top of page


Schools are becoming social services hubs with a little reading and math on the side
Schools are trying to solve every student's every problem, but neglecting their academic mission.
Joanne Jacobs
3 days ago1 min read
1 comment


Catholic schools are closing: Can tax credits or ESAs save them?
Catholic schools are struggling to compete with tuition-free charter schools.
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 72 min read
0 comments

Charter network trains -- and pays -- parents to teach reading
A Denver charter network has trained parents to work as reading tutors.
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 171 min read
0 comments


Who's scaring immigrant kids away from school?
"Activists" are spreading hysteria and scaring immigrant kids away from school.
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 262 min read
1 comment


Suing Lucy: Parents claim deceptive marketing of reading curricula
Massachusetts parents are suing a "balanced literacy" publisher and authors for fraudulently claiming their programs are "researched-based."
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 10, 20242 min read
0 comments

What parents want: Teach reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, civics and ...
Parents on the left, right and center agree that schools should teach reading, writing, math and civics, writes David M. Houston, a...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 2, 20242 min read
3 comments


New report cards baffle parents: What does 'emerging' mean? (Your kid can't read)
Kris is an "emerging" reader, Carlos is "extending" and Emma is "developing." Is "proficient" Pat the best reader? Nope. Parents don't...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 28, 20242 min read
2 comments


Ignorance isn't bliss
Los Angeles Unified will let 10 schools with low-income students drop standardized tests in favor of their own assessments.
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 13, 20242 min read
4 comments


Worried parents may push back on 'phone-free schools'
The phone-free schools movement is spreading: South Carolina just became the latest state to restrict cellphones in school. Students will...
Joanne Jacobs
Sep 7, 20242 min read
5 comments


Silicon Valley parents push back on ethnic studies
Parents want to know what will be taught in soon-to-be-mandatory ethnic studies class.
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 2, 20242 min read
5 comments

Why is 'Gender Queer' in the middle-school library?
Parents don't want drag queens or books that feature sex toys in school libraries.
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 10, 20242 min read
2 comments

Teachers should keep their politics to themselves, say parents
Parents overwhelmingly say teachers should keep their politics out of the classroom.
Joanne Jacobs
May 31, 20241 min read
24 comments


Teens love their smartphones -- but some say it's 'peaceful' to be phone-free
Seventy-two percent of teenagers say they often or sometimes feel "peaceful" when they're without their smartphones, according to a Pew...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 13, 20242 min read
1 comment


Muslim parents win right to reject LGBT books for their children
Muslim children won't be required to read LGBT books in elementary schools in St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis, reports Mairead...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 18, 20242 min read
7 comments

Union-backed group claims choice is 'rooted in racism'
The union-backed Partnership for the Future of Learning has launched an anti-choice campaign charging that "voucher programs" are "deeply...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 22, 20242 min read
11 comments


Parents trust their child's reading teacher, but should they?
More than 90 percent of parents think their child's elementary school and teacher are doing a "good" or "excellent" job of teaching...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 15, 20232 min read
1 comment


Competing for kindergarteners
Kindergarten enrollment has fallen by 17 percent in the last six years in district school in New York City, reports the New York Post. In...
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 8, 20232 min read
2 comments


Why I won't hire a tutor for my daughter
Alina Adams' daughter didn't learn any Spanish in ninth-grade Spanish 1. Her New York City school couldn't find a permanent teacher, so...
Joanne Jacobs
Jul 11, 20231 min read
3 comments


Why parents choose virtual schools
Virtual schooling has a bad reputation, writes Ian Kingsbury, a senior fellow at the Educational Freedom Institute, in City Journal....
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 6, 20232 min read
4 comments


Parents against Pride: 'Leave our kids alone'
Parents -- many of them Armenian immigrants -- protested a Pride assembly at a Los Angeles elementary school, reports Clara Harter for...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 3, 20231 min read
2 comments
bottom of page