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Paul Thomas: Closing Schools, Opening Schools: Why Not Look at the Evidence?
Paul Thomas reacts to an editorial in the Charleston (S.C.) “Post and Courier,” which recommended closing a high-poverty school with low test scores and turning it over to private operators. Thomas...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: School Calls Police to Intimidate Parent Who Wanted His Son...
A few days ago, I posted a letter that James Kirylo and his wife wrote to school officials in South Carolina to explain why they were opting their children out of testing. Kirylo is a professor of...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: A New Group to Support Rural Schools
In the South, rural schools tend to be neglected, impoverished, and forgotten. A group of educators have created a new organization to advocate on behalf of rural schools. It is called the South...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: A Principal Resigns Rather than Lie to His Staff and Families
This story appeared on the blog of Patrick Hayes’ EdFirstSC. In Charleston, South Carolina, Principal Jake Rambo was ordered to evaluate his teachers based solely on the test scores of their students....
View ArticleSouth Carolina: Taxpayers Waste $350 Million on Failing Virtual Charter Schools
Legislators in South Carolina must have been following an ALEC script when they authorized Virtual charter schools to enroll students and take money away from their underfunded public schoools. Or...
View ArticleTwelve Seconds of Gunfire on a Playground in South Carolina
This is a heartbreaking story. A young man appeared at a playground in Townsville, South Carolina, where first-graders were playing. He opened fire. A child died. The shooter, it turned out, was not a...
View ArticlePaul Thomas: The Political and Judicial Abandonment of Poor and Black...
Paul Thomas summarizes the long conservative tradition of racism and classicism in South Carolina, once the property of the Democrats, now the domain of Republicans. The politicians never wanted to...
View ArticleSouth Carolina Cracks Down on Virtual Charters
Betsy DeVos loves virtual charters, but they have dreadful records. Even her like-minded Choice zealots Are backing away from this money-making machines. In South Carolina, the state agency in charge...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: In Praise of Public Schools—and the Hillmans
Arnold Hillman is co-founder of the South Carolina Organization for Rural Schools, with his wife Carol. They retired as educators in Pennsylvania and moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina. But instead...
View ArticleTo Our Friends in the Carolinas
Dear Friends, We are watching the ordeal of your region with concern. The whole nation is watching. We send you warm wishes for your safety. At a time like this, we are reminded about why people need...
View ArticleA Big Reward for Writing this Blog
Several weeks ago, I told the story of Arnold and Carol Hillman, who retired as educators in Pennsylvania and moved to South Carolina. Instead of living a life of relaxation and leisure, they threw...
View ArticlePeter Greene: Who Is Murdering Charter Schools?
Peter Greene has a rapier sharp wit, which he wields so deftly that the object of his attention has been beheaded without knowing what happened. If you want to see him at his best, read this mystery:...
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South Carolina: Two People Who Are Making a Difference
I have written before about Arnold and Carol Hillman. See here and here. They were educators in Pennsylvania who retired to South Carolina. Being educators, they couldn’t really retire; they got...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: Governor Uses $48 Million in CARES Funds to Pay $32 million...
Congress appropriated $13.2 billion for public schools to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic, which is causing cuts and layoffs. South Carolina received $48 million in CARES funds. Governor...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order to Block $32 Million...
A judge in South Carolina granted a temporary restraining order to stop the governor from giving $32 million of the state’s $48 million in coronavirus relief to pay for vouchers. Governor McMaster...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: The Hoax of School Choice
Jen Gibson, who lives in Charleston, writes about how school choice will drain resources from underfunded public schools while not providing access to better schools or better education: Normally this...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: Teachers Fearful About Returning for In-Person Instruction
Lucas Smolcic Larson writes in the Island Packet about the views of teachers concerning the return to school. The S.C. McClatchy newspapers asked educators if they felt ready to return to school during...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: Corporate Tax Breaks Erode Public School Funding
South Carolina’s public schools need adequate funding but big corporate tax breaks are making that funding impossible. Big profits for the shareholders, low-wage jobs for working people. For Immediate...
View ArticleSouth Carolina: Oral Arguments about Vouchers
Have you ever wondered what really goes on in the courtroom? Would you like to have a front-row seat as lawyers argue for and against vouchers before the South Carolina Supreme Court? Here is your...
View ArticleKendall Deas: Good Schools are the Basis of Economic Success
Kendall Deas, a political scientist at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, has worked in the field of economic evelopment. In a recent article, he warned the leaders of the state that...
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