New State Board of Education Has a Long To-Do List
A version of this commentary appeared in the Columbia Missourian. Governor Kehoe has appointed four new members to the Missouri...
So Predictable
For almost a year there have been dire discussions of a coming “fiscal cliff” in public education spending. What is...
Well, that Was Fast
Recently, the commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced that she would be departing her...
Riverview Gardens and Normandy Are Regaining Local Control
After a decade of state control, the Missouri Board of Education recently announced it will restore local control to two...
Missouri Students Are Sadly Still Struggling
Recently, DESE released the preliminary results of the 2023 Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), and the results were bad enough to...
Open Enrollment in St. Louis Schools: 55 Years in the Making
A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When the Spainhower Commission issued its final report in 1968,...
Is SALT Really a Priority for Schools Right Now?
With families enduring yet another chaotic school year of mask mandates, vaccination mandates, school closures, and shortages of substitute teachers...
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Show-Me Institute analysts have been saying for quite some time that parents need choices when it comes to their children’s...
School Start-Date Flexibility: A Short-Term Win for Local Control
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has provided school districts an opportunity to take back some autonomy over...
We’re on the Road to Nowhere . . .
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released preliminary test scores for the 2018–19 school year. And for...
There Is Not a Teacher Retention Crisis in Missouri
I wasn’t able to attend the recent meeting for the Missouri State Board of Education, but from what I can...
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
On November 19, the Missouri State Board of Education met in a closed session to determine who would be selected...
Charter Schools: The Education Opportunity Hidden in Plain Sight
By next week, the Missouri State Board of Education should be up and running again. They’ve got plenty of business...
Did Easier Tests Cost Normandy Students the Right to Transfer?
On December 1, 2017, the Missouri State Board of Education went into a closed session and ousted Commissioner Margie Vandeven....
Is This What Full Accreditation Looks Like?
On Tuesday morning, the Missouri Board of Education voted unanimously to grant full accreditation to the St. Louis Public School...
Are Charter Schools Improving Integration in Saint Louis?
Saint Louis Public School district (SLPS) made news this week when it announced that it was suing the Missouri Board...
Second All-Girls Charter School to Open
This school year, Hawthorn Leadership Academy opened its doors as the first all-girls public charter school in Missouri. Now, the...
What Should a Charter School Application Look Like?
In 2012, the Missouri Board of Education closed six Imagine charter schools. The Imagine network is one of the largest...
What’s in a name?
That which we call an unaccredited school by any other name would perform as well. William Shakespeare spoke of roses,...
The Francis Howell Transfer Decision: One Family’s Disappointment
“It’s a slap in the face.” That was parent Cameral Cotton’s response to the Francis Howell School District’s decision to...
- 1
- 2
