Every so often a piece of journalism breaks through the flotsam and jetsam that is the contemporary Twitterverse, and compels digestion, contemplation, and discussion. If you’ve given any thought to the trade-offs involved in extending distance learning or resuming campus-based instruction and have yet to read Alec MacGillis’, “The Students Left Behind by…

June 12, 2020

Dear Governor Newsom,

On behalf of the officers and directors of the California Association of Private School Organizations (CAPSO), I write to offer our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the inclusion of private schools and early education programs in the state’s distribution of personal protective equipment. I would also like to personally commend…

Here’s how the game is played. First, public education special interest groups vigorously oppose any and all constitutionally permissible arrangements that would place public funds in the hands of low-income parents for the purpose of enabling them to send their children to the schools of their choosing, whether public, public charter, or private. Then,…

Last week, while listening to “All Things Considered” on NPR, I heard a member of the Colorado Legislature, his voice choked with emotion, relate how a longtime political rival approached him and gave him a hug. (That, of course, occurred before social distancing practices took effect.) Two days earlier, while watching the proceedings of…

The horrific shootings took place on a Saturday – the Jewish sabbath, or Shabbat.  April 27, 2019 also happened to be the eighth-and-final-day of Passover, which meant that the Chabad of Poway synagogue was filled with worshipers when the 19-year-old assailant entered the premises and began firing.  Minutes later, one congregant lay dead, and…