Why should we care about phonics instruction? Because it works.

There are typically two views when discussing early reading instruction: emphasis on phonics instruction involving daily lessons, and a “balanced literacy” approach which puts an emphasis on understanding meaning (three-cueing method) with occasional phonics sprinkled in. Numerous studies from independent researchers, the National Literacy Institute, and the Congressional-sponsored National Reading Panel have indicated that systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective in helping students learn to read than non-systematic (balanced literacy) or no phonics instruction. These results can be seen in schools that implement it, such as in Richmond or in our own backyard at KIPP Victory Academy—whose recent, explicit emphasis on phonics helped it obtain the highest English/language arts growth rate in the entire state from 2018–2021.

So why aren’t all schools using this method? Many teachers believe this approach is incredibly boring and drives the love of reading out of children. Additionally, it is hard for teachers to learn and teach; Missouri’s new phonics training program (LETRS) in Missouri takes 160 hours to complete. Finally, universities are simply not instructing future teachers to use this method effectively, or even hardly at all.

The NCTQ conducted a survey to evaluate which universities are implementing scientifically based reading instruction into their curriculum for future teachers—and the results are concerning. Per the survey, only 25 percent of higher education institutions nationally adequately address all five core components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) of reading instruction. Missouri is no better, as nearly half of our participating* universities received an F on the NCQT’s report.

*Central Methodist University (F), Hannibal-LaGrange University (F), Lincoln University (B), Lindenwood University (B), Lindenwood University Graduate (D), Missouri Southern State University (F), Missouri Western State University (D), Northwest Missouri State University (F), Southeast Missouri State (F), University of Central Missouri (F), University of Missouri-Kansas City (A), University of Missouri-St. Louis (C), University of Missouri-St. Louis Graduate (C); all other Missouri universities declined to participate

Many universities in Missouri seem to be shying away from a strategy that can help teachers become better reading instructors. The LETRS program was a good start, but that law is primarily about identifying and addressing problems in early childhood reading, along with some additional professional development opportunities for existing teachers. We need Missouri universities to get on board and give teachers all the tools they need to effectively teach kids how to read right from the start.

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“That reputation hasn’t made it out here,” responds the Google executive.

While online universities haven’t exactly obtained an “Ivy league” status, they certainly are impacting the education market.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), such as Udacity and edX, provide free access to lectures, readings, and coursework. Participants can receive a certification or credit, which may be used for educational or professional purposes. In January, San Jose State announced a partnership with Udacity to offer remedial courses to incoming freshmen.

Last week, Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) announced it would explore another type of online model, competency-based education. The model is based on Western Governors University (WGU), which is basically “all-you-can-eat.” Students pay one flat rate per term. This allows students to skip ahead by testing out of modules. It would be possible to earn a degree in one year for under $6,000.

While the quality of these programs and the acceptance by employers is debatable, MOOCs and competency-based programs are competition for state universities like SEMO and San Jose, who have had to adapt to attract students looking for a flexible, low-cost college experience.

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The report includes numerous violations of public records and public meeting requirements. The following government bodies failed to abide by the proper procedure for making meetings closed to the public:

• Gentry County
• City of Savannah
• Ste. Genevieve County
• City of Liberal
• Southern Dallas County Fire Protection District
• Daviess County
• City of Brentwood
• Department of Public Safety/State Emergency Management Agency
• City of Buckner
• City of Diamond
• Cedar County
• Caldwell County
• McDonald County
• Lake Lotawana Community Improvement District
• Vernon County
• Montgomery County
• Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners
• Clark County
• Stone County
• The School District of Springfield, R-XII
• Monarch Fire Protection District
• Natural Resources/Soil and Water Conservation Program
• Higher Education/Southeast Missouri State University
• Madison County

Most of the government bodies that failed to keep meetings open were cities and counties, but some of these bodies, including the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, the Department of Public Safety/State Emergency Management Agency, and the Southern Dallas County Fire Protection District, are charged with ensuring public safety. The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, for example, failed to comply with the provisions of Missouri law that require a body in a closed meeting to properly document issues discussed, to discuss only authorized topics during the closed meeting, and to properly disclose the final disposition of matters discussed in closed sessions.

Government bodies have the power to deprive us of life, liberty, and property. They are charged with providing public safety and education services that Missourians depend on. They are given the power to extract payment for these services whether an individual wants them or not. The open government requirements of Missouri’s Sunshine Law are essential safeguards against abuse of government power.

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When I was growing up, I regularly played golf at the Forest Park municipal golf course in St. Louis. Later, in my high school and college years, I noticed the quality of the course was improving, a lot. This happened at the same time (late 1980s) the city of St. Louis outsourced the management of the golf course to a private company. As that outsourcing, or privatization, of the golf course has continued, the quality of the course has continued to improve. I doubt you would find one golfer familiar with the course before and after who thinks the outsourcing of its management and operations did not significantly enhance it.

That same type of story is repeated throughout Missouri. Good government need not be big government, and the public sector does not have to provide public services in every case. There is a role for private delivery, often regulated, of public services in Missouri. In many cases, the private sector can deliver those services more affordably and at a higher quality than the government.

Ambulance service is one area where Southeast Missouri is a leader in the privatization debate. In much of Missouri, government agencies provide ambulance services. However, in Cape Girardeau and Butler counties, ambulance services have long been privately provided. Government operation of ambulance service in most other parts of Missouri leads to a constant pressure to increase taxes and spending. In fact, voters in St. Charles County (outside St. Louis) rejected an ambulance tax increase in 2013, only to see the exact tax increase planned again for 2014. Those private ambulance companies in Southeast Missouri are serving the community just as well as a government agency could, and taxpayers are benefiting.

Research has shown privatization works best when the driving force is pragmatism, not ideology. Politicians and voters can still debate about what services should be provided as part of the eternal debate over the role of government in our society. But privatization is more about how those services are provided, not whether they should be. Unless you genuinely believe as many people as possible should be on the public payroll, such as the big city political machines of yesteryear, then a government service you depend upon or care about likely can be addressed with privatization.

There are certain roles that should always belong to the government, such as police powers, and never to the private sector. Furthermore, the role of government regulation in many privatized public services is important, such as regulation of private utilities. Finally, in some instances, such as animal control, private partnerships with not-for-profit groups may be preferred to for-profit companies. Whatever way you look at it, there are numerous examples, such as the ownership and management of Maramec Spring Park near St. James by the private, not-for-profit James Foundation, where privatization can provide better services at lower costs for Missourians. Just play golf at Forest Park to see the evidence.

David Stokes is the director of local government policy at the Show-Me Institute, which promotes market solutions for Missouri public policy.

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As long as the Show-Me Institute has been in operation, talk radio has been an important medium for our scholars and policy analysts. It is one of the best ways to bring our message of free markets and personal liberty to the public. Toward that aim, we are excited to announce that I will now be on KRMS radio with Manny Haley at 10:15 a.m. every Thursday to discuss public policy issues in the Lake of the Ozarks area. We are thrilled to be joining Manny each week. Be sure to listen in if you can.

As you may know, I have been appearing at 8:35 a.m. each Monday with McGraw Milhaven on KTRS The Big 550. We are delighted with the feedback we are receiving, and we cannot thank McGraw enough for the opportunity each week. I hope to continue this partnership for a long time, and I hope you all listen in to McGraw’s show whenever you can. Paul Harris has also been great to work with at KTRS.

This Friday morning, I will be a guest at 8:40 a.m. on  KZIM / KSIM  radio in Cape Girardeau. This is our first time on this station, and I cannot wait to join them on the air. If you are in Southeast Missouri, please tune in Friday morning. Or, thanks to “listen live” and the Internet, you can also listen in if you are anywhere in the world. Which is nice.

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However, the plan for obtaining a $107 million loan from state universities to help fund a department that gives a lot of money to . . . well, state universities, seems odd. If the state is facing a shortfall, it needs to make the tough decisions to balance the budget (i.e., cut spending and NOT raise taxes). What happens if the state faces a similar situation in fiscal year 2014? Will Nixon ask for ANOTHER loan?

There are other places in the budget that can be cut (granted, these cuts alone will not make up the amount of money needed, but they are a start) before even thinking about cutting money from the DHE, never mind resorting to this loan plan. However, that is not to say that cuts cannot be made in DHE. The DHE budget is not sacrosanct.

For example, in fiscal year 2012, the DHE gave more than $400 million ($366,765,401 from general revenue) to the University of Missouri system. If Gov. Nixon wants a $63 million loan from the University of Missouri-Columbia, why doesn’t he ask the legislature to cut $63 million from the University of Missouri system. Lawmakers can always appropriate more money in future fiscal years (not that they necessarily SHOULD). Why ask for a loan?
Prudence is a virtue for a reason. Before engaging in plans meant to avoid the task at hand, wouldn’t it be better if the state actually finds out what it is paying for and truly decide what it NEEDS to pay for, and what people can do without?

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“If we want to sell more beef to Asia, we need more refrigerated warehouses. If we want to sell more pharmaceuticals and aerospace equipment, we need safe and secure transport facilities,” he said. “I am a strong supporter of this initiative.”

Missouri Speaker of the House Steven Tilley did it (emphasis mine):

Tilley said while the cargo hub would bring in planes filled with imports, the returning flights will open new markets for Missouri agricultural exports, specifically beef.

And former U.S. Senator Kit Bond did it, too. (Audio: Fast-forward to 14:45.)

Yet no matter which way you cut it, beef is — according to the Department of Agriculture — ineligible for export to China. If you loaded American beef onto an airplane tomorrow, it seems pretty clear that it could not go to China under these regulations. So every time a politician touts this beef angle, taxpayers should keep this important fact in mind.

We noted the beef prohibition in our Aerotropolis case study, specifically citing internal emails from Jason Van Eaton, the current China Hub executive director and a former high-level staffer to Sen. Bond. The relevant part (emphasis mine):

Bottom line, pork is officially open between the US and China. Beef is not but the word is that it will open soon … but that’s been the word for months. Many other trade issues keeping this tied up right now.

“Beef is not.”

Kudos to Sen. Jason Crowell, then, for telling his constituents in southeast Missouri how the beef export aspect really plays out (emphasis mine.):

“It will help the job market in St. Louis and our neck of the woods as well,” [Speaker] Tilley said, noting that many people in Perryville, Farmington and Cape Girardeau County drive to work in the St. Louis area. The increased tax revenue from about 20,000 jobs created by the Aerotropolis project would also provide more money for schools and transportation statewide, he said.

“Things that make St. Louis thrive spill over to help the rest of Missouri,” Brandom said.

But Crowell called Aerotropolis a “boondoggle for St. Louis” and said it will not help Southeast Missouri cattle producers because China has a ban on imported beef.

“We’re not stupid down here,” Crowell said. “We can see when politicians who want to take St. Louis money speak down to their constituents.”

As the old Wendy’s ad asks, “Where’s the Beef?”

Much more soon.

The post ‘Where’s the Beef?’ A Reminder That American Beef Products Are Ineligible for Export to China appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

I love his summary of the situation we are in when it comes to the government getting involved in places that it has no business (as if that were rare):

No one is smart enough to predict with certainty which of these technologies will ultimately prevail, least of all politicians who are easily influenced by powerful special interests. It is more certain that American taxpayers will continue to subsidize corn ethanol regardless of the outcome.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to link to our own case study on this issue.

The post Can’t Believe I Missed This Article Last Month … appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

For instance, just one of last year’s 45 eighth-graders entered sixth grade doing grade-level math. But, over three years, 80 percent of them progressed at least two grade levels. And well more than a third finished eighth grade doing ninth-, 10th-, even 12th-grade work.

The article notes that the school is quick to adopt improvements suggested by its sponsor, Southeast Missouri State. I think this charter school’s flexibility and ability to learn and change play a big role in its success.

The Post-Dispatch adds:

Five charters opened this year alone. Now 15 campuses serve 7,700 students. This story is the first in a periodic series profiling each.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

The post More Great News About Charters appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

I was interested to learn that last session the state Legislature passed changes to the law making it easier for local governments to share revenues from developments along city borders. That is a very good move. And before anyone cries "socialism," please remember we are talking about money that already goes to the government — this isn’t a proposal to send more private money to the government. It’s not socialism to have different government entities share the same pot of money. The mayor of Jackson, which — rather than Cape Girardeau — is the county seat, summed up the failure to reach an agreement nicely:

Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr said unwillingness to share revenue now could have an impact if Jackson is asked to support a major development with tax revenue.

Sounds fair to me. Why would Jackson support projects with tax dollars (which they should not do for other reasons, too, but let’s stick to the point at hand) if all the revenues from the project are going to go to other governments? At least when St. Louis County sends money to St. Louis City, the county hopes to get something for it, like more county hotel room bookings, etc.

It is a shame that the two cities and the county could not work out an agreement on how to split the pie of the proposed Wal-Mart development. If 91 cities in St. Louis County can do it, it amazes me that Jackson and Cape Girardeau can’t work something out. It sounds like their local leaders need to take a junket to Clayton and Richmond Heights to see how local communities can share services and save tax dollars.

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