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The Testing Bogeyman Is Alive and Well in Missouri

The Testing Bogeyman Is Alive and Well in Missouri

May 16, 2025

A version of the following commentary appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune. If we believe it’s essential for schools to teach...

Hanging Up on Smartphones in Missouri Public Schools

Hanging Up on Smartphones in Missouri Public Schools

Feb 17, 2025

Smartphone use has become a national debate. As technology has advanced, cell phones have changed from devices for simple communication...

Want Higher Teacher Salaries? Raise Property Taxes

Want Higher Teacher Salaries? Raise Property Taxes

Jul 27, 2023

In the past year, much has been made about Missouri’s teacher salaries. According to the National Education Association, Missouri ranks...

Breaking: The Actual Starting Teacher Salary According to DESE

Breaking: The Actual Starting Teacher Salary According to DESE

Jan 9, 2023

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and other major media outlets in Missouri, continually claim that Missouri teachers are, on average, the...

Missouri Is 49th in a Meaningless Statistic!

Missouri Is 49th in a Meaningless Statistic!

Dec 10, 2021

Earlier this week a headline came across my Twitter feed blaring “Missouri ranked No. 49 in state K-12 funding in...

Teachers Unions Set Their Sights on Micro-schools

Teachers Unions Set Their Sights on Micro-schools

Oct 15, 2020

Kelly Smith is a very nice guy. On his Twitter profile, he describes himself to his 400 followers as a...

Are Government Unions Adequately Informing Workers of Their Rights?

Are Government Unions Adequately Informing Workers of Their Rights?

Nov 20, 2019

Following the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), there was...

Missouri’s Government Union Reforms Still Tied Up in the Courts

Missouri’s Government Union Reforms Still Tied Up in the Courts

Nov 15, 2019

It’s been more than a year since Missouri legislators passed House Bill (HB) 1413 into law, which at the time...

Missouri’s Starting Teacher Salary Is Higher Than Previously Reported

Missouri’s Starting Teacher Salary Is Higher Than Previously Reported

Jan 29, 2019

“Missouri ranks 49th nationally in average starting teacher salary at $31,842.” This quote comes from an ABC 17 news report,...

Charter School Unionization: An Innovative Approach

Charter School Unionization: An Innovative Approach

Oct 14, 2015

Al Shanker, longtime leader of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), was an early cheerleader for public charter schools. Though...

Teacher Survey Makes Case for More Government Employee Freedom

Teacher Survey Makes Case for More Government Employee Freedom

Aug 21, 2015

Happy National Employee Freedom Week! The American Association of Educators (AAE), a freedom-promoting alternative to the National Educator Association (NEA)...

Missouri’s Teacher Equity Plan Draft Misses the Mark

Missouri’s Teacher Equity Plan Draft Misses the Mark

Jan 5, 2015

Is a teacher with a master’s degree in biology and several years of research experience unqualified to teach high school...

The Teachers’ Union Cycle

The Teachers’ Union Cycle

Oct 21, 2014

Last week, Time Magazine released an article titled “Teachers Unions Are Putting Themselves On November’s Ballot,” which reported that the...

Common Core Doesn’t Put the CCSS in Success

Common Core Doesn’t Put the CCSS in Success

Sep 10, 2014

In previous posts on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), I’ve written about the consequences of federal overreach, which, in itself,...

Who Is In It For The Kids, Teachers’ Unions Or Charter Schools?

Who Is In It For The Kids, Teachers’ Unions Or Charter Schools?

Sep 11, 2012

In an impassioned address to the media, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis stated the reasons the teachers’ union would...

Collective Bargaining Under the Missouri Constitution

Collective Bargaining Under the Missouri Constitution

Sep 11, 2009

As the Springfield News-Leader reports, Judge Michael Cordonnier of the Greene County Circuit Court handed down a very important decision...

Margaret Spellings on the Teacher Shortage

Margaret Spellings on the Teacher Shortage

Feb 22, 2008

Margaret Spellings spoke about alternative teacher certification in Jefferson City yesterday: She pointed to federal programs such as Teach for...

Worth a Thousand Words

Worth a Thousand Words

Dec 17, 2007

Here’s another Internet harassment case. This time, a woman complains that she’s been harassed by a kid. A high-school boy...

Truthiness and School Choice

Truthiness and School Choice

Nov 20, 2007

On Sunday, the Columbia Daily Tribune juxtaposed two columns on school choice: one by David Webber (which Sarah Brodsky already...

Learn From Others’ Experience With School Choice

Learn From Others’ Experience With School Choice

Nov 20, 2007

On Nov. 6, voters in Utah decided to stay the course with the state’s underachieving educational status quo, voting down...

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