White, now serving a second tour of duty on the council, is trying to persuade his colleagues that elected officials should mirror OKC’s population and increasing the number of wards would be the first step. So far, White’s idea, although discussed at two separate meetings, has been largely criticized by most of the other council […]
poor
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Enterprise schools work best
All three types of choice schools have excellent records that are virtually indistinguishable. Our application-only school market is oversaturated, however, and we must think anew. OKC’s Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Reach College Preparatory, for instance, does great work, but its potential is maxed out. It still serves about half of the students as the […]
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School values don’t fit into a single score
Scholars at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, in Oklahoma School Grades: Hiding “Poor” Achievement, anticipated the mess. They concluded, “a primary assumption of the A-F accountability system, that student test scores can be dissected and manipulated into valid indicators of school performance, is simply false.” The bubbling-in of three questions out of […]
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Failing forethought
Researchers contend that crushing poverty is more significant than failing public schools or bad teachers. Two years ago, a Stanford University study documented the new “income achievement gap.” The report showed family income is the “biggest determining factor in a student’s academic achievement.” The same year, writer Joanna Barkan published a report in Dissent Magazine […]
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LETTERS
Who’s hungry? Each year, Gov. Mary Fallin sponsors a food bank drive asking state employees to contribute. The food collected is donated to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. On first consideration, this seems like a laudable effort. Every year, more Oklahomans suffer from hunger. Both the latest census and the Regional Food Bank have […]
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What a softy
Credit: Brad Gregg Yeah, he’s worth millions. Yeah, he’s dating Kate Upton, one of the hottest women on the planet. Yeah, he does funny commercials. But still! Did you know his fellow NBA brethren think he’s “soft”? That’s, like, the worst thing you can say to a guy who’s 6-foot-10-inches tall and rocks rims for […]
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Demonizing rich people
Last November, every financial trend pointed to high unemployment and low GDP. Add to these realities the imminent explosion of health care costs, widespread inflation, inevitable tax increases and unsustainable deficits. In 1992, lesser economic factors became a mandate to fire George Bush. How does a president taking extravagant vacation getaways while people lose their […]
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Rich folks pay plenty
Something seems to be mistakenly, if not conveniently, missed in Tiffee’s logic. “The poor paying more?” I don’t think so. The following are pretty close estimates of the bottom of the 20 percent bottoms and the bottom of the top 1 percent’s respective annual gross income levels, those being $25,000 for the “poor” and $250,000 […]
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LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact […]
Posted inNews
LETTERS
Oklahoma Gazette provides an open forum for the discussion of all points of view in its Letters to the Editor section. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Letters can be mailed, faxed, emailed to pbacharach@ okgazette.com or sent online at okgazette.com, but include a city of residence and contact […]