performance and gang crime, parents at San Diego’s Gompers Middle School and the school’s principal used a little-known state law to convert their campus into a public charter school. The new school, called Gompers Preparatory Academy, thrived. Campus safety improved, test scores rose, and students and teachers lined...

TAGS: Charter schools, education, public unions, San Diego, Unions

SATIRE: California State Superintendent bans finger guns in schools

By Koppany Jordan
08/22/2019
The following was written for the “Fake News or Real” quiz on National Review’s Radio Free California podcast. –Editor After a string of non-fatal gun battles in California’s classrooms, Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced new guidelines on Tuesday to ban the use of finger guns. “This ends now! We must act! We can’t just sit around...

TAGS: California, education, NRA, Tony Thurmond