Erin Davis Valdez is an education policy director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She has been passionate about the transformational power of education all her life, having been given the gift of being homeschooled. She taught for over a decade in Austin-area schools and served as an assistant principal at a charter school in Lewisville. These experiences have given her the opportunity to see first-hand how students can thrive when they have excellent options.
Leges sine moribus vanae: “Laws without character are in vain.” That’s the motto of the University of Pennsylvania—but it could also be the epitaph of elite higher education. While they almost certainly did not intend to, last week, the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, and MIT gave America a Latin lesson. Penn’s motto...
UPDATE: Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, was on the floor of the U.S. House on Nov. 15, publicly acknowledging the truth: College degrees aren’t always tickets to success. But that doesn’t mean our future workforce requires no training at all. Other pathways to successful careers include apprenticeships—which are growing in popularity in recent years. U.S....
When high school senior Lily, a proud member of the Texas A&M class of 2027, received her financial aid offer for the fall, she was caught off guard. “I was offered loans and grants, and at first glance I knew I wanted to avoid the loans if possible and accept the grants first, but it...
The Washington Post’s pearl-clutching over classical education is especially ironic because the newspaper’s oh-so-progressive motto—“Democracy Dies in Darkness”—demonstrates the relevance: A complete education includes a foundation in the Western traditions that gave us democracy in the first place. The Post contends that classical charter schools “push limits on separation of church, state” (again, a concept...
Teaching is hard work. It always has been, and in many ways, it’s only gotten harder. I taught Latin (and occasionally Greek) in classical schools for about 10 years. I was also a PE teacher, quiz bowl coach, lunchroom monitor and club sponsor. I understand that it’s more than a job—it’s a calling. Classical education,...
Soon, every Texan will have more opportunity to pursue their dreams, to learn new skills, and to thrive. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Opportunity Project supported and tracked important legislation that improved workforce development, removed governmental barriers, and reformed safety net programs—all of which will make Texas a more prosperous state. The 87th Texas Legislature...
We’re seeing a lot of California plates in and around Austin these days. It’s not just individuals from the West Coast pulling up stakes and moving here; businesses are also fleeing states with high taxes and unfavorable regulatory environments to the Lone Star State. To meet growing demands, our workforce must grow, as well. A...
It was national news. The Washington Post reported on two brothers-in-law who drove more than 20 hours to bring their skills as plumbers to a newly thawed Texas. Much of the work they performed was for free. “Yesterday, we went to a subdivision of very small houses and fixed income, and we could not feel...
Astronauts. Ballerinas. Doctors. Firefighters. Oilfield workers? One of these things is not like the others. When children daydream about what they want to be when they grow up, oil and gas jobs rarely make the list — even in Texas, the country’s top energy-producing state. That needs to change for sake of the future of...
Everything is different now. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we interact, how we conduct business and how we recreate. Public education will also have to change. We have an opportunity now to ensure that it changes for the better — that Texas schoolkids can learn in the way that suits them best, whether it’s...
More than 35 state representatives say Texas shouldn’t check whether applicants are actually unemployed before granting unemployment benefits. They have written a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Workforce Commission “requesting they temporarily suspend unemployment certifications in hopes of making better use of resources.” According to one of the letter’s authors, state Rep. Michelle Beckley, D-Carrollton,...
As of April 30, total Texas unemployment claims since mid-March have reached 1.5 million. This number is likely lower than the actual number of unemployed. To say that the state’s economy has taken a hit from COVID-19 lock-downs and the historical collapse of oil and gas would be an understatement. And the crisis also affects...