Education News
Reports on education reform, school choice, and classroom policies. The Daily Signal provides conservative commentary and opinion alongside education news.
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- Opinion
Here Are 10 Reasons School Choice Is Winning
School choice is a growing movement, one that is already lifting thousands of kids across America. The results are tangible. And states are leading the way, giving parents more options in their children’s education than ever before. Here are 10 of the most promising benefits of school choice. 1. School choice is good for student…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Parents Deserve to be in the Driver’s Seat of Their Children’s Educations
How your children are educated is probably one of the most important decisions that parents can make. That is why the choice should rest with them and them alone. That’s what National School Choice Week is all about: celebrating policies that put parents where they belong—in the driver’s seat. Case in point: the D.C. Opportunity…Kay C. James -
- Opinion
The Public School Monopoly Forces Kids to Learn Secular Humanism. We Need More Options.
President Donald Trump issued a proclamation declaring this week, Jan. 20-26, as National School Choice Week. The proclamation expresses concern about performance of U.S. students in international surveys: 24th in reading, 25th in science, 40th in math. And it ascribes the cause of these disappointing statistics to the “consequences of the limitations imposed by a…Star Parker -
- News
Betsy DeVos Hails Growth and Popularity of School Choice
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called it “imperative” that Congress reauthorize a scholarship program in the nation’s capital that allows children from low-income families to attend private schools. “The outcomes for students in D.C. have continued to improve, from the most underperforming district in the country to now one that is on a growth trajectory,” DeVos…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
I’m a Single Mom From the City. School Choice Has Changed My Kids’ Lives Forever.
Fifteen years ago, I found myself feeling hopeless and helpless in the nation’s capital. My children’s school situation was dismal. My older kids were academically driven, yet faced a steady stream of challenges. My youngest seemed completely overwhelmed and destined for failure. And when I looked around my neighborhood, I saw the same dismal situation…Virginia Walden Ford -
- Opinion
How School Choice Is Breaking Down Barriers in Puerto Rico
The new year is bringing exciting developments to Puerto Rico’s education reforms. Not only will the U.S. territory open new charter schools, it will also launch a new pilot private school voucher program in the fall. The need for education reform is most clearly illustrated by Puerto Rico’s National Assessment of Educational Progress results, where…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
How School Choice Is Lifting Thousands of Kids Across America
It’s amazing how far school choice has come since the first National School Choice Week was held in 2011. That year, 18 states and Washington, D.C., offered 31 school choice programs (vouchers, tax credits, and education savings accounts) enabling some 212,000 students to attend a private school of choice. Today, 65 private school choice options…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
Liberals’ Real Problem Is That Christian Schools Exist at All
It was supposed to be a day celebrating religious freedom in America. Instead, liberals decided to show everyone just how much our First Freedom is at risk. For Christians, who have tried to warn people that these past several years were about a lot more than marriage, the attacks on second lady Karen Pence certainly…Tony Perkins -
- Opinion
Teacher Strike in Los Angeles Underscores Need for Education Choice
Public school teachers in Los Angeles are on strike, affecting half a million children attending some 900 public schools in the district. Although students in the Los Angeles Unified School District—the second-largest school district in the country—can still access the schools, classes are being taught by substitute teachers while teachers outside are striking. Many students…Lindsey Burke -
- Opinion
The German Government Forcibly Removed These Children From Their Parents Over Homeschooling
The Wunderlich family wanted to do what thousands of families in America do with no questions asked: educate their children at home. But homeschooling is not allowed in Germany, and the state has relentlessly pursued the Wunderlichs and even seized their children. One morning in August 2013, 33 police officers and seven social workers showed…Robert Clarke -
- Opinion
A Glimmer of Hope in Black Education
In reference to efforts to teach black children, the president of the St. Petersburg, Florida, chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Maria Scruggs, said: “The (school) district has shown they just can’t do it. … Now it’s time for the community to step in.” That’s a recognition that politicians and…Walter E. Williams -
- Opinion
Americans Don’t Agree On Education. That’s Why We Need More Options.
When it comes to education, Americans are divided on what quality and accountability in our schools actually look like. Although we’re unlikely to all agree anytime soon, increased school choice could help satisfy everyone. Two December surveys from leading education research organizations spelled out the reasons for this sharp divide. One report from Echelon Insights found that…Kristiana Bolzman -
- Opinion
Beware Silicon Valley Santas in the Schools
When it comes to Silicon Valley Santas bearing gifts for our children, I am a big Scrooge. Every responsible parent should be, too. In 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook showered a rural Idaho school district with 500 iPads and Apple TVs for every classroom, along with free training as part of a 29-state $100 million…Michelle Malkin -
- Opinion
Podcast: Reforming Our Education System
Education in America has radically changed just in the last 50 years, and with it has changed the way students learn about our past. Our colleague Rachel del Guidice sits down with Rick Graber, president of the Bradley Foundation, who’s working to reform higher education and K-12 education in America. Plus: It’s almost Christmas, and…Katrina Trinko -
- News
UNC Chapel Hill Suggests Moving Toppled Confederate Statue Inside Campus Building
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is considering a relocation for a Confederate statue that was toppled and vandalized to an indoor on-campus location. Silent Sam could be moved into a new $5 million campus building if the proposal is approved by the board of governors, The Associated Press reported Monday. The board,…Neetu Chandak -
- Opinion
Podcast: The Importance of Civics Education
On today’s show, we’re talking about civics. At a time when students across the country lack a basic understanding of government and economics, one university is doing something about it. We’ll feature an interview with Paul Carrese, founding director of the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University. We’ll also…Robert B. Bluey -
- Opinion
Students’ Safety Is No Small Consideration in Parents’ Private School Choice
It goes without saying that parents are more concerned than anyone else for their children’s well-being. So, no one is surprised, as The Daily Signal has noted, when parents hesitate to send their children to schools where “violence and intimidation were so bad that eight police officers patrolled the school every day, yet kids were…Jude Schwalbach -
- Opinion
Podcast: A Homeschooling Mom Shares Why, and How
Where do you begin if you’re thinking about homeschooling? Can you do it if you’re not a teacher? And how can you make sure your kids get enough socialization? We’re joined by a special guest, Colleen Trinko—yes, Kate’s mom! Colleen, who is a teacher, homeschooled her five children for many years, and now works with…Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
DeSantis Gets Unexpected Boost From African-American ‘School-Choice Moms’
Conservative Republican Ron DeSantis and progressive Democrat Andrew Gillum presented voters with starkly different choices on an array of issues, none more distinctively polar than their plans for charter schools. In short, DeSantis proposed expanding them while Gillum espoused “siphoning them off” as drains on the public school system. That distinction—rather than the personalities and…John Haughey -
- Opinion
Micro-Schools Offer Kids a Customized, Hands-On Education
There’s a world of difference between telling kids what they are supposed to know and teaching them how to learn. As parents look for more and better education options, the up-and-coming phenomenon of micro-schooling aims to bridge the gap between facts and experience with project-based learning. Although the micro-school movement launched in the U.S. and…Emily Maxson