Lance Izumi
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: Time for an Alternative to Common Core Testing
When the much-criticized Common Core standards and curricula were imposed on America’s schools after pressure from the Obama administration, tests aligned with Common Core came along with the package. However, now that so many parents and their children are choosing alternatives to the Common Core-infiltrated regular public schools, it is ...
Blog
A Personal Story for Veterans Day
Of all of our nation’s armed services, Americans probably know the least about the United States Coast Guard. One hears the stories of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and air men and women, but rarely does one hear a Coast Guard story. Well, let me tell you the story of my father, ...
Blog
How Congress Can Improve Education
Whatever the results of the midterm elections, the new Congress will face many old problems, especially in education. Yet, despite the seemingly intractable nature of these problems, there are important actions that Congress can take to meet the needs and concerns of parents and their children. Improving student achievement, ...
Blog
Want to save cities? Then revamp urban schools
Want to Save Cities? Then Revamp Urban Schools There are many reasons for the decline of America’s cities, but one of the key reasons why many families flee older urban areas is because of the poor quality of urban public schools. Research has shown, however, that one way to reverse ...
Blog
Newsom’s Mental Health Plan for Kids: Way Too Late for Problem He Caused
Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed mental health plan for children reminds me of the arsonist who starts a fire, but then calls the fire department to put out the blaze he started. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom closed California’s public schools for a longer time period than most other states, which ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS—Not April Fool’s Day: Newsom Gets Education Award as California Students Suffer and Fail
DOWNLOAD THE PDF When Governor Gavin Newsom recently received a national award for education, just as student learning craters due to his disastrous school policies, one could hear California parents collectively exclaim, “Seriously?” The Education Commission of the States, which is an interstate agency that is supposed to create ...
Blog
A Student Issues a Stark Warning on the State of California Schools
While Governor Gavin Newsom was accepting a laughable award for California’s supposed innovation in education, student achievement in the state’s classrooms is spiraling downward due to failed government education policies. The Education Commission of the States, which gave the innovation award to California, lauded all the tax dollars that Newsom ...
Blog
New Study Dispels Special Ed Funding Myth About Charter Schools
The wide funding gap between regular public schools and charter schools is often explained by charter opponents as due to the larger number of special-education students in regular public schools versus charter schools. A just released study, however, debunks this claim. There is no doubt that regular public schools receive ...
Blog
Mandatory Kindergarten: Bad Idea for Kids and Taxpayers
As if California parents and children have not had enough mandates from Sacramento, the Legislature is considering mandating kindergarten, even though research, international experience, and teacher testimony undercut the idea. SB 70 by State Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) would, according to her press release, “require all students to complete ...
Commentary
Teachers unions causing schools and students to fail
Recently in Time magazine, American Federation of Teachers head Randi Weingarten argued, “Far-right advocates of privatizing public education are using Big Lies to undermine public schools.” However, in an eye-opening resignation letter, Oakland school board member Shanthi Gonzales, a former labor organizer, shows that it is the teachers union that ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Time for an Alternative to Common Core Testing
When the much-criticized Common Core standards and curricula were imposed on America’s schools after pressure from the Obama administration, tests aligned with Common Core came along with the package. However, now that so many parents and their children are choosing alternatives to the Common Core-infiltrated regular public schools, it is ...
A Personal Story for Veterans Day
Of all of our nation’s armed services, Americans probably know the least about the United States Coast Guard. One hears the stories of soldiers, sailors, Marines, and air men and women, but rarely does one hear a Coast Guard story. Well, let me tell you the story of my father, ...
How Congress Can Improve Education
Whatever the results of the midterm elections, the new Congress will face many old problems, especially in education. Yet, despite the seemingly intractable nature of these problems, there are important actions that Congress can take to meet the needs and concerns of parents and their children. Improving student achievement, ...
Want to save cities? Then revamp urban schools
Want to Save Cities? Then Revamp Urban Schools There are many reasons for the decline of America’s cities, but one of the key reasons why many families flee older urban areas is because of the poor quality of urban public schools. Research has shown, however, that one way to reverse ...
Newsom’s Mental Health Plan for Kids: Way Too Late for Problem He Caused
Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed mental health plan for children reminds me of the arsonist who starts a fire, but then calls the fire department to put out the blaze he started. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom closed California’s public schools for a longer time period than most other states, which ...
CAPITAL IDEAS—Not April Fool’s Day: Newsom Gets Education Award as California Students Suffer and Fail
DOWNLOAD THE PDF When Governor Gavin Newsom recently received a national award for education, just as student learning craters due to his disastrous school policies, one could hear California parents collectively exclaim, “Seriously?” The Education Commission of the States, which is an interstate agency that is supposed to create ...
A Student Issues a Stark Warning on the State of California Schools
While Governor Gavin Newsom was accepting a laughable award for California’s supposed innovation in education, student achievement in the state’s classrooms is spiraling downward due to failed government education policies. The Education Commission of the States, which gave the innovation award to California, lauded all the tax dollars that Newsom ...
New Study Dispels Special Ed Funding Myth About Charter Schools
The wide funding gap between regular public schools and charter schools is often explained by charter opponents as due to the larger number of special-education students in regular public schools versus charter schools. A just released study, however, debunks this claim. There is no doubt that regular public schools receive ...
Mandatory Kindergarten: Bad Idea for Kids and Taxpayers
As if California parents and children have not had enough mandates from Sacramento, the Legislature is considering mandating kindergarten, even though research, international experience, and teacher testimony undercut the idea. SB 70 by State Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) would, according to her press release, “require all students to complete ...
Teachers unions causing schools and students to fail
Recently in Time magazine, American Federation of Teachers head Randi Weingarten argued, “Far-right advocates of privatizing public education are using Big Lies to undermine public schools.” However, in an eye-opening resignation letter, Oakland school board member Shanthi Gonzales, a former labor organizer, shows that it is the teachers union that ...
