Districts & Charter Schools
From school districts to charter schools, we cover public schools and the ways they are governed.
Why school systems fail
Authors Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson distinguished between “inclusive” and “extractive” institutions in their 2012 book “Why Nations Fail.” Inclusive political institutions allow broad political participation and are a precursor to inclusive economic institutions, which broadly protect individual property rights and provide incentives for workers to increase labor productivity.... READ MORECan Arizona regain the lost golden age of NAEP improvement?
“Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Find...
READ MORECatholic schools are thriving in Florida – and outperforming all over the country
Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24 to mark the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. He has called Catholics to be “pilgrims...
READ MOREDistricts are leading Florida’s generational education transformation
A generation ago, Florida’s school districts could safely assume that most students would board a yellow bus (or perhaps walk less than two miles) to a public school they operated. ...
READ MOREFlorida charter schools grow – and challenge their own status quo
At the annual Florida School Choice Conference and School Choice Summit, attendees got their customary sendoff from Jim Horne, a former state senator, state education commissioner and pioneer of the...
READ MOREProPublica goes full Dale Gribble
The television classic “King of the Hill” included a character known as Dale, who despite being a conspiracy theorist is entirely oblivious to the fact that that his wife is...
READ MOREThe pursuit of educational happiness in Arizona’s Roosevelt Elementary District
Facing a multimillion-dollar deficit, the board of the Roosevelt Elementary School District in Phoenix Arizona recently began a debate over a proposal to close as many as five schools, a...
READ MOREAnalysis: Florida schools boast better reading results, especially for low-income students, for less money
Florida’s public schools score among the best in the nation in nine-year-olds’ reading achievement. For low-income students, their results are the best in the nation, period. And they also deliver...
READ MOREPublic schools and the looming shortage of American labor
Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has calculated a worker shortage index for each state, calculating the ratio of people looking for work...
READ MOREFlorida school district offers virtual classes to scholarship students – with more to follow
This school year, 2024-2025, for the first time, Brevard County students using Florida’s education choice scholarship programs will have a new option: the ability to sign up for online courses...
READ MOREWhy don’t district teachers benefit from increases in district spending?
Recently, because this is the sort of thing your friendly neighborhood school choice mad scientist likes to do, I examined the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction annual reports. Stick...
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