Sol Stern is a contributing editor to City Journal and a Manhattan Institute senior fellow. He writes passionately on education reform, and his writings on that topic have helped shape the terms of the current debate in New York City.

Stern is the author of Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice. Aside from his work in City Journal, Stern’s articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Magazine, Commentary, The New Republic, the Daily News, Newsday, the Village Voice, New York, Sports Illustrated, and The New Statesmen.

Mr. Stern was an editor and staff writer for Ramparts magazine between 1966 and 1972. He then spent the next 12 years as a freelance writer and editor. From 1985 to 1994, Mr. Stern served as Director of Issues, Press Secretary, and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the City Council President of New York. In 1994, he was appointed Executive Director of a New York State Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform, where he served for one year. After leaving state government, Mr. Stern returned to journalism.

Mr. Stern grew up in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the City College of New York. He received an M.A. in political science from the State University of Iowa and did further graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Ruth Stern, who teaches in a New York City public high school.

Select Media

• Peter Weissbach Show, KFI, 5-4-09
• Hannity's America, Fox News Channel, 11-16-08
• Hannity's America, Fox News Channel, 11-16-08
• Hannity and Colmes, Fox News Channel, 10-24-08
• All Things Considered, NPR, 10-21-08
• Denis Prager Show, Salem Radio Network, 10-16-08
• Laura Ingraham Show, Talk Radio Network, 10-10-08

Articles/Op-eds

• Acorn: A Democratic Party Albatross, Forbes.com, 09-17-09
• Mike & Randi Make a Good Deal; Schoolkids Get a Raw One, New York Daily News, 06-25-09
• Pedagogy of the Oppressor, Washington Times, 04-27-09
• Pedagogy of the Oppressor, National Review Online, 03-28-09
• Remembering the Revolution, Wall Street Journal, 03-02-09
• Ayers Is No Education 'Reformer', Wall Street Journal, 10-16-08
• US English Tragedy, New York Post, 07-14-08
• Do We Need a Basic Rewrite of No Child Left Behind?, NewTalk, 07-05-08
• In School Reform, Billions of Dollars — But Not Much Bang, New York Daily News, 11-18-07
• Pulling A 'Fast' One, New York Post, 10-01-07
• Grading Mayoral Control, Townhall.com, 07-26-07
• Radical Teach, New York Post, 05-12-07
• Save The Catholic Schools, New York Post, 05-01-07
• Math And Marxism, New York Post, 03-20-07
• $5B Headache, New York Post, 10-16-06
• The Ghosts of Bill Ayers, Front Page Magazine, 10-16-06
• PR But Not the 3 Rs, Los Angeles Times, 03-25-06
• Pinko Teachers, Inc., New York Post, 03-12-06
• They Never Learn, Barron's, 01-24-05
• Opportunities Lost, The New York Sun, 12-14-04
• The Cash Excuse, New York Post, 04-13-04
• Teach Before You Test, Mike, New York Post, 03-28-04
• Klein's Phony Phonics Fix, New York Post, 01-24-04
• Klein’s Figleaf, New York Post, 01-12-04
• $40 Million Goof, New York Post, 10-20-03
• One Enemy Is Inside the Tent, New York Post, 09-02-03
• Lam Excuses, New York Post, 08-22-03
• Façade of Excellence, Education Next, 06-25-03
• NYC Schools: Aiming For Illiteracy, New York Post, 04-04-03
• S.O.S. -- Save Our Schools, Wall Street Journal, 12-10-02
• Bust That Trust: An Open Letter, New York Post, 08-19-02
• The Ideal Teachers’ Deal, New York Daily News, 04-30-02
• A Fight For The Kids, New York Post, 03-12-02
• Levy's Study Doesn't Add Up, New York Daily News, 06-29-01
• Tax Credits Can Teach Big Lessons, New York Daily News, 04-11-01
• A Quick Fix for Shortage of Teachers, New York Daily News, 02-21-01
• Give Teachers What They Merit, New York Daily News, 12-31-00
• What Do Our SchooIs Need?, New York Post, 05-30-00
• Memo to Levy: Money's No Cure-All, New York Daily News, 04-16-00
• Solving the Real Teacher ‘Crisis’, New York Daily News, 04-09-00
• What Rudy Crew Didn't Do, The New York Times, 12-29-99
• Rudy, We Hardly Knew Ye, New York Daily News, 12-05-99
• The Shrinking School Day, New York Daily News, 10-15-99
• . . . and Why Unions Are Death on Charter Schools, New York Post, 12-06-98
• Steer Clear of Stadium Madness, New York Daily News, 11-23-98
• A Charter School Renaissance, Investor's Business Daily, 09-03-98
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• The Bomber as School Reformer Real Clear Politics, 10-07-08
• NewTalk Forum: Debating No Child Left Behind, 8-5-08
• The Ed Schools' Latest - and Worst - Humbug FrontPageMag.com, 7-24-06
• When Activism Masquerades as Education New York Daily News, 7-21-06
• Missed Opportunity New York Sun, 10-13-05
• Schooling Ferrer New York Sun, 9-30-05
• Mike's lost his way on school reform Daily News, 11-30-04
• Joel Klein’s Figleaf New York Post, 1-12-04
• Klein’s Micromanagement New York Sun, 10-21-03
• Correct the Reading Wrong Turn New York Sun, 4-15-03
• Mike's ed plan sticks it to the UFT NY Daily News, 1-22-03
• The Ideal Teacher’s Deal NY Daily News, 4-30-02
• What Do Our Schools Need? New York Post, May 30, 2000
• Solving the ‘Real’ Teacher Crisis The New York Daily News, Sunday, April 9, 2000
• Rudy We Hardly Knew Ye The New York Daily News, December 5, 1999
• The Schools That Vouchers Built Investor's Business Daily, Viewpoint, Wednesday, March 3, 1999

Interviews

• A School Reformer's Journey: From Parent to Journalist to Policy Analyst: an interview with Sol Stern
  Written By: George A. Clowes, School Reform News, The Heartland Institute, May 1, 2004

Books

• Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice (Encounter Books, May 2003)

City Journal Articles

• E. D. Hirsch’s Curriculum for Democracy, Autumn 2009
• School of Crock, 30 September 2009
• The Promise Land, 28 August 2009
• A Teachers’ Contract for a New Era, 21 July 2009
• Win/Win/Lose, 25 June 2009
• Pedagogy of the Oppressor, Spring 2009
• Catholic-School Closing Tragedy, 13 February 2009
• The Acorn File, 14 October 2008
• The Bomber as School Reformer, 6 October 2008
• The Late, Great New York Sun, 1 October 2008