Maryland Has Long Waiting List for Charter Schools

Originally published in School Reform News

By Sarah McIntosh
Published on Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Demand is high but supply is low for Maryland students wanting to attend a charter school. The state has 42, but almost all of them are in Baltimore-leaving 3,000 students statewide on waiting lists.School choice advocates say the state's current law and political climate are the reasons seats aren't available for these students.

Who knew Seinfeld's George Costanza was NAACP's model?

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Friday, October 16, 2009
Remember the "The Fire" episode from Seinfeld? George Costanza shoves a senior citizen and children out of his way while fleeing a small kitchen fire at the apartment of his girlfriend.He justifies his behavior by claiming he was trying to lead the way. He explained that pushing others was necessary "Because, because as the leader, if I die, then all hope is lost."The show was funny. The fact that Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and leaders of the state organization abide by George's morally bankrupt worldview is not.

The true risk of our under-educated youth

Originally published in the Daily Record

By Craig A. Thompson
Published on Friday, September 25, 2009
Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in the number of discussions surrounding our youth and education. Earlier this year, the Maryland public school system moved to the ìhead of the classî nationwide, capturing a seat at the top of the national school rankings in six important categories.

Must unions always block innovation in public schools?

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Friday, July 24, 2009
Isn't it ironic? When Andres Alonso moved to Baltimore City two years ago to turn around a failing public school system, the Baltimore Teachers Union fought him over practically everything except which color tie he should wear.

Teachers As Entrepreneurs

By Tom Neumark
Published on Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Currently, most teachers in the state of Maryland are employed by a local Board of Education and are direct employees of the school system. However, a better arrangement is possible. What if all Maryland schools districts could hire employees under their existing union-negotiated agreements and could also sign contracts with education companies, individual teachers, and other unions? This paper examines how this approach would work, the policy changes needed to enable teacher entrepreneurship, and the potential benefits, and also answers the common arguments for a single, union-negotiated contract.

Maryland needs BOAST now

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Maryland legislators could have prevented the closing of Towson Catholic High School this year. Leadership of the 87-old Baltimore County high school -- 40 percent of whose students are minorities and 45 percent of whom live in Baltimore City -- last week said the school would not reopen next year because of $650,000 deficit and declining enrollment.

Failure to graduate is nothing to worry about in Maryland

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Friday, June 19, 2009
Colleges that don't graduate students don't have to worry in Maryland. Taxpayer money flows to them regardless of performance.Coppin State University (CSU) is a case in point. According to a report released earlier this month by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), "Diplomas and Dropouts," only 19 percent of students graduate within six years from CSU, a historically black college in Baltimore. That makes it the worst performing college in the region among its peers and one of the 10 worst in the country, according to the report.

Money can't buy better grades

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Friday, June 12, 2009
Money builds schools, pays teachers and allows them to buy new technology for the classroom. But it does not improve graduation rates in Maryland.According to a new survey by Editorial Projects in Education, Maryland's graduation rate was 73.5 percent in 2006. That shows a decline of about 3 percentage points since the 2001-2002 school year - the year before Maryland started lavishing money on K-12 public education as a result of the 2002 Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act (Thornton Act).

Freedom is not always fun

Orignially published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Friday, May 29, 2009
There is no paradox in "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness."The fascinating new paper by economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of the University of Pennsylvania makes it out to be, though. It explores why women's overall sense of well-being has declined over the past 35 years in both absolute terms and relative to men.

Freeing KIPP to educate more students should be a Maryland priority

Originally published in the Washington Examiner

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Published on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Color is one of the first things to greet visitors at KIPP Ujima Village Academy in Baltimore. Lots of it. Green and red and yellow murals with the names of African nations line the walls.They are bright, just like the 330 middle school students who attend. It is the highest performing public middle school in Baltimore City. And in 2006 and 2007, its students earned the highest 8th grade math scores in Maryland.