Charter schools Archives - Voice For Liberty

Jul

Project Wichita survey

The Project Wichita survey is about to end. Will it have collected useful data? Project Wichita is "a community engagement process to identify the future we want for our home and the steps necessary to achieve it." [1. Project Wichita. Available at https://www.projectwichita.org/.] So far it has held focus groups that collected ideas for the future of Wichita, in which "an astounding 3,800+ people [2. With the population of the city of Wichita at about 388,000, (U.S. Census Bureau. 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates), nearly one percent participated.] shared their vision in 239+ focus groups," according to the project's…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Accountability in Kansas public schools

Critics of school choice say there is no accountability outside the traditional public schools. Here are the standards Kansas used to hold its schools accountable. Are non-traditional public schools held properly accountable? Do charter schools and private schools escape the accountability standards states use for their traditional public schools, particularly in Kansas? A standard argument against school choice is that charter schools and private schools are not held accountable. Underlying this argument is the assumption that parents have neither the time nor technical expertise to properly evaluate the schools their children attend. Only those with special training can do this,…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Year in Review: 2016

Here are highlights from Voice for Liberty for 2016. Was it a good year for the principles of individual liberty, limited government, economic freedom, and free markets in Wichita and Kansas? Also be sure to view the programs on WichitaLiberty.TV for guests like journalist, novelist, and blogger Bud Norman; Radio talk show host Joseph Ashby; David Bobb, President of Bill of Rights Institute; Heritage Foundation trade expert Bryan Riley; Radio talk show host Andy Hooser; Keen Umbehr; John Chisholm on entrepreneurship; James Rosebush, author of "True Reagan," Jonathan Williams of American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC); Gidget Southway, or Danedri Herbert;…

Nov

By Bob Weeks

Decoding the Kansas teachers union

Decoding and deconstructing communications from KNEA, the Kansas teachers union, lets us discover the true purpose of the union. Here, we look at a dispatch from Kansas National Education Association's "Under the Dome" newsletter from March 14, 2013. It may be found here. The topic of this day was a charter school bill. Kansas has a law that allows charter schools, which are public schools that operate outside many of the rules and regulations that govern traditional public schools. But the Kansas law is written in a way that makes it difficult to form a charter school, and as a…

Nov

By Bob Weeks

Decoding the Kansas teachers union

Explaining to Kansans what the teachers union really means in its public communications. After the November 2016 election, the Kansas National Education Association -- our state's teachers union -- wants to explain to Kansas the meaning of the results. But it takes a seasoned eye to recognize the subterfuge the union uses to advance its interests. The message from the union may be read at It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Following, quotes from the union missive and interpretation. "But at KNEA, we are focusing on what the 2016 election means for public education."…

Nov

By Bob Weeks

Trump and school choice

Could a President Trump bring more school choice to Kansas? One of the campaign planks of President-Elect Donald J. Trump is support for school choice. Specifically, his campaign page states: "Immediately add an additional federal investment of $20 billion towards school choice. This will be done by reprioritizing existing federal dollars."[1. Donald J. Trump for President. Education. November 9, 2016. http://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/education/] In the next point: "Give states the option to allow these funds to follow the student to the public or private school they attend. Distribution of this grant will favor states that have private school choice, magnet schools and…

WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita and Kansas economics, and government investment

Oct

By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita and Kansas economics, and government investment

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Wichita sells a hotel, more subsidy for downtown, Kansas newspaper editorialists fall for a lobbyist's tale, how Kansas can learn from Arizona schools, and government investment. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 131, broadcast October 30, 2016. Shownotes Article: Wichita, give back the Hyatt proceeds. Instead of spending the proceeds of the Hyatt hotel sale, the city should honor those who paid for the hotel -- the city’s taxpayers. Article: In Wichita, developer welfare under a cloud. A downtown Wichita project receives a small benefit from the city, with no mention…

Oct

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Arizona schools

Arizona shows that Kansas is missing out on an opportunity to provide better education at lower cost. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau tells us this:[1. U.S. Census Bureau. Public Education Finances: 2014. Table 8: Per Pupil Amounts for Current Spending of Public Elementary-Secondary School Systems by State: Fiscal Year 2014. Available at census.gov/library/publications/2016/econ/g14-aspef.html.] Total Spending Per Pupil: Arizona: $7,528. Kansas: $9,972. Spending on Instruction Per Pupil: Arizona: $4,091. Kansas $6,112. This data is from the school year ending in 2014, which is the most recent data from the Census Bureau that includes data from all states in a comparable…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

School choice and funding

Opponents of school choice programs argue the programs harm traditional public schools, both financially and in their ability to serve their remaining students. Evidence does not support this position. The prevalent argument is that charter schools and other school choice programs drain funds from public schools. That is, if a public school student chooses to attend a charter or private school, and if the money follows the student to the other school, the public school district loses money that it otherwise would have received. Therefore, the public school district is worse off, and so too are its students. A rebuttal…

The nation’s report card and charter schools

Sep

By Bob Weeks

The nation’s report card and charter schools

An interactive table of NAEP scores for the states and races, broken down by charter school and traditional public school. Some states have few or no charter schools. In many states, minority students perform better on the NAEP test when in charter schools. The U.S. Department of Education, through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), conducts the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) every other year. Known as "The Nation's Report Card," it is "the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas."[1. National Assessment of Educational Progress. About.…