Why so some people consider private schools and charter schools notches above public schools?  I have personally known teachers who moved from one setting to the other, so I don't think it's the teachers. When parents support a school and its teachers, the sky is the limit.  I watched over the weekend as my grandson received ...

For some strange reason, I am always cynical about surveys.  It seems like people spout off information, and use it to support their own causes.  What really happens with the accumulated data anyway?  For a few years we were able to evaluate our schools and their leaders in a very secretive system at the end of the the year.  ...

Texas has had its share of headaches when it comes to testing.  Does anyone else remember the TECAT?  That was a test that every Texas teacher had to take to keep on trucking.  It was an absurd, expensive ordeal where teachers were treated like cattle because lawmakers weren't sure that they were educated enough ...

Schools across the nation are experimenting with longer school days.  On average, U.S. students are spending 6.5 hours of their day inside a school building.  Some educators are thinking that if they have the students longer, they can accomplish more. One model that public schools are looking to is the Knowledge is Power Program, which ...

A video on the growing dilemma of how to successfully educate middle schoolers discusses doing away with middle schools altogether.  One possibility is to keep students in elementary school through the 8th grade.  Another choice is to house 6th through 12th graders ...

With plans to start the Utah voucher program this fall, it will be interesting to see how many worm their way into court to put a lid on making vouchers available for all public school students.  Payout for the first year is estimated to be $9.3 for about 3,000 interested in moving from public to private ...

In an effort to help teachers facing problems with low performing students, the state of Rhode Island has placed step by step lesson plans on a Web site available to teachers and everyone else.   The article on boston.com also explains that using the plans is voluntary. The materials include more than 70 lesson plans, ...

There are so many teachable moments for preschoolers that Teach For America is launching an early childhood pilot program.  Founded in 1990 by then-college student Wendy Kopp, the New York City-based TFA has prepared 17,000 teachers through a program that includes an intensive summer training course and four weeks of student ...

My mother always used to say, ''Open the jar, and the worms will come out.''  This seemed to apply to almost any controversial situation.  Bloggers are having a field day with a ''jar opening'' decision about school vouchers. On cnn.com we learn that Utah lawmakers have okayed vouchers for all students currently ...

See the video posted on dallasnews.com showing a group headed to Austin to participate in a rally for vouchers. Several private school parents said they need public funding so they don't have to skimp on other things to cover education costs. Public school parents at the rally said vouchers could help their children bail ...