Why Are Portland School Construction Projects So Expensive?
By John A. Charles, Jr. In 2021, Sherwood School District opened the largest…
Read Blog DetailTag: education
Limits on School-Day Phone Use Will Free Students to Learn
By Kathryn Hickok The Board of Portland Public Schools has been working to…
Read Blog Detail
Three Ways Oregon Can Help Students Get Back on Track in 2025
By Kathryn Hickok The Portland Tribune recently reported that Oregon elementary students’ academic…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon Ranks 35th Nationally in Return on Investment for Education Spending
By Kathryn Hickok Is more money the answer to Oregon’s abysmal K-12 academic…
Read Blog Detail
The Siren Song of free school meals
By John A. Charles, Jr. Thirty years ago, an iconic goal of liberal…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon: Improvement Needed on “Education Freedom Report Card”
By Kathryn Hickok The Heritage Foundation annually releases an Education Freedom Report Card,…
Read Blog Detail
Cascade Quarterly Spring 2024
Download the full PDF here
Read Blog Detail
What If Every Child Could Find the Path to Academic Success?
By Kathryn Hickok Children are unique, with different talents, interests, and learning styles….
Read Blog Detail
Testimony: Testimony to Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission on PPS Budget
June 4, 2024 Ms. Allegra WillhiteExecutive DirectorMultnomah County Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission…
Read Blog Detail
School Choice Expansion Continues with Missouri Education Package
By Kathryn Hickok This month, Missouri increased educational opportunity for families by expanding…
Read Blog Detail
PPS levy perpetuates ongoing discrimination
By John A. Charles, Jr. The Portland School Board is asking voters to…
Read Blog Detail
Will School Choice Be on Oregon Ballots Soon?
By Kathryn Hickok 2023 is being called the “Year of Universal Education Choice,”…
Read Blog Detail
Letter to PPS Board: Recommendations for Jefferson Highschool Modernization Project
April 2, 2024 Mr. Gary HollandsChair, Portland Public School Board501 N. Dixon StreetPortland,…
Read Blog Detail
More Money is Not the Solution
By Joshua Schutte The Oregonian recently reported that “Oregon students as a whole…
Read Blog Detail
Testimony Before the House Committee on Education Regarding HB 4161
February 14, 2024 Chair Neron, Vice-Chairs Hudson and Wright, and Members of the…
Read Blog Detail
Survey: 72% of Parents Said They Considered a New School Last Year
By Kathryn Hickok The National School Choice Awareness Foundation conducted a survey of…
Read Blog Detail
Local Celebrations Highlight All the Ways Oregon Students Learn
By Kathryn Hickok January 21-27 is National School Choice Week, the world’s largest…
Read Blog Detail
Three Ways Oregon Can Help Kids Get the Education They Deserve
By Kathryn Hickok In 2023, eight states passed universal or near-universal educational choice…
Read Blog Detail
Pennsylvania’s Christmas Gift to K-12 Students
By Kathryn Hickok Christmas came early for children and parents in Pennsylvania when…
Read Blog Detail
Why 2023 Is the “Year of Universal School Choice”
By Kathryn Hickok Nationwide polling this year revealed seventy-one percent of voters say…
Read Blog Detail
Student-Focused Solutions Can Address Pandemic Learning Losses
By Kathryn Hickok The New York Times published an editorial November 18 regarding…
Read Blog Detail
Cascade Quarterly Fall 2023
Download the full PDF here
Read Blog Detail
Why More Money Won’t Solve the Problems in Portland Public Schools
By John A. Charles, Jr. At the Portland Public Schools board meeting last…
Read Blog Detail
Oklahoma’s Education Tax Credit Puts Families First
By Kathryn Hickok Oklahoma’s Parental Choice Tax Credit Program is the first universal,…
Read Blog Detail
North Carolina Becomes the 9th State to Offer Students Universal School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok North Carolina has become the ninth state to enact universal…
Read Blog Detail
Parents Say They Want More School Options for Their Children
By Kathryn Hickok As K-12 students return to school, about four-fifths of them…
Read Blog Detail
RealClear Opinion Poll Shows 71% of Registered Voters Support School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok A June 2023 RealClear Opinion Research survey of registered voters…
Read Blog Detail
The Memory Problem of Portland Public Schools
By Ethan Rohrbach For decades, Portland Public Schools (PPS) has tried to close…
Read Blog Detail
School Choice States Open Doors of Opportunity for Generations of Children
By Kathryn Hickok Three states recently expanded education options for K-12 students through…
Read Blog Detail
Testimony of Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Before the Oregon Senate Committee on Education
Eric Fruits, Ph.D.Cascade Policy Institute Support for HB 3068: Award high school diploma…
Read Blog Detail
Learning from Great Teachers Is a Privilege, Not a Right
By James Swyter In 2015, representatives from Portland Public Schools (PPS) gave a…
Read Blog Detail
HB 3068 Allows Students to Take the GED for a High School Diploma
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Cascade Policy Institute’s bill to make it easier for…
Read Blog Detail
Cascade Policy Institute Research Finds School Choice Programs Can Boost Public School Performance
February 16, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
Read Blog Detail
Cascade Policy Institute Research Finds School Choice Programs Can Improve Participants’ Academic Performance and Educational Attainment
February 15, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
Read Blog Detail
Report shows ESA programs can give students the options they need, while increasing per-student funding for those remaining in district schools
By Kathryn Hickok Cascade Policy Institute has released a new report evaluating the…
Read Blog Detail
Small Steps Toward Solving Oregon’s Education Crisis
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the “Doonesbury”…
Read Blog Detail
Education Savings Accounts Would Make Oregon Students Better Off
By Kathryn Hickok This is National School Choice Week, an annual celebration of…
Read Blog Detail
3 Ways Oregon Legislators Can Expand Options for K-12 Students Today
By Kathryn Hickok January 22-28 is National School Choice Week, a celebration of…
Read Blog Detail
Education Savings Accounts: A School Choice Solution That Can Save States Money
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Critics of education savings accounts, or ESAs, claim that…
Read Blog Detail
Education Savings Accounts Can Boost Per-Student Spending in Public Schools
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Critics of education savings accounts, or ESAs, claim ESA…
Read Blog Detail
Research Shows Voucher Programs Boost Test Scores and Improve Educational Attainment
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Vouchers and education savings accounts (ESAs) are a subset…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon Needs a Free-Market Makeover
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D “What’s the one thing you’d do to fix Oregon?”…
Read Blog Detail
Closing the Racial Learning Gap in Schools: Spending Money Is Not Enough
By James Swyter For years, policymakers in Oregon have wrung their hands over…
Read Blog Detail
Arizona Offers All Children School Choice; Oregon Should, Too
By Kathryn Hickok This summer, Arizona expanded the nation’s first Education Savings Account…
Read Blog Detail
3 Ways New Oregon Leadership Can Improve K-12 Education Fast
By Kathryn Hickok Oregon soon will have a new governor and a new…
Read Blog Detail
Biden’s Student Loan Bailout Brings Chaos to College Students
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. By now you’ve heard of President Biden’s student loan…
Read Blog Detail
Cascade Quarterly Summer 2022
Download the full PDF here
Read Blog Detail
Lift the Cap on Oregon Charter Schools
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Next week is National Charter Schools Week. Oregon passed…
Read Blog Detail
Poll: 72% Believe Parents Should Have School Choice
By Kathryn Hickok The last two years have made it clear: Oregon parents…
Read Blog Detail
Testimony of Kathryn Hickok before the Senate Committee on Education
February 24, 2022 Senate Committee on EducationOregon State Legislature Re: Support for SB…
Read Blog Detail
Remove Oregon’s Age Restriction on GED Tests
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. COVID-19 disrupted—and may continue to disrupt—in-person learning at many…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon’s Century-Old Lesson in Public Education
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. Earlier this week, the Michigan Democratic Party’s Facebook account…
Read Blog Detail
Dropping High School Graduation Standards Hurts Students’ Future Prospects
By Stewart Robertson Recently, Governor Kate Brown quietly signed Senate Bill 744. The…
Read Blog Detail
Four Things You Should Know About Learning Pods in Oregon
By Helen Doran Learning pods have become a popular solution for parents searching…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon Families Deserve Choice in Online Learning: Cascade Policy Institute Supports SB 240 – Lift the Cap on Online Charters
April 21, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cascade Policy Institute4850 SW Scholls Ferry Rd.,…
Read Blog Detail
Are Oregon students looking at distance learning in the fall?
By Helen Doran The president of the National Education Association recently said she…
Read Blog Detail
Eric Fruits, Vice President of Research of Cascade Policy Institute, submitted testimony regarding SB 223
Via EmailMarch 11, 2021 Senate Committee on Education Oregon State Legislature Re: Opposition…
Read Blog Detail
Empower Oregon Families Today by Funding Students, Not Systems
By Kathryn Hickok and Helen Doran Every parent knows a solid education prepares…
Read Blog Detail
I was homeschooled. Here is why I support school choice.
By Helen Doran Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents now find themselves…
Read Blog Detail
Achieving Equity: Oregon Students Deserve a Money-Back Guarantee
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. On September 21, 2020, Oregon’s Senate heard policy proposals…
Read Blog Detail
Supreme Court Upholds Parents’ Right to Choose Religious Schools
By Kathryn Hickok The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 in Espinoza v….
Read Blog Detail
Online charter school students were learning at home just fine, so why have their schools been taken away from them?
By Kathryn Hickok If Oregon charter school students can stay at home and…
Read Blog Detail
Supreme Court Espinoza Case Debates Parents’ Freedom to Choose Religious Schools
By Miranda Bonifield When Kendra Espinoza’s husband suddenly left their small family, her…
Read Blog Detail
Miss Virginia: A Trailblazer for Educational Opportunity for Today’s Kids
By Kathryn Hickok and Miranda Bonifield Virginia Walden Ford is a Washington, D.C….
Read Blog Detail
National School Choice Week Celebrates All the Ways Kids Learn
By Kathryn Hickok January 26-February 1 is National School Choice Week, the world’s…
Read Blog Detail
Espinoza and Equal Opportunity in Education
By Miranda Bonifield In 1926, an Oregon school controversy made it all the…
Read Blog Detail
Miss Virginia
By Miranda Bonifield Virginia Walden Ford is a mom whose extraordinary sacrifice and…
Read Blog Detail
Charter Schools Create Diverse Choices for Students with Different Needs
By Miranda Bonifield Parents know the educational needs of their children are as…
Read Blog Detail
Fresh Spinach for Indifferent Students: Oregon’s Costly Farm-to-School Program
By Helen Cook When did you last hear a child profess his love…
Read Blog Detail
Testimony of Kathryn Hickok Before the Senate Education Committee Regarding SB 668 Education Savings Accounts
June 5, 2019 Chair Wagner and Members of the Committee, my name is…
Read Blog Detail
Is Oregon Really “Disinvesting” in Education?
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. The Portland Association of Teachers declares Oregon has suffered…
Read Blog Detail
Tennessee’s New Education Savings Account Law Puts More Parents in the “Driver’s Seat” of Their Kids’ Education
By Kathryn Hickok This month Tennessee enacted a new Education Savings Account (ESA)…
Read Blog Detail
Cultivating Educational Choice with Education Savings Accounts
By Miranda Bonifield A Portland public school made headlines last week for offering…
Read Blog Detail
Options in Education Fest Celebrates Oregon Parents’ Education Choices
By Bobbie Jager As a mother of 13 children (no, that’s not a…
Read Blog Detail
More Spending Won’t Solve Educational Woes
By Miranda Bonifield Increasing funding to Oregon’s school system may seem like an…
Read Blog Detail
Lessons in Education from Gandalf the Grey
By Miranda Bonifield Cascade Policy Institute has supported parental choice in K-12 education…
Read Blog Detail
Fake Leadership
By John A. Charles, Jr. Governor Kate Brown’s proposed two-year general fund budget…
Read Blog Detail
Watch “School Choice Changes Lives!” Online Now
By Steve Buckstein On September 25, Cascade Policy Institute and its School Choice…
Read Blog Detail
Children’s Scholarship Fund Gives Low-Income Parents Real Education Choices
By Kathryn Hickok This spring, the Children’s Scholarship Fund-Oregon program sponsored by Cascade…
Read Blog Detail
Time to Decentralize Oregon’s Education Reform Efforts
By Kathryn Hickok and Steve Buckstein Three years ago, Oregon state government killed…
Read Blog Detail
Four Strikes and You’re Still Out: Oregon’s Ongoing Quest to Centralize Education Policy
By Steve Buckstein In 2015 Oregon state government killed off what should have…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon Can Help Young Oregonians Be “Future Ready” by Reducing Red Tape
By Kathryn Hickok Governor Kate Brown opened this month’s legislative session with her…
Read Blog Detail
What’s at the Root of Oregon’s Education Problems? (Steve Jobs Already Told Us the Answer)
By Steve Buckstein The Oregon legislature will embark on an “impossible mission” to…
Read Blog Detail
Oregon Parents Deserve to Be the Voice for Kids’ Education Options
By Bobbie Jager For the second year in a row, Oregon has reported…
Read Blog Detail
Give Oregon Kids the Power of Educational Choice, Like Kids in Florida
By Kathryn Hickok Denisha Merriweather failed third grade twice. Today, she is finishing…
Read Blog Detail
Taxpayers Aren’t at Fault for Oregon’s Abysmal Graduation Rate
By Kathryn Hickok Willamette Week recently reported that, sadly, Oregon has the third-lowest…
Read Blog Detail
Why Protesters of Betsy DeVos Can’t Understand What She’s Talking About
By Steve Buckstein What would you do if you read an article about…
Read Blog DetailEducation Savings Accounts: Review and Evaluation of a Universal ESA in Oregon
By Eric Fruits, Ph.D. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Education Savings Accounts deposit a percentage of…
Read Blog Detail
A Legal Analysis of Oregon’s Trust Obligations in Managing the Elliott State Forest
By Kathryn Walter (Altus Law LLC) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY When Oregon became a state…
Read Blog Detail