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SHORTAGES, REOPENING SAGA AND MORE. Dissecting the issues, Jeanne Allen’s appearance on FOX Business News last week clarifies the politics that plagued school reopenings.


STRONG UNIONS = CLOSED SCHOOLS. In-depth research validates – yet again – what we’ve known all along.  “School districts in locations with stronger teachers’ unions were substantially less likely to reopen in person even after we controlled for differences in local demographic characteristics.” The AEI’s Rick Hess elaborates on the work of AFC’s National Research Director Corey DeAngelis in an interview about this definitive study.

PARENTS AND KIDS FLOCK TO OPTIONS, from sea to shining sea. From the Tar Heel State comes the good news that charter schools saw nearly an 8% increase in enrollment with most having waiting lists, and that seven new charter schools opened and 10 new charter schools have been approved for this fall.  Across the continent, Nevada charters also experienced a boom in popularity. “Charter schools in Nevada were able to continue in-person learning through months of the pandemic, while students in CCSD (Carson City) schools were forced to stay home.”  Three families in Columbia, Missouri show what it looks like to successfully “pod”…and parent! The wonders of choice.

STATES INNOVATE.  The New Hampshire Department of Education has partnered with pod provider Prenda to provide students with access to “learning pods” for the first time. In Vermont, the State Board of Education took the bold step of ordering three school districts to reimburse families for tuition paid to religious schools, something only possible since the High Court lifted the constitutional cloud on choice hanging over states with Blaine Amendments. Speaking of Blaine, in South Carolina, a federal lawsuit has been filed to remove the “Blaine Amendment,” from its constitution –more states will follow suit. It’s about time. Know-nothing partier James Blaine has been dead a long time.

A LITTLE BIT OF ITALIAN-INSPIRED CONVERSATION EVERY WEEK! Have you heard about inPiazza, a place for open and civil dialogue, just like the town squares of old? If not, now is your chance to catch up on what you’ve been missing weekly with Jeanne Allen and GSV’s Michael Moe. Hear Netflix founder Reed Hastings wax on about civic life, Entertainer Lena Prima talk N’Orleans and this week, Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Covid, schools, getting America back to work and the state of free speech today.  inPiazza is available wherever podcasts are heard. Listen on Breaker,Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, or on your own favorite podcast app!