Author Archives: Don Soifer
The Future Of Education In North Las Vegas
A groundbreaking new model for schooling underway in North Las Vegas is increasingly gaining national attention.
When it became clear that the Clark County School District would not be open for in-person schooling at the start of the year and [Read More...]
Trailblazing School Choice’s New Frontier (From RealClearEducation)
For supporters of school choice as well as those intrigued by its merits, education savings accounts (ESAs) are widely regarded as the preferred choice mechanism of the future.
This attitude presaged last month’s national attention – and disappointment within circles [Read More...]
The Crisis in Synthetic Opioids Arriving by International Mail
Public safety officials across the United States are scrambling for solutions to a worsening crisis caused by synthetic opioids. Fentanyl and similar synthetic drugs killed nearly 10,000 Americans in 2015. As Nathaniel Popper explains in his New York Times article [Read More...]
Are Postal Service Retiree Obligations Too Big to Move? (From Federal Times)
The magnitude of the U.S. Postal Service’s unfunded liabilities for its retiree pensions and health benefits imperils the agency and its workforce. Now a Congressional proposal seeks to brighten the agency’s future finances – by shifting these liabilities onto federal [Read More...]
Saving the Postal Service Requires Getting the Details Right
Postal Trendwatch – May 2017
Change is frequently a difficult experience for many people, no matter how necessary or worthwhile they believe it to be. This is certainly proving to be the case with the future of the U.S. Postal [Read More...]
The Importance of Quality School Options for Military Children
Lexington’s Don Soifer interviewed on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM in Washington DC. Along with Education Week correspondent Kavitha Cardoza, he discusses the specific educational challenges facing the nation’s 1.2 million military-connected students, and growing evidence [Read More...]
The Achievement School District Model Supports Rigorous Public School Accountability
Testimony of Don Soifer
Before the Nevada Legislature
Assembly Committee on Education
April 5, 2017
Chairman Thompson and Committee Members, I am Don Soifer, representing the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, widely regarded as one of the nation’s [Read More...]
Opportunity Knocks as Bill Arrives to Governor McAuliffe’s Desk
Virginia’s legislature approved a plan last month which, if signed by Governor Terry McAuliffe, would create a new pathway for the approval of charter schools in areas with persistently struggling schools.
The new proposal, authored by Senator Mark Obenshain and [Read More...]
Virginia’s New ‘School Divisions of Innovation’ Plan Eyes the Future of Learning
A new law passed by Virginia’s legislature and expected to be signed this month by Governor Terry McAuliffe presents an important opportunity for the commonwealth to support the work of its most cutting-edge school divisions.
Authored by Delegate Tag Greason [Read More...]
Military-Connected Students Face Educational Challenges
From the Springfield (MO) News-Leader
Today there are 1.2 million school-aged children of active-duty military personnel in the United States. Most of these are younger children, and two out of five are younger than six.
It is highly possible that [Read More...]