Wednesday, January 29, 2020
About
About the Media Bullpen
America’s future, its short and long term viability, is wholly dependent on how we educate our children.
The Media Bullpen is a dynamic, virtual newsroom that covers the news and the news of education. It’s a sophisticated and unique technological environment that allows everyone to get in the game on the greatest discussions of our day. To understand those discussions, we need great information and reporting on all the issues relating to education—all the time.
Each day nearly 500 stories—and sometimes many more—are produced in the media about education, but they often lack the context for the public to get engaged.
The Bullpen reporters—the umpires—react and respond in real time to the press as it rolls out its coverage in print, online or broadcast, at the local, state or national levels. They score the coverage using the metaphors of that favorite American pastime, baseball. Articles are given strike outs, pop flies, singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, reflecting a particular story’s objectivity, proper context, its exploration of data, and search for accuracy.
In so doing, the Media Bullpen provides a critical eye to help the public better understand the complexity of the issues being reported.
More than anything else, the Bullpen allows readers to be their own umpires. A full suite of social media applications allows readers to get engaged by sharing the Bullpen’s content with friends, family, other media outlets, activists, and school leaders. Readers can help to make education great only by demanding greater education reporting.
The Media Bullpen is an entirely separate, editorially independent division of the Center for Education Reform, and the strategic evolution of its pioneering and well-known media relations and news monitoring work.
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- Who should pay for private and religious schools? | Editorial (CER in the news)
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Jan 27, 10:19 AM, Philadelphia Inquirer:
What rights do parents have when it comes to how their children get educated? That question is at the crux of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could alter the landscape of public education — especially in Pennsylvania.
- U.S. Supreme Court hears landmark case over public funding for religious schools.(CER in the news)
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Jan 23, 9:59 AM, Philadelphia Inquirer:
A widely watched case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday pitting school-choice advocates against proponents of public schools has been described by both sides as having potential to profoundly reshape the national education >
- Laws Across the Country Are Keeping Parents From Making Choices About Their Kids' Education. (CER)
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Jan 22, 9:32 AM, TIME:
On January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in one of the most significant education cases in decades, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The outcome could change the landscape of schooling in America as we know it.
- For Maverick Polly Williams, the Mother of School Choice, The Point Was Always to Empower Parents
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Jan 29, 8:20 AM, The 74:
"Don’t call it a voucher plan,” she told me in 2012 during one of many interviews. “That’s not what I call it. It’s parental choice. My focus is always empowering the parents."
- Opinion: Democrats must stand up for charter schools
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Jan 28, 9:49 AM, New York Daily News:
A group of charter school parents held a counter rally against parents from various Community Education Council Districts who are calling for the city to stop giving access of private information of NYC school children to charter schools.
- Dem Voters Don’t Want to Defund Charter Schools
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Jan 28, 9:43 AM, The Washington Free Beacon:
A majority of Democratic primary voters, as well as black and Latino voters, say they would be less likely to vote for a 2020 contender who would stop funding charter schools.
- Editorial: Time to end Blaine’s bigotry
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Jan 28, 9:40 AM, Daily Commerical:
At issue is a Montana Supreme Court decision that outlawed an education tax break that helped children attend religious schools. The program granted people who gave up to $150 to a scholarship program for private schools a matching >
- Opinion: 5 Reasons National School Choice Week Keeps Growing
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Jan 27, 10:17 AM, Town Hall:
Evidence shows school choice—or, as it should be called, “education freedom”—has obvious benefits for society. The expansion of National School Choice Week (NSCW)—the celebration created to spotlight the successes of school choice—is a >
- Democratic voters won’t support 2020 candidates who oppose school choice: Poll
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Jan 27, 10:15 AM, Washington Examiner:
Ten days out from the pivotal Iowa caucuses, a new poll further emphasizes that when it comes to school choice, Democrats are blatantly disregarding the wishes of key constituencies in favor of special interests.
- Opinion: The ‘secret sauce’ that helps Catholic schools over-achieve
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Jan 27, 10:12 AM, New York Post:
Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Espinoza v. Montana. At issue is the constitutionality of the state’s Blaine Amendment, which prohibits public revenue from going to religious schools. Montana is one of 37 states, >
- Will Supreme Court Support State Scholarships for Religious Schools? (CER in the news)
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Jan 24, 9:43 AM, National Catholic Register:
A lead attorney who argued a historically significant educational and religious-freedom case at the U.S. Supreme Court Jan. 22 said her team is “very optimistic” about a favorable ruling this spring. A decision in her clients’ favor would >
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- Nation's first private school voucher program has grown, but still remains divisive
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Jan 29, 7:55 AM, Wisconsin State Journal:
Thirty years since Milwaukee’s school voucher program started — the oldest modern voucher program in the country — Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Republican Wisconsin lawmakers championed the state’s >
- Senate Republican pitching a temporary fix for Ohio school voucher problem
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Jan 28, 7:02 AM, Columbus Dispatch:
Public school officials say this could devastate their budgets and force them to ask their communities for more money. But school-choice advocates say it’s cruel to yank these schools off a list that families have planned off for >
- KIPP, the city’s largest charter network, is expanding with a lease for a vacant D.C. campus
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Jan 27, 8:31 AM, Washington Post:
The District plans to lease an empty school building to the KIPP DC charter network, giving the largest charter operator in the city an even bigger footprint. The lease, which city officials announced Monday, marks the first time Mayor >
- New York City Spends $200 Million a Year to Aid High-Poverty Schools, With Mixed Results
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Jan 29, 7:36 AM, Wall Street Journal:
A New York City initiative to help hundreds of public schools in high-poverty areas by providing them with social services had no effect on students’ state test scores in reading and little effect in math, a study released Tuesday >
- Bill advances to let KY school boards skip charter school training
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Jan 29, 7:04 AM, Lexington Herald Leader:
A bill received initial approval Tuesday that would allow local school boards to delay charter school training until they received an application from a group wanting to open a charter school.
- Letter: Help charter schools in NH succeed
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Jan 29, 7:02 AM, Keene Sentinel:
As any parent who has experienced it knows, few things are as heart wrenching as watching your child suffer at school because of bullying. In my case, I watched my vibrant and eager to learn child turn into someone I couldn’t recognize. We >
- Springfield charter school Veritas Prep approved to add high school grades
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Jan 29, 7:00 AM, The Republican:
A charter school in Springfield has been unanimously approved to add high school grades to its student body.
- 'Weak tax base,' charter enrollment keeping York City district in recovery, officials say
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Jan 29, 6:57 AM, York Dispatch:
York City School District's tax revenue has not met its expenses in recent years, and the district has relied on its reserves to buy down its tax rate, according to data from a recent report.
- Opinion Newark charter schools aren’t just good. They’re ‘incredibly high performing,’
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Jan 29, 6:52 AM, The Star-Ledger:
Public education is not immune to this problem. Which is why our goal at the New Jersey Children’s Foundation is to promote a fact-based discussion about education -- with a focus on our home city of Newark.
- Austin’s charter school enrollment is growing, drawing in many Hispanic and Black families
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Jan 29, 6:48 AM, KXAN:
Researchers at UT Austin have compiled numbers that show charter school enrollment in Austin has ballooned in recent years.
- Birmingham School Board denies charter school applications
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Jan 29, 6:46 AM, WBRC:
Birmingham School Board members voted to reject two charter school applications. It happened during a late special called meeting Tuesday night.
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- New York City Spends $200 Million a Year to Aid High-Poverty Schools, With Mixed Results
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Jan 29, 7:36 AM, Wall Street Journal:
A New York City initiative to help hundreds of public schools in high-poverty areas by providing them with social services had no effect on students’ state test scores in reading and little effect in math, a study released Tuesday >
- Letter: Help charter schools in NH succeed
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Jan 29, 7:02 AM, Keene Sentinel:
As any parent who has experienced it knows, few things are as heart wrenching as watching your child suffer at school because of bullying. In my case, I watched my vibrant and eager to learn child turn into someone I couldn’t recognize. We >
- Springfield charter school Veritas Prep approved to add high school grades
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Jan 29, 7:00 AM, The Republican:
A charter school in Springfield has been unanimously approved to add high school grades to its student body.
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- Nation's first private school voucher program has grown, but still remains divisive
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Jan 29, 7:55 AM, Wisconsin State Journal:
Thirty years since Milwaukee’s school voucher program started — the oldest modern voucher program in the country — Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Republican Wisconsin lawmakers championed the state’s >
- Ohio Senate votes to block expansion of voucher program
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Jan 29, 6:24 AM, Toledo Blade:
Shortly before midnight Tuesday the Ohio Senate voted to block this fall's massive voucher expansion that would have had Ohio public schools paying millions to send students to private or religious schools.
- Charter school backers see path forward for expansion in Missouri
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Jan 29, 5:44 AM, St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
After years of falling short, advocates of school choice see an opening to get a charter school expansion plan across the finish line this spring.
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- Bill advances to let KY school boards skip charter school training
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Jan 29, 7:04 AM, Lexington Herald Leader:
A bill received initial approval Tuesday that would allow local school boards to delay charter school training until they received an application from a group wanting to open a charter school.
- Austin’s charter school enrollment is growing, drawing in many Hispanic and Black families
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Jan 29, 6:48 AM, KXAN:
Researchers at UT Austin have compiled numbers that show charter school enrollment in Austin has ballooned in recent years.
- Birmingham School Board denies charter school applications
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Jan 29, 6:46 AM, WBRC:
Birmingham School Board members voted to reject two charter school applications. It happened during a late special called meeting Tuesday night.
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- Opinion: A tale of two sons: our families deserve school choice
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Jan 29, 5:38 AM, Orange County Register:
Unfortunately, some of our state leaders have recently limited the very options, like charter schools, that serve more than 600,000 California students and that have been linked to significant achievement gains for Hispanic and black >
- Opinion: School choice promotes equity
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Jan 29, 5:24 AM, Albuquerque Journal:
One-size-fits-all doesn’t work very well when it comes to things like clothing. Just imagine the results if a UNM football player and petite Flamenco dancer tried putting on the same outfit. That same concept, of personalized options, >
- Education Department blunder puts ESA parent names in hands of group that opposes expansion of voucher program
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Jan 28, 7:49 AM, Capitol Times:
The Arizona Department of Education provided a spreadsheet that inadvertently named every parent with an Empowerment Scholarship Account in the state to a group that widely opposes the program, a likely violation of federal student privacy >
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- KIPP, the city’s largest charter network, is expanding with a lease for a vacant D.C. campus
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Jan 27, 8:31 AM, Washington Post:
The District plans to lease an empty school building to the KIPP DC charter network, giving the largest charter operator in the city an even bigger footprint. The lease, which city officials announced Monday, marks the first time Mayor >
- Chicago Teachers Union Inc.: How the clout-heavy labor group spends its money
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Jan 20, 9:08 AM, Chicago Sun-Times:
We examined how the CTU uses its considerable financial muscle and found nearly $1.5 million from its dues-funded budget went to politics and lobbying over 15 months. And a union foundation cut back sharply on charitable giving.
- Study finds Newark Charter Schools Improve Test Scores
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Jan 16, 8:08 AM, TAPinto:
A study by a Boston University professor for a New York-based think tank has determined that attending a Newark charter school is among the most impactful education interventions studied by researchers.
- New York City Spends $200 Million a Year to Aid High-Poverty Schools, With Mixed Results
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Jan 29, 7:36 AM, Wall Street Journal:
A New York City initiative to help hundreds of public schools in high-poverty areas by providing them with social services had no effect on students’ state test scores in reading and little effect in math, a study released Tuesday >
- Springfield charter school Veritas Prep approved to add high school grades
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Jan 29, 7:00 AM, The Republican:
A charter school in Springfield has been unanimously approved to add high school grades to its student body.
- 'Weak tax base,' charter enrollment keeping York City district in recovery, officials say
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Jan 29, 6:57 AM, York Dispatch:
York City School District's tax revenue has not met its expenses in recent years, and the district has relied on its reserves to buy down its tax rate, according to data from a recent report.
- Opinion Newark charter schools aren’t just good. They’re ‘incredibly high performing,’
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Jan 29, 6:52 AM, The Star-Ledger:
Public education is not immune to this problem. Which is why our goal at the New Jersey Children’s Foundation is to promote a fact-based discussion about education -- with a focus on our home city of Newark.
- Austin’s charter school enrollment is growing, drawing in many Hispanic and Black families
-
Jan 29, 6:48 AM, KXAN:
Researchers at UT Austin have compiled numbers that show charter school enrollment in Austin has ballooned in recent years.
- Birmingham School Board denies charter school applications
-
Jan 29, 6:46 AM, WBRC:
Birmingham School Board members voted to reject two charter school applications. It happened during a late special called meeting Tuesday night.
- Five years of state control of the LRSD
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Jan 29, 6:21 AM, Arkansas Times:
Little Rock School District supporters are wearing black today to mark the fifth anniversary of the Arkansas State Board of Education’s vote to remove the democratically elected Little Rock School Board and take control of the LRSD.
- State education board urges dramatic action for struggling Boston schools
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Jan 29, 6:10 AM, Boston Globe:
Improving Boston’s lowest-performing schools will require dramatic steps, members of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education said Tuesday.
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- Nation's first private school voucher program has grown, but still remains divisive
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Jan 29, 7:55 AM, Wisconsin State Journal:
Thirty years since Milwaukee’s school voucher program started — the oldest modern voucher program in the country — Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Republican Wisconsin lawmakers championed the state’s >
- Senate Republican pitching a temporary fix for Ohio school voucher problem
-
Jan 28, 7:02 AM, Columbus Dispatch:
Public school officials say this could devastate their budgets and force them to ask their communities for more money. But school-choice advocates say it’s cruel to yank these schools off a list that families have planned off for >
- Who should pay for private and religious schools? | Editorial (CER in the news)
-
Jan 27, 10:19 AM, Philadelphia Inquirer:
What rights do parents have when it comes to how their children get educated? That question is at the crux of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could alter the landscape of public education — especially in Pennsylvania.
- For Maverick Polly Williams, the Mother of School Choice, The Point Was Always to Empower Parents
-
Jan 29, 8:20 AM, The 74:
"Don’t call it a voucher plan,” she told me in 2012 during one of many interviews. “That’s not what I call it. It’s parental choice. My focus is always empowering the parents."
- New York City Spends $200 Million a Year to Aid High-Poverty Schools, With Mixed Results
-
Jan 29, 7:36 AM, Wall Street Journal:
A New York City initiative to help hundreds of public schools in high-poverty areas by providing them with social services had no effect on students’ state test scores in reading and little effect in math, a study released Tuesday >
- Bill advances to let KY school boards skip charter school training
-
Jan 29, 7:04 AM, Lexington Herald Leader:
A bill received initial approval Tuesday that would allow local school boards to delay charter school training until they received an application from a group wanting to open a charter school.
- Letter: Help charter schools in NH succeed
-
Jan 29, 7:02 AM, Keene Sentinel:
As any parent who has experienced it knows, few things are as heart wrenching as watching your child suffer at school because of bullying. In my case, I watched my vibrant and eager to learn child turn into someone I couldn’t recognize. We >
- Springfield charter school Veritas Prep approved to add high school grades
-
Jan 29, 7:00 AM, The Republican:
A charter school in Springfield has been unanimously approved to add high school grades to its student body.
- 'Weak tax base,' charter enrollment keeping York City district in recovery, officials say
-
Jan 29, 6:57 AM, York Dispatch:
York City School District's tax revenue has not met its expenses in recent years, and the district has relied on its reserves to buy down its tax rate, according to data from a recent report.
- Opinion Newark charter schools aren’t just good. They’re ‘incredibly high performing,’
-
Jan 29, 6:52 AM, The Star-Ledger:
Public education is not immune to this problem. Which is why our goal at the New Jersey Children’s Foundation is to promote a fact-based discussion about education -- with a focus on our home city of Newark.
- Austin’s charter school enrollment is growing, drawing in many Hispanic and Black families
-
Jan 29, 6:48 AM, KXAN:
Researchers at UT Austin have compiled numbers that show charter school enrollment in Austin has ballooned in recent years.
-
- Nation's first private school voucher program has grown, but still remains divisive
-
Jan 29, 7:55 AM, Wisconsin State Journal:
Thirty years since Milwaukee’s school voucher program started — the oldest modern voucher program in the country — Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Republican Wisconsin lawmakers championed the state’s >
- Senate Republican pitching a temporary fix for Ohio school voucher problem
-
Jan 28, 7:02 AM, Columbus Dispatch:
Public school officials say this could devastate their budgets and force them to ask their communities for more money. But school-choice advocates say it’s cruel to yank these schools off a list that families have planned off for >
- Who should pay for private and religious schools? | Editorial (CER in the news)
-
Jan 27, 10:19 AM, Philadelphia Inquirer:
What rights do parents have when it comes to how their children get educated? That question is at the crux of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could alter the landscape of public education — especially in Pennsylvania.
- For Maverick Polly Williams, the Mother of School Choice, The Point Was Always to Empower Parents
-
Jan 29, 8:20 AM, The 74:
"Don’t call it a voucher plan,” she told me in 2012 during one of many interviews. “That’s not what I call it. It’s parental choice. My focus is always empowering the parents."
- New York City Spends $200 Million a Year to Aid High-Poverty Schools, With Mixed Results
-
Jan 29, 7:36 AM, Wall Street Journal:
A New York City initiative to help hundreds of public schools in high-poverty areas by providing them with social services had no effect on students’ state test scores in reading and little effect in math, a study released Tuesday >
- Bill advances to let KY school boards skip charter school training
-
Jan 29, 7:04 AM, Lexington Herald Leader:
A bill received initial approval Tuesday that would allow local school boards to delay charter school training until they received an application from a group wanting to open a charter school.
- Letter: Help charter schools in NH succeed
-
Jan 29, 7:02 AM, Keene Sentinel:
As any parent who has experienced it knows, few things are as heart wrenching as watching your child suffer at school because of bullying. In my case, I watched my vibrant and eager to learn child turn into someone I couldn’t recognize. We >
- Springfield charter school Veritas Prep approved to add high school grades
-
Jan 29, 7:00 AM, The Republican:
A charter school in Springfield has been unanimously approved to add high school grades to its student body.
- 'Weak tax base,' charter enrollment keeping York City district in recovery, officials say
-
Jan 29, 6:57 AM, York Dispatch:
York City School District's tax revenue has not met its expenses in recent years, and the district has relied on its reserves to buy down its tax rate, according to data from a recent report.
- Opinion Newark charter schools aren’t just good. They’re ‘incredibly high performing,’
-
Jan 29, 6:52 AM, The Star-Ledger:
Public education is not immune to this problem. Which is why our goal at the New Jersey Children’s Foundation is to promote a fact-based discussion about education -- with a focus on our home city of Newark.
- Austin’s charter school enrollment is growing, drawing in many Hispanic and Black families
-
Jan 29, 6:48 AM, KXAN:
Researchers at UT Austin have compiled numbers that show charter school enrollment in Austin has ballooned in recent years.