The Education Exchange

A professor of political science at Boston College, Peter Skerry, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Skerry's latest piece in National Affairs, which looks at the Black Lives Matter movement, and how the Black experience in America differs from the immigrant experience of those groups originating from Latin America. "Why 'Black Lives Matter' Matters" is available now at National Affairs. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/why-black-lives-matter-matters

A senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, Charles D. Chieppo, join's Paul E. Peterson to discuss Pioneer's latest poll, which finds mixed views on Massachusetts schools' response to the pandemic, including opinions on individual teachers, school districts and teachers unions. The full poll, "Massachusetts Residents' Perceptions of K-12 Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic," is available now. https://pioneerinstitute.org/academic-standards/poll-finds-mixed-views-about-schools-pandemic-performance/

The National Director of Research at the American Federation for Children, Corey DeAngelis, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss DeAngelis' new report, which investigates the likelihood of school reopenings amid the pandemic against funding in each district. DeAngelis' report, "Are School Reopening Decisions Related to Funding? Evidence from Over 12,000 Districts During the COVID-19 Pandemic," co-written with Christos Makridis, is available now. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3799694

A professor at the University of Buckingham, James Tooley, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Tooley's new book, Really Good Schools: Global Lessons for High-Caliber, Low-Cost Education, and the success of some low-cost, effective private schools in the developing world. Peterson reviewed Really Good Schools for Education Next, in "To Critics of The Beautiful Tree, a Pearl of a Reply." https://www.educationnext.org/to-critics-of-the-beautiful-tree-pearl-of-reply-review-really-good-schools-tooley/ Tooley profiled low-cost private schools in the Fall 2005 issue of Education Next, in "Private Schools for the Poor." https://www.educationnext.org/privateschoolsforthepoor/

A visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, John Bailey, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Bailey's latest report, which reviews more than 130 studies on whether schools can reopen safely amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Bailey's report, "Is it safe to reopen schools? An extensive review of the research," is available now from AEI. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/is-it-safe-to-reopen-schools-an-extensive-review-of-the-research/

The director of the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research at Saint Louis University, Michael Podgursky, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the resignation of the members of the Oakley Union Elementary School District Board, who were caught on a live Zoom meeting discussing parents, including a comment that, "it's very unfortunate that they want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back."

The President of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Brett Healy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the effects on collective bargaining and the long-term tax savings of Wisconsin's Act 10 budget repair bill, which was passed 10 years ago. The MacIver Institute's report, "Act 10 at 10: Total Taxpayer Savings Hits $13.9 Billion," is available now. https://www.maciverinstitute.com/2021/02/act-10-at-10-total-taxpayer-savings-hits-13-9-billion/

A professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, Patrick J. Wolf, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s new research, which finds that charter schools in seven U.S. cities are more cost effective than their traditional public school counterparts, according to test results. The study, "Making it Count: The Productivity of Public Charter Schools in Seven U.S. Cities," co-written with Corey A. DeAngelis, Cassidy Syftestad, Larry D. Maloney and Jay F. May, is available now. https://scdp.uark.edu/making-it-count-the-productivity-of-public-charter-schools-in-seven-u-s-cities/

The president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how to best open schools, and debate the safety protocols needed to get teachers back into classrooms, including the prioritization of teachers receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Dean Fellow and head of the Teacher Preparation Program at the Relay Graduate School of Education in Memphis, Lequite Manning, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Relay's teacher training and placement techniques, and how they have been adapted amid the Covid-19 pandemic.