http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/blog Public Policy Research Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:14:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Check out the podcast of the "astonishing confessions about the lack of accountability in the union and how that's affecting competition between public and charter schools" from George Parker, president of Washington DC's Teachers Union in the John Merrow (PBS) segment called Not the Only Kid on the Block - ... http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/blog/news/confessions-of-a-teachers-union-president John Merrow of PBS did a follow-up last night on Michelle Rhee's progress in the DC schools. In the report, Adrian Fenty, the DC Mayors says about Rhee: We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make this school system excellent. And to the extent we can allow her to do that, ... http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/blog/news/rhee-watch-july-24-check-out-pbs-link In response to the labor market, of course. Schools teach French because French teachers are easier to find than those who teach Mandarin or Arabic. Nevertheless, if one were to make a list of which foreign languages our children will need to make themselves as attractive as possible in a ... http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/blog/news/why-do-so-many-american-schools-teach-french The Boston Municipal Research Bureau has a special report on the City of Boston's staffing. It contains this interesting nugget: The School Department’s increase of 658 positions since 2004 accounted for 64.1% of the four-year total of 1,026....The School Department is just 58 positions below its 2002 level while ... http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/blog/news/adding-staff-as-enrollment-declines