School Reform News Podcast

Private Choices & Public Hypocrisy: The Teachers Union President Controversy

The executive president of one of the nation’s largest teachers unions is under fire for the revelation that her eldest son attends a private school. Teachers unions universally oppose school choice programs that include private schools, and in doing so they deny education opportunities to children whose parents cannot afford to pay for them to leave the deteriorating public schools. This is an especially troubling problem in nearly all the nation’s big cities, where the public scho...

Kids Have Never Been More Ignorant of U.S. History

The other day, Heartland Institute Editorial Director Chris Talgo, was on the Rod Arquette Show in Salt Lake City, Utah to talk about the pathetic results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The nation’s report card found that only 13 percent of 8th graders are considered proficient in US History.    Chris is a former U.S. History teacher in the public schools of the Chicago Suburbs and a small town in South Carolina. That was almost a decade ago, and even back t...

Education Freedom Report Card (Guest: Jonathan Butcher)

Heartland's Tim Benson is joined by Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman Fellow in Education at The Heritage Foundation, to discuss Heritage's new Education Freedom Report Card. They chat about the report's methodology, which states ranked highly and which states ranked poorly, and the information and lessons it can provide both parents and policymakers.

Prospects for Universal School Choice in Texas (Guest: Kent Grusendorf)

Today on the Heartland Daily Podcast, Senior Editor Joe Barnett talks with former state Rep. Kent Grusendorf, who is a long-time education reformer. They discuss the unprecedented support for universal school choice legislation and the impacts victories by parents in recent school board races has had. Grusendorf explains how support for school choice has never been higher. Parents want to see their dollars going towards funding their child’s education, not funding a school which fa...

Critical Race Theory Suffers Defeat in Texas (Guest: Craig Ownby)

Today on the Heartland Daily Podcast, Senior Editor Joe Barnett talks with Texas Political Consultant Craig Ownby about a recent 'nonpartisan' school board election in Mansfield, Texas that saw the election of four conservative candidates opposing leftist supporters of critical race theory. Barnett and Ownby also discuss the prospects for school choice in Texas.

America’s Best and Worst Metro Areas for School Quality (Guest: Adam Tyner)

In this episode of the School Reform News podcast, Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Adam Tyner, associate director of research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, to discuss Fordham’s new report, America’s Best and Worst Metro Areas for School Quality. Find out how they quantify their rankings, whether the "best" public schools have the highest achievement, which metros fared well, and which metros fared poorly. Check out the interactive report here: https://metro.fordhaminstitu...

Miseducation Propaganda in U.S. Schools

Miseducation is U.S. public schools is seemingly getting worse by the day. From Howard Zinn textbooks to Critical Race Theory, our students are being fed anti-American propaganda on a daily basis. Stopping Socialism's Donald Kendal and Chris Talgo explain in this episode of "Stopping Socialism."

Critical Race Theory and “The Authoritarians”

Heartland's Tim Benson is joined by constitutional and administrative lawyer Jonathan W. Emord to discuss his op-ed on critical race theory as well as his new book The Authoritarians: Their Assault on Individual Liberty, the Constitution, and Free Enterprise from the 19th Century to the Present.

Bring the Classics Back to Education (Guest: Morgan E. Hunter)

With the rise of K-12 history curricula that fail to teach children about American history and the foundations of Western Civilization and often actively undermine students’ appreciation of their national heritage, the authors of a new report propose a 490 B.C. Project to redress the balance. Morgan E. Hunter, research fellow at the Independent Institute, joins Jenna Robinson, president at The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, to discuss the shortcomings of modern educat...

Why We Need School Choice (Guest: Tim Benson)

Tm Benson explains the benefits of School Choice. Private school children are less prone to drug abuse and violence problems. Benson also talks about how tax credit programs help parents and even public schools. The conversation also veers towards the gas and oil industry and how it produces good paying jobs for non-college graduates.

More Education Funding Does Not Improve Education Outcomes

Lennie Jarratt, director of the Center for Education Opportunities, was a guest on The Monica Jaye Show on 99.1FM Talk in Reno Nevada. Jaye and Jarratt discussed the Research & Commentary: More Education Funding Does Not Improve Education Outcomes. Jarratt shared how more spending does not equal better performance, the remediation required for college students, what the real effects of taxing the rich are, how money is going to support staff instead of the classroom, and the myths t...

National Parents Union: Connecting and Supporting Parents (Guests: Keri Rodrigues and Alma Marquez)

Education project manager Lennie Jarratt invites Keri Rodrigues and Alma Marquez, co-founders of the National Parents Union (NPU), onto this edition of the School Reform News podcast. The two discuss how parents are coming together in the NPU to ensure parents have a voice in supporting their children against the massive lobby of the teachers’ unions and those interested in the status quo. Learn about the five goals of the NPU and how you can help assist in their efforts at national...

55 Important Words from the Declaration of Independence (Guest: Rep. Dan Caulkins)

Illinois Rep. Caulkins discussed the importance of the 55 words from the Declaration of Independence that he proposes should be memorized in public schools because it highlights how our rights don’t come from government with hosts Lennie Jarratt and Chris Talgo. In addition, we discuss he discussed how the “education system has lost sight of its purpose,” and how these words are a common thread for all Americans.  The required #55Words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, th...

Best Practices for Lawmakers on Education Choice Policy (Guest: Jason Bedrick)

EdChoice has developed an Education Policy Toolkit that shares the best practices for lawmakers to use when creating education choice programs. Listen as Jason Bedrick, director of policy at EdChoice discuss policy scope, accountability, private school participation, testing, and which funding mechanism and implementation best practices for vouchers, education savings accounts, or tax-credit scholarships. (https://www.edchoice.org/edchoice-policy-toolkit/)

CLT: An Alternative to the Common Core Aligned SAT and ACT (Guests: Jeremy Tate and Keith Nix)

The Classing Learning Test (CLT) is an alternative to the Common Core aligned ACT and SAT. It is designed to be a rigorous test that measures quality of knowledge and understanding instead of being a watered down cursory review aimed at making students feel good about themselves. Jeremy Tate, president and CEO of CLT, and Keith Nix, head of the Veritas School in Richmond Virginia and CLT board member, discuss the importance of the test and the release of first Top 25 High Schools, r...

West Virginia Teachers Get Paid to Skip School (Guest: Tim Benson)

Policy Analyst Tim Benson discusses how over half of West Virginia teachers are chronically absent each school year and more than 10 percent miss more than 20 days. In essence, if students miss the same number of days parents can be fined or go to jail, while teachers continue to get paid. This chronic absenteeism harms students education by reducing “‘instructional intensity’ by creating ‘discontinuities of instruction.’” Test scores bear this out with “only 46 percent tested to g...

Chicago Teacher Strike: Rewarding Failure (Guests: Tim Benson and Chris Talgo)

The Chicago Teachers Union strike is a political gambit to reward the abject failure the CTU to educate the children of Chicago. Only about three in 10 district students are proficient in math and reading. They demand outrageous benefits such as affordable housing and a charter school moratorium. These completely skirt the democratic process around the democratic process on top of being completely unnecessary. If Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools cave, average...

Rise of Socialism on Campus (Guest: Charlie Copeland of ISI)

According to a recent Axios poll, just 40 percent of Millennials and Generation Z have a favorable opinion of capitalism, 61 percent have a positive reaction to the word “socialism,” and half say they’d prefer to live in a socialist country. This is because socialism is sold as “compassionate.” As the right thing to do. As caring about the welfare of your fellow man – especially those struggling economically. How does the right battle that false perception? How do they communicate t...

Protecting Students through Child Safety Accounts (Guest: Congressman Jim Banks)

Congressman Jim Banks joined us to discuss his plan to make students safer in Washington DC schools, allowing them to escape bullying, violence, and unsafe schools through Child Safety Accounts (H.R. 2538). Banks talked about the Federal role in education and how he hoped this concept could be a model in the states to protect even more students. He shared how the families in his district encouraged him with their stories of what the Indiana school choice programs meant for their liv...

The School Choice Roadmap (Guest: Andrew Campanella)

Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week, discusses his new book, “The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps to Finding the Right School for Your Child”. Andrew discusses he wrote the book after many discussions with parents and school leaders. He explains how parents are the real experts in how their children learn and should be educated. He removed the education jargon to lay out a step by step guide for parents to empower them to make an informed decision on the best ...

Is there Really a Teacher Shortage? (Guest: Larry Sand)

Larry Sand, president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network (CTEN), uses data to show overall there are more teachers today than ever.  There are some shortages in math, science, and special education areas, which he provided a solution that has proven successful in other areas of the country. The greatest impediment to this fix is the teachers unions themselves as highlighted by John Abeigon, local teachers union president in Newark, New Jersey, essentially calling merit-b...

In The Tank – Deep Dive on Education Policy with Lennie Jarratt

Heartland’s Donald Kendal sits down with Education Policy Expert Lennie Jarratt in the first episode of the In The Tank Podcast’s subseries “Deep Dive.” Jarratt and Kendal go in depth into the topic of education policy. Jarratt talks about the shortcomings of the public education system, the power and influence of teachers unions, and how education choice options empower parents and leads to better academic outcomes. Watch the interview on YouTube.    

The Problem in Higher Education and a Solution to Restoring Their Promise

This podcast discusses his new book Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America. It outlines the major reasons higher education is failing to fulfilling its promise. The blame falls squarely on government intervention. In their desire to help, they have cause many unintended consequences that harm education and students. Dr. Vedder discusses these causes and proposes some solution to start correcting the problems. It all starts with getting the government out of the way.

No Safe Spaces (Guest: Producer Mark Joseph)

Heartland’s Jim Lakely talks with Mark Joseph, producer of the upcoming film “No Safe Spaces,” a look at modern oppression of our free speech rights in America. The docudrama, which was shown at a special advance screening at The Heartland Institute on June 5, stars comedian Adam Corolla and national radio talk host Dennis Prager. The film also features interviews with free-speech champions from across the political spectrum, including comedian and actor Tim Allen, professor Jordan ...

Collaborative Dialogue to Maintain a Free Society (Guest: Marsha Familaro Enright)

Marsha Enright discusses The Great Connections summer program, Leap Year program, the philosophy and teaching method of reading great books from across the ideological spectrum, and how to hold a collaborative dialogue through civility, logic, and reason. Website: https://thegreatconnections.org/

How I Escaped the Columbine Shooting, a Survivor’s Story (Guest: Rep. Patrick Neville)

Rep. Patrick Neville, a Columbine survivor, discussed how he escaped the shooting and how it profoundly changed his life. He discussed memories of the shootings aftermath and watching parents not be able to find their children. As a state representative, he proposes solutions to help keep students safe. These include hardening the physical building, allowing teachers to volunteer to be trained and armed, and to provide Child Safety Accounts empowering parents to find a safe alterna...

Rachel's Challenge and the 20th Anniversary of Columbine (Guest: Darrell Scott)

The Invest in Kids Act (Guest: Alissa McCurley-Vogel)

Prospects for School Reform in Texas (Guest: Kent Grusendorf)

Will West Virginia Parents Finally Get Education Choice? (Guest: Senator Patricia Rucker)

School Choice in New Hampshire is Under Attack (Guest: Michelle Levell)

In The Tank (ep175) – School Choice Week, Wind Taxes?, Gun Rights Sanctuary State

The Bias in State K-12 Education Rankings (Guest: Stan Liebowitz)

Education Choice Reforms in 2019 (Guest: Vicki Alger)

School Choice in the Wake of Two State Supreme Court Rulings (Guest: Lennie Jarratt)

Teaching Booker T. Washington's Message of Liberty (Guest: Ron Court)

Lessons from the Massachusetts Charter Sector (Guest: Dr. Cara Candal)

Judging Teachers with Merit Based Pay (Guest: Will Flanders)

Fixing the Student Debt Crisis by Holding Higher Education Accountable (Guest: Representative Virginia Foxx, R-NC)

Who’s Paid: Bureaucrats or Teachers?