What Works in Education

Leonard Pitts is a relatively left-of-center columnist who is often picked up in various geographically-specific editions of the Albuquerque Journal. While I don’t agree with him often, a recent story he wrote on what works in education caught my eye. In his story, Pitts praises charter schools and specifically the additional discipline and time in the classroom provided by the KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) style of teaching.
Charter schools are certainly a good option for many kids both in New Mexico and around the nation and Mr. Pitts’ praise for this form of school choice is welcome. I wonder, however, whether he also favors broader school choice measures such as tax credit scholarship programs. As recent studies from the Rio Grande Foundation and other organizations have shown, New Mexico is in dire need of improvement in K-12 education. Hopefully lefties like Pitts and others are willing to consider all options, public and private, in order to improve the schools.