The MacIver Institute issued a report yesterday on why Wisconsin failed in the Race to the Top application. The announcement of the report by the MacIver Institute explains why this is so important.
‘Regardless of how one feels about federal education spending, the Race To The Top rewards states that are willing to pursue innovative [...]

Another application for federal Race to the Top money, another humiliating defeat for Wisconsin.
Unfortunately, while the legislature worried about team logos, other states worried about how to improve their applications for the Race to the Top program and passed real reforms. Wisconsin’s application was rejected again. Instead of competing as a finalist, Wisconsin again finished [...]

The MacIver Institute reminds us that Milwaukee Public Schools will be setting its budget tonight. You might want to pay attention. After all, you’re paying for it.
Most likely there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth and tearing at ones clothes over the unfairness of the state aid formula (more money is [...]

Somebody will have to let me know if it’s okay for a writer covering an event to help himself to the free doughnuts. I spent Saturday morning listening to Tom Beebe of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools describe a “crisis” in education funding in the state and suggest, purely as a band-aid measure, raising [...]

UW-Madison is teaching teachers this summer how to speak hip hop. Continuing credits, fo shizzle.
The Hip-Hop Educator and Community Leader Training Institute planned for July 7 through July 11 is in its fifth year. The registration deadline is May 18.
Institute director Michael Cirelli said using hip hop in the classroom is vital because the [...]

Can I have some dressing to go with all of this salad?
Wisconsin received a $1,960,526 grant from the federal government to improve the quality of school meals and the administration of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
“Providing nutritious meals through the National School Lunch Program is one way to help students concentrate on their [...]

So who were the winners in the Department of Education’s Race to the Top? The Foundry at the Heritage Foundation says that nearly one-third of all state applicants made it to the next round, hardly an elite group. (Boy, does that make WIsconsin look even worse.) What’s interesting, as Andy Smarick of [...]

The Legislative Audit Bureau has completed their study of Wisconsin’s public charter online schools, and the results are in: these schools are successful. As I wrote for the MacIver Institute this week, it’s time to celebrate their success by lifting the caps:
Students enrolled in virtual schools exceeded their brick and mortar counterparts in [...]

There’s an idea floating around that all we need to do to help property tax payers and fund education at the same time is to increase the sales tax. Everybody wants to increase the sales tax for their pet causes, but Tom Beebe and the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) want to increase [...]

In this week’s article for the MacIver Institute, I took a look at Governor Jim Doyle’s plans for the “Race to the Top” money from the federal government.
Doyle plans on using $250 million in federal “Race to the Top” federal money to boost school funding in some districts. But when the “Race to the Top” [...]