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Oklahoma school choice event a big success

State of the Union Address notwithstanding, hundreds of Oklahomans turned out for tonight's National School Choice Week event at UCO. We heard remarks by State Superintendent Janet Barresi, former Congressman J. C. Watts, State Sen. Gary Stanislawski, Jeff Reed of the Friedman Institute, and political reporter John Fund (on book...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 24, 2012 10:41 PM

National School Choice Week forum in Edmond tonight, January 24, 2012

A reminder that tonight, Tuesday, January 24, 2012, is Oklahoma's National School Choice Week event, "Restoring American Exceptionalism, an Oklahoma Town Hall," at UCO in Edmond, tonight at 7 p.m. Speakers include John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, State Superintendent Janet Barresi, former Congressman J. C. Watts, and Tulsa...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 23, 2012 10:42 PM

John Fund, J. C. Watts at Oklahoma School Choice event, January 24, 2012

BatesLine is proud to welcome a new advertiser about a topic near and dear to our hearts: school choice. John Fund from the Wall Street Journal, State Superintendent Janet Barresi, and former Congressman J. C. Watts will be speaking later this month, at Restoring American Exceptionalism, Oklahoma's National School Choice...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 10, 2012 1:19 AM

<em>The Cartel, The Lottery, Waiting for "Superman"</em> available online

Three recent documentaries critical of K-12 education in America are now available for online viewing. Each film dramatizes the failures of public education, the efforts by lower-income parents to secure a better education for their children, and the ways that bureaucracy and entrenched interest groups work to thwart those efforts....

Posted by Michael Bates on December 12, 2011 10:34 PM

Tulsa District 5: Must Karen Gilbert quit her day job with Tulsa Public Schools?

I've received a couple of emails regarding Tulsa Public Schools policy 4401, regarding employees running for public office. The policy allows for employees to be granted a leave of absence to run for and serve in elective office. The question posed is whether District 5 candidate Karen Gilbert is required...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 12, 2011 1:13 AM

Janet Barresi and remarkable Harding High

The other day the following post by a Facebook friend who is a former Democrat legislator: So, we have a repuke who opened 2 private schools running for superintendant of public education. Anyone see something odd about that? Repuke? Oh, nice, as Onslow says. The attempted slam (which failed for...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 21, 2010 8:39 PM

Paglia: "What kids need is facts"

It's rare that you will find me quoting, with approval, a lesbian, atheist, leftist East Coast professor, but Camille Paglia's love of Western Civilization and her critique of what passes for education in America warms my heart. Paglia's recent interview with Margaret Wente in the Globe and Mail reads like...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 12, 2010 12:04 AM

Lois Jacobs for Tulsa school board

This is encouraging news: Both Tulsa school board incumbents have drawn opponents for re-election. All too often school board members are returned to office with little if any scrutiny of their service. The election is this Tuesday, February 9, 2010. Because both seats drew only two candidates, there's no need...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 7, 2010 11:33 PM

Classical Core Knowledge

Via Jeff Lindsay on Twitter, I learned about Classical School in Appleton, Wisconsin, a charter Pre-K - 8 school of 450 students that follows a classical curriculum. The school follows E. D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge curriculum. Hirsch is the author of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. From...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 26, 2009 8:50 PM

TPS board chided for keeping charter schools suit alive

In a Friday editorial, the Oklahoman took the Tulsa school board to task for continuing its lawsuit against the state's charter school law. The TPS board claims the law is unconstitutional because it limits charter schools to certain parts of the state based on population and district size. Charter schools...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 28, 2008 12:39 AM