This letter to the editor appeared in The State on May 8, 2014. I appreciated Cindi Scoppe’s column in support of Sen. Paul Thurmond’s efforts to streamline our process for dealing with ineffective teachers (“The cost of one bad teacher,” April 23). Teacher quality is the No. 1 in-school factor affecting student learning, and this

This OpEd appeared in The State. Columbia, SC — Only two years ago, a lopsided majority of Americans had never heard of Common Core State Standards, and those who had either thought they were straight from Beelzebub or the greatest thing since Jadeveon Clowney. If a recent legislative hearing on the matter is any indication,

This OpEd  appeared in The Greenville News on February 2, 2014. Liberal Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and conservative Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton. What agenda could possibly unite these political odd couples? Support for the rapidly expanding world of education options. Each of these leaders is part of a bipartisan

By Tara Servatius Charleston City Paper They pack their families like lemmings into 1,400 square-foot houses situated on postage stamps in Mt. Pleasant and tell themselves they are doing it for their kids’ education. They pay $150 a month for flood insurance on those homes to attend the highest scoring schools in the region. Other