Oklahoma making strides in education reform
News OK
LeBron James isn’t the only reason Florida is making national news. Florida’s education reforms are being praised and implemented by other states hoping to mirror Florida’s strong academic gains. On the other hand, Oklahoma’s beginning steps toward educational progress are receiving about as much national attention as Kevin Durant’s quiet re-signing… until now.
Since 1998, Florida’s and Oklahoma’s academic results have taken divergent paths, proved by the National Assessment of Educational Progress’s (NAEP) fourth-grade reading exam. Strong performance on this test is important, say researchers, because in students’ early years they are learning to read; in their later years, students are reading to learn. Therefore, if students can’t read, chances are they won’t be learning much.
In 1998, Oklahoma students outscored Florida students, on average, by more than a grade level on NAEP’s fourth-grade reading exam. In 2009, Florida students captured the lead and scored almost a grade level ahead of Oklahoma students.
Scholarship fund could assist with private schooling
Covington News
Parents interested in sending their children to private schools but who cannot afford the cost may be able to quality for a student scholarship through the Apogee Georgia School Choice Scholarship Fund.
There are currently 84 private schools in the state that partner with the fund, including Woodlee’s Christian Academy in Covington and Piedmont Academy in nearby Monticello.
Katrina’s Silver Lining: A Rebirth of School Choice
Kansas Watchdog.org
Reason TV reports that for the first time in a long time the people of New Orleans have a reason to be optimistic about public education.
New Orleans had one of the worst public school districts in the nation in 2005 before hurricane Katrina. The hurricane forced nearly a million people from their homes and left $100 billion in damages. Katrina was the deathblow to an already crippled school system. But, like a watery phoenix, out of the muck rose a rejuvenated system led by reformers determined to start fresh with a system based on choice.
A bill has passed the Legislature that would allow for the expansion of a small pilot program that allows public schools to offer seats to out-of-district students.
NorthJersey.com
A bill that would allow more public schools to offer seats to out-of-district students has passed the Legislature and is awaiting Governor Christie's signature.
The idea for the expanded school choice program was tried out on a pilot basis. While still in the trial stage, it led to the creation of the Academies@Englewood, which drew students from other school districts and was aimed at desegregating Dwight Morrow High School.
But the new legislation is unlikely to have much of an impact in North Jersey where most cash-strapped schools are operating at capacity and officials say they are not in a position to court more students.
"How are we going to do more with less money?" said Michael Kuchar, superintendent of schools in Bergenfield.
A Proposal for School Choice
EdWeek.org
It's time to acknowledge that parental choice of schools is the wave of the future. Its foes can continue to try to stall its growth through a series of rear guard actions, but they will not succeed in derailing the movement. It is too powerful. The only question, therefore, is the form that parental choice will ultimately take. There is an urgency to the issue, however, that is not fully appreciated.
I say that because the education of children is time-sensitive. Education Department data show that children from disadvantaged backgrounds enter kindergarten already three months behind the national average in reading and math skills, and never catch up. But children from other families are no less entitled to a quality education in their days at school. In other words, there is a narrow window of opportunity to educate the young, regardless of the backgrounds of those involved.
N.J. Senate approves interdistrict school choice program
NewJersey.com
A little known pilot program that allows children to attend school in districts they don’t live in would be made permanent under a bill that cleared the state Senate today.
The bill makes the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, which started in 2000 and has continued as a pilot program since expiring in 2005, permanent. It passed 38-0 and is set to be taken up by the Assembly this afternoon.
Gov. Christie to review proposed changes to N.J. school-choice bill
NewJersey.com
Gov. Chris Christie delivers the keynote address at the National School Choice Summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, in this May file photo.
TRENTON — The fate of a school-choice bill backed by Gov. Chris Christie was in flux Tuesday after a sponsor announced significant changes in hopes of winning quick legislative approval.
The Republican governor — who has called the bill a first step that could "lead to school vouchers across the state of New Jersey" — said he will review the proposed changes. He also warned lawmakers not to "gut the purpose of the program" just to attract enough votes.
School choice working fine in Mine Hill
The Daily Record
Some of the buzz words in education circles these days are "vouchers" and "school choice." Both evoke controversy, partly because they represent change to the way public education has existed for generations. Change, such as it is, occurs piecemeal. There is no voucher program in New Jersey, but charter schools offer parents the choice of eshewing the traditional public school system for something a bit different.
Apart from charter schools, the state has been running a pilot school program that allows parents to send children to a school in another district with the state paying the cost. Normally, parents sending children to an out-of-district school must pay tuition themselves.
We're happy to note that the Canfield Avenue School in Mine Hill is one of the leaders in school choice. The K-6 school has been accepting 49 students from outside the
Educational freedom heads to high court
JD News
Education reform advocates should have been encouraged on May 24 when the Supreme Court announced its intention to decide a case in which the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called into question the constitutionality of a Arizona school-choice tax credit program that provides mostly disadvantaged students with scholarships to private schools.
Arizona's 13-year-old program is pretty straightforward. Private donors are given a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit for contributions made to school-tuition organizations. These private, not-for-profit STOs distribute the money as scholarships to students interested in attending private schools, some of them secular and some religious.
Opponents of the program contend scholarship dollars are skewed too heavily to faith-based schools, and, thus, the program violates constitutional standards for such programs upheld by the Supreme Court, namely a 2002 decision that supported an Ohio-based education voucher program for needy families.
Homeschooling Increases as Public Schools Continue to Struggle
The Woodlands Media Hub
Houston, Texas - May 25, 2010 - While tens of thousands of parents in Houston and across Texas are re-evaluating their school choice for the coming year, thousands of their parents - and their school-age kids - will gather at the Houston Baptist University on June 4th and 5th, to increase their knowledge of school choice, particularly homeschooling.
Just last month, former Blossom actress Mayim Bialik talked about her decision to homeschool on “Strategy Room” on Fox News Channel, while today Dakota Root’s full scholarship to Harvard was highlighted on national news. As more people make this decision for their children, homeschooling has grown from 2.7% to 2.9% of school age children from 2003 to 2007.
"Focusing on homeschooling - - a choice millions of families across America are choosing as a more viable option than public schools - our annual Home Education Conference not only helps homeschooling parents, but helps other parents to make informed choices about their children's schooling," according to Holly Wallis, board member of the Southeast Texas Home School Association. Leigh Ann, an experienced and successful homeschool mom from Houston, notes that "Going to this conference is likely to be the one single best thing you can do to make your first year of home schooling a success!"
School choice on the ascent
Philledelphia Inquirer
In Philadelphia and elsewhere, vouchers are drawing new and broader support.
By Cal Thomas
Few organizations are as consistently liberal as the Anti-Defamation League, especially when it comes to matters of church and state. The ADL devotes an entire page on its website (www.adl.org) to church-state separation, and it wants the "wall" between the two to remain as high and impenetrable as possible, believing that to lower it would have a negative effect on both.
Which makes it remarkable that the executive committee of the ADL's Philadelphia chapter has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution endorsing vouchers that would allow children in underperforming schools in poor neighborhoods to escape to schools that would give them a safer environment to learn in and, thus, a better education.
John Kramer, vice president for communications at the Institute for Justice, tells me the ADL's 30 regional offices are considering whether to adopt the Philadelphia resolution. The ADL's national board has scheduled a vote for June 14.
Pennsylvania Kids Deserve School Choice
The Wall Street Journal
By ANTHONY HARDY WILLIAMS
Under President Obama's new $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, states can compete for funds by creating programs that improve the quality of their schools. The idea of rewarding school reform initiatives is good, but one-time grants from the federal government will not improve our public education system by itself.
Why? Because the $400 million grant Pennsylvania now seeks represents less than half of 1% of the $23 billion spent annually in my state's public school system. Given the thousands of dollars already being spent per student, an additional $56 per child will be insignificant—unless it is accompanied by comprehensive school-choice reform.
Pennsylvania should adopt reform based on the same premise as the Race to the Top initiative: that competition for taxpayer dollars improves the quality of education.
Florida's Unheralded School Revolution
The Wall Street Journal
Two weeks ago Florida Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a bill that would have ended teacher tenure and established merit pay. His action was widely criticized and effectively ended his primary race for the U.S. Senate as a Republican.
And yet last week, Mr. Crist signed an education bill that will dramatically expand the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. It has attracted little attention, but this legislation could revolutionize K-12 education in the Sunshine State.
The tax credits support private school choice for low-income children by encouraging businesses to donate money for their education. A business's tax liability is cut by a dollar for every dollar it donates to a nonprofit scholarship organization. The nonprofits use the funds to help poor families pay private school tuition.
Currently, there is a $118 million cap on the program. This year nearly $100 million was donated in the program, which as of February translated into scholarships for 27,700 students. But the new law raises the caps on the value a scholarship (eventually to $5,500) and on the total amount of money that can be donated in the program to $140 million in fiscal year 2011.
A worthy education
The Chicago Tribune
Because of irresponsible leadership, Illinois is running out of money. Still, the educational mission of state government is critical to our future. As U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has said, education is the "civil rights issue of our generation." These two realities confront us with a simple demand: We must spend money much more effectively.
Each day, this imperative becomes clear to more and more people. It is the reason Democrats and Republicans are joining together to support Senate Bill 2494, the Illinois School Choice Act. They believe it is one way to spend our money more effectively.
Goodrich, Fenton opt for state’s “choice” program
EducationReport.org
GOODRICH, Mich. - Goodrich Area Schools will join the state's school choice program in 2010-2011, and Fenton Area Public Schools will remain in the program as well, according to related media reports about the Genesee County public school districts.
The Goodrich Board of Education voted 4-3 to shift to the state program, which will give area families until September to apply for a seat in Goodrich schools rather than the district to which they are assigned, according to the Grand Blanc News.
Don't gut family choice in Portland Public Schools
OregonLive.com
Every Portland high school should set aside seats open to students by lottery, or the district risks becoming more unequal, more divided and less desirable
Most members of the Portland School Board have used the district's transfer system for the benefit of their own children. They shouldn't limit transfers for everyone else.
On April 26, Superintendent Carole Smith is expected to unveil the long-awaited details of a plan to redesign the nine neighborhood high schools in Portland Public Schools. The plan may include specific proposals to limit transfers between these high schools in an attempt to boost enrollment at the less popular campuses.
D-Y panel approves school choice for K-8
Families of Dennis and Yarmouth students in kindergarten through eighth grade can now choose which schools in the regional district their children attend.
The D-Y Regional School District Committee voted Monday night to allow "intradistrict school choice" as a way to encourage parents to keep their children in the district.
Time to Rally Behind REAL School Choice
On Tuesday April 6th, LAUSD school board members Steve Zimmer and Tamar Galatzan will be proposing a compromise resolution to the school board to allow students already permitting out into neighboring school districts to remain there until they graduate. The meeting will be held at 1PM at 333 S. Beaudry Ave, 1st Floor Board Room.
I hope that you can all be there to express to the school board that education opportunities for students must trump the districts desire to handcuff them into seats of poorly performing schools in an effort to grab for more school dollars.
Florida School Choice Rally Shows School Choice is Still on the March
Congress and the Obama administration seem to want to ignore the issue of school choice and let the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program die of neglect. But across the nation, school choice is on the march and isn’t going away any time soon.
Last week, the Democrat-controlled Illinois Senate passed a voucher bill for Chicago. And last Wednesday, in the largest rally for school choice in the nation’s history, more than 5,500 students and parents, as well as supporters from across political lines and an all-star team of speakers, gathered in Florida’s capitol city to voice support for the expansion of the state’s Tax Credit Scholarship. Participants traveled on buses from several cities throughout the state to champion the measure.
Christie backs school choice plan
For years, school-choice advocates in New Jersey have pushed for public school students to be allowed to attend private schools through voucherlike programs.
With Gov. Christie now in office, those advocates have their best chance in recent years, although they still face a considerable battle against those who say such programs would hurt the public schools and the students left behind. Christie supports this legislation, according to his spokesman.
Illinois: Landmark School Choice Bill Could Get Vote Soon
SB 2494 passed out of committee just moments ago. This bill, sponsored by the Rev. Sen. James Meeks, would create a pilot school voucher program for students in struggling Chicago public schools.
This new power for parents promises that many children can enroll in schools that are better able to meet their needs. It promises that surrounding public schools will improve, and it promises that everyone in Illinois, as taxpayers, will benefit.
School Choice program for Holbrook to be considered next week
Holbrook —The school committee is to decide next week whether the district should join the state School Choice program where students from other communities could attend classes in Holbrook.
The committee is scheduled to meet on March 24 at 7 p.m. in the H-Cam studio at 140 North Franklin St. where the proposal is to be considered with the possibility of holding further discussions.
Superintendent of Schools Joseph Baeta outlined his recommendation to join the program during a March 3 public hearing.
School-Choice Advocates Will Gather to ‘Kick Off a Movement’
This evening, local and statewide school-choice advocacy groups as well as local pols are inviting the public to “raise awareness [and a glass] on the state of schools in Jersey City.”
Jersey City Families for Better Schools (JCFBS), Ward E councilman Steven Fulop and Newark-based advocacy group Excellent Education for Everyone (E3) will be joined by former Jersey City mayor Bret Schundler — who was confirmed yesterday as the state’s new Commissioner of Education — as they hold an education and information session on what they call the “dire … education situation for Jersey City’s young residents.”
In the 14 years since South Carolina's charter school law was passed, the number of charter schools stands at 37. It would have been more had state law and local school districts been more accommodating to their creation.
It is time for the Legislature to make adjustments to the law that ensure financial support for charter schools and relieve them of some burdensome rules. Rep. Phil Owens, R-Easley, has filed a bill, which passed out of committee and is before the full House. It provides a good start.
State panel to consider school choice
TRENTON, N.J. — Legislation that would create a permanent public school choice program in New Jersey was scheduled to go before an Assembly panel this week.
The measure would allow parents to move their children to schools located across district lines. The new program would replace a pilot program that expired in 2005, though many participating districts continue to informally honor previously agreed-to arrangements.
Democrats' dependency agenda will harm Washington's children
WASHINGTON -- Only two things are infinite -- the expanding universe and Democrats' hostility to the District of Columbia's school choice program. Killing this small program, which currently benefits 1,300 mostly poor and minority children, is odious and indicative. It is a small piece of something large -- the Democrats' dependency agenda, which aims to multiply the ways Americans are dependent on government.
Democrats, in their canine devotion to teachers unions, oppose empowering poor children to escape dependency on even terrible government schools. Unions and their poodles say school choice siphons money from public schools. But federal money funds D.C.'s program, so killing it denies education money to D.C. while increasing the number of pupils D.C. must support.
A bill that would create a public school choice program, allowing students from one school district to enroll in schools in other districts participating in the program, is expected to be considered by an Assembly panel Thursday. It would be a good stepping-off point for the next state education commissioner to revamp how education is delivered in New Jersey.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblywomen Mila Jasey, D-Essex, and Joan Voss, D-Bergen, would expand and make permanent an interdistrict public school choice pilot program that expired in 2005. The pilot program allowed only a fixed number of schools districts to accept out-of-district students. The new measure wouldn't limit the number of "choice districts" permitted.
School voucher program would expand under bill
ATLANTA — A small school vouchers program would be expanded to offer taxpayer-funded scholarships to foster children and military families interested in private schools, if legislation under consideration at the Capitol passes.
These vouchers are available now to special needs children. Legislators and Gov. Sonny Perdue approved that program in 2007 after a protracted fight over the state’s role in funding education. That program has been heralded as a success, and now supporters want to expand it in an effort they hope will end with vouchers for all students in Georgia.
Voucher schools' graduation rates top MPS in study
New data in a study that compares the high school graduation rates since 2003 of students in Milwaukee Public Schools with those of students in the city's publicly financed voucher program has concluded that students in voucher schools are about 18% more likely to graduate than their peers in MPS.
Officials: Hadley a destination for school choice students
HADLEY - Last summer, three families living in different towns were very disappointed that they were unable to send their children to Hadley schools under the "school choice" program.
So they all solved the problem by moving to Hadley, enabling the children to go to school there.
"That's a testament to our school system," said Tracy Kelley, chairwoman of the School Committee. Superintendent Nicholas Young said he hadn't seen any other examples of education relocation since he took the job in 2001.
Corbin ready to take fight to Ky. Court of Appeals
The Corbin Board of Education is willing to take its fight to reinstate the non-resident reciprocal agreement axed by the Knox County Board of Education all the way to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.
That appeals process will first begin with Kentucky Commissioner of Education Terry Holliday.
During a special work session Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to authorize Superintendent Ed McNeel to send a written appeal to Holliday.
School choice must grow in Louisiana
There is at least one thing President Barack Obama and I can agree on. Last week, The Times-Picayune reported that Obama again “cited Louisiana as one of the states adopting effective school reform policies.” Speaking at a Virginia elementary school, the president said, “In Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, we’ve seen changes in laws or policies to let public charter schools expand and succeed.” We have certainly come a long way since that first legislation passed 15 years ago—a dream of Jim Geiser and a bill by former State Rep. Sean Reilly.
School Choice Advocates: Beware Washington
The Brookings Institution will release a new school choice policy guide on February 2nd, and from the sound of it, children, parents, taxpayers, and the authors themselves should be concerned. The guide will provide:
a series of practical and novel recommendations for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, including national chartering of virtual education providers; expanding the types of information collected on school performance; providing incentives for low-performing school districts to increase choice and competition; and creating independent school choice portals to aid parents in choosing between schools.
Kudos to the country's two newest governors, Republicans Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Chris Christie of New Jersey, who have tapped strong school choice advocates to head their state education departments.
Last week, Mr. McDonnell chose Gerald Robinson to become Virginia's next Secretary of Education. Mr. Robinson currently heads the Black Alliance for Educational Options, a national nonprofit that backs charter schools and performance pay for teachers. Meanwhile, Mr. Christie has picked former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler to serve as his state's next education commissioner. Mr. Schundler is an unabashed supporter of using education vouchers and charter schools to improve the plight of urban school districts.
Two reports: Georgia strong on charter school laws, and more parents around country want them
The recent changes to Georgia law have created a better climate for charter schools and enhanced the state’s standing, according to a new report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (However, the same law has some systems concerned. See this new AJC story.)
Assembly panel clears school-choice bill
A bill that would expand and make permanent a program that permits children to attend schools outside their home districts cleared the state Assembly Appropriations Committee yesterday.
Now it's up to Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. (D., Camden) to post the legislation for a floor vote. It could not be learned late yesterday if or when he planned to do so.
The Senate's Education Committee passed its version of the bill in November. It is in the Budget Committee.
Known as the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, it started in 2000 as a five-year pilot that was limited to one district per county. It grew to 15 districts statewide and drew praise from families and schools officials.
N. Ogden to get charter school
NORTH OGDEN -- Parents of elementary school age students in the Top of Utah will have yet another choice for the education of their children come this fall: the Maria Montessori Academy charter school in North Ogden.
The school will be built just west of the North Shore Aquatic Center on 2550 North and about 100 West. Officials plan to break ground this spring and open for classes in August, said school director Nancy Lindeman.
Lindeman and the rest of the board will hold two meetings to get the word out and answer questions about the school.
‘School of choice’ enrollment begins Jan. 6
For Natrona County School District parents, the new year means school choice. Families are asked to go online each January to select the schools their children will attend in the school year that will begin the following August. For the 2010-11 year that will begin on Aug. 18, online enrollment days are Jan. 6-22.
D.C. Voucher Advocates Vow Renewed Battle Despite Setback
WASHINGTON - (Business Wire) Today, the leaders of the coalition to save the endangered D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP)—Kevin P. Chavous (former D.C. Councilman) and Virginia Walden Ford (executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice)—released the following statement:
“This weekend the U.S. Senate followed the lead of the U.S. House of Representatives and passed a massive omnibus budget package that, while increasing federal assistance to virtually every other aspect of government, sets in motion the process of killing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) by refusing to let additional children participate. This action will have an immediate negative impact on low-income children who seek only to attend better schools—a promise that the OSP offered and that was supported by D.C. leaders and residents. We are disappointed that appropriators did not keep their word and truly fight to save this program through the budget process.
Charter Schools Against the Odds
Charter schools reached a new milestone this year. According to the Center for Education Reform, more than 5,000 charters are now operating in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Considering that the first charter didn't open until 1992, and that these innovative schools have faced outright hostility from teachers unions and the education bureaucracy, their growth is a rare gleam of hope for American public schools.
It is disgraceful the way Education Secretary Arne Duncan dodges and weaves while back-stabbing some 1,700 D.C. schoolchildren whose hopes and dreams are set on the District's school voucher program. Taking a position of moral and political cowardice, the Obama administration refuses to intervene to save the hugely popular program from congressional Democrats determined to kill it. Mr. Duncan even refuses to address the District's program except by indirection and obfuscation.
School choice shapes educational landscape
Time for a status report on all the different ways Milwaukee children can use public money to pay for their kindergarten through 12th grade education:
Choosing your own (public) school
When Myriam Bindas of Phillipsburg was looking for schools for her children a few years ago, she was surprised to find she had a choice of public school districts.
After many phone calls, she had stumbled onto the state's Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, and her 8-year-old daughter has attended public school two towns away in Bloomsbury for the past two years.
"Sometimes when I tell people, they say how is that possible," Bindas said. "Almost nobody knows about it."
The Black Divide on School Choice
I’ve been reading the debate between our own Andrew Coulson and Rev. Joseph Darby with interest, not least because it is an extreme rarity to find an opponent of school choice with the courage and good faith to engage in such a public debate on the topic. That said, something Rev. Darby wrote in his response caught my attention because of its parallels with the modern fight over school choice:
School Tax Credit Can Help Kids and the State
New Jersey is in deep financial trouble, and government estimates keep get ting worse. The most recent budget deficit prediction tripled the last one, concluding that the state might be $1.2 billion in the hole.
The bad news doesn't end there. The economic slowdown is prompting many families who can no longer afford both taxes and private school tuition to move their children into public schools. Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Camden, for instance, have lost almost 1,000 students, about 10 percent of their enrollment from last year.
Tax Credits, Not Vouchers, Are Keeping School Choice a Viable Option
Many school choice supporters are discouraged after having suffered a series of setbacks on the voucher front, ranging from the loss of Utah's nascent voucher program last year to the recent death sentence handed to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. A rambling and inaccurate article in the normally supportive City Journal got the chorus of naysayers rolling more than a year ago with the cry "school choice isn't enough."
BBA, North Bennington study school choice plan
MANCHESTER — Members of the North Bennington Governance and Sustainability Committee and Burr and Burton Academy (BBA) Headmaster Mark Tashjian have had discussions which could provide students from North Bennington Graded School with the option of attending BBA.
The North Bennington Governance and Sustainability Committee — a sub-committee of the North Bennington Graded School Board — was created in May to examine governance and sustainability issues.
We hate to say it, but don't be misled by headlines. The biggest headline in education circles last week was that the Ford Foundation is making a whopping $100 million grant "to transform secondary education in the nation's most disadvantaged schools."
School Choice in America 2009: What it Means for Children's Futures
Abstract: School choice -- what does it mean for American's daily lives? It means that more and more parents are able to send their children to safer, better schools. It means that low-income and special-needs children across the country are attending a public or private school of their parents' choice. It means that students need not remain trapped in failing and dangerous schools -- though too many students still are. Congress, as well as state and local policymakers, must enact policies that give all American children the opportunity to learn and achieve. This Heritage Foundation report details the latest school-choice facts and figures for the 2009-2010 school year.
School Choice Coalition Targets Durbin, Serrano, Obama
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The local coalition fighting to reauthorize and strengthen the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program today launched a $400,000 television and interactive advertising campaign urging President Obama and Congress to provide low-income District families with access to a quality education.
The campaign, No Excuses: Time for Obama and Congress To Help DC’s Kids, is the second major ad buy for the D.C. coalition, which has also conducted rallies and events attracting more than 10,000 supporters of the OSP.
Education Alternatives: Charter Schools
It is the Friday before Halloween at Forest Ranch Charter school and the excitement is evident on the face of every costumed kid.
For students the pre-Halloween party ranks among the best days of the year, but for many of the adults in this small town every day the school is open is a reason to celebrate.
D.C. activist to speak in Louisville on school choice
Virginia Walden Ford, a single mother of three children, became nationally known for leading an overwhelmingly successful grassroots movement to bring school choice to Washington, D.C. She will be speaking tomorrow in Louisville; bringing her message that “parents deserve a choice so kids can have a chance.” Ford will speak at a rally on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the multipurpose facility at Midwest Church of Christ, 2115 Garland Ave., between S 22nd St. and Dr. WJ Hodge St. – just off Dixie Highway on Garland Ave.
Arizona Supreme Court: State School Choice Program Is Constitutional
DENVER - The option to choose which school a child can attend in Denver is becoming more popular.
Since the program went into effect in the early 1990s, students can go across town and attend any school they wish, as long as they meet the requirements.
Arizona Supreme Court: State School Choice Program Is Constitutional
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Arizona`s Corporate School Tuition Organization Tax Credit Program is constitutional, the Arizona Supreme Court indicated in a decision yesterday. The Alliance for School Choice and Advocates for School Choice applauded the Arizona Supreme Court`s action, which denied a request to hear an appeal of the March 2009 decision in Green v Garriott-a decision that upheld the program`s constitutionality. The scholarship tax credit program provides increased educational opportunities to 1,947 disadvantaged children throughout the Grand Canyon State.
Policy skirmishing puts LAUSD reform at risk
It's back to business as usual at the Los Angeles Unified School District, and that's not a good thing. The district's potentially transformational initiative to open about 250 schools to outside management is in danger of being undermined as various interest groups stake out turf. The central goal of the program -- to radically refashion education for the district's most disadvantaged students -- could be lost in the skirmishing.
D.C. voucher program fights to survive
When you are America's first mixed-race president, it has to be especially galling to flip on the news in America's majority-minority capital city and find commercials accusing you of failing to help the city's black children escape from substandard schools. That's not the change people voted for.
But when President Obama tunes into Fox News, CNN, MSNBC or News Channel 8, the president hears his own words thrown in his face. "We're losing several generations of kids, and something has to be done," Mr. Obama says in the commercials.
Parents gain power in school takeovers
Empowering parents to take control of their children's education, the Los Angeles Unified board voted Tuesday to expand a controversial reform plan and potentially allow the outside takeover of any underperforming school in the district.
The move comes just weeks before the launch of the School Choice Resolution program, which allows teachers, nonprofit groups and charter operators to bid to run new and underperforming district campuses.
Group Launches Events for Charter School Legislation
An event next week will be the first of many planned to build support to establish charter schools in Kentucky. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer has more.
Several Louisville pastors with the Kentucky Education Restoration Alliance have been working with Republican Rep. Brad Montell of Shelbyville. This month, Montell filed a bill to allow charter schools in the state. Rep. Stan Lee of Lexington filed a similar bill in July. Charter schools use public money but are run by groups outside the public education system.
The alliance is bringing Virginia Walden Ford to speak in Louisville on Nov. 6. Ford is executive director of DC Parents for School Choice in Washington.
DOE Announces Its Middle School Fairs
The New York City Department of Education announced the schedule for middle school fairs in community school districts that offer middle school choice to students.
Like last year, all districts will follow the same middle school admissions calendar. The placement criteria from previous years will remain in place in each district. Students will receive middle school applications at their elementary school in November and must return the completed application to their school by Dec.15.
D.C. School Vouchers Have a Brighter Outlook in Congress
The District of Columbia's embattled school-voucher program, which lawmakers appeared to have killed earlier this year, looks like it could still survive.
Congress voted in March not to fund the program, which provides certificates to pay for recipients' private-school tuition, after the current school year. But after months of pro-voucher rallies, a television-advertising campaign and statements of support by local political leaders, backers say they are more confident about its prospects. Even some Democrats, many of whom have opposed voucher efforts, have been supportive.
Children Take Action For School Choice
Elisheva Greenberg, Mushky Meer, Liba Weiss and Rina Ahuva Hendrie, 11-year-olds from Morristown, visited the recording studio of Radio 970 The Apple to record the opening of a radio spot to run round the clock on this popular radio talk station. The ad is addressed to voters who seek to take back government on behalf of the people, including the right of parents to raise and educate their children with minimum interference. The children open the ad with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The ad is read by leading school choice advocate former mayor of Jersey City Bret Schundler and asks voters to support the 42 New Jersey Assembly candidates committed to school choice.
School Choice Even Obama Supports
As a presidential aspirant last year, Barack Obama gained the support of the National Education Association -- and the scorn of school choice activists -- when he declared his skepticism of the school choice and accountability measures in the No Child Left Behind Act. Then in the early months of this year, the newly-elected president further pleased teachers unions when he tacitly allowed congressional Democrats to shutter the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Plan, the school voucher program that help
The D.C. voucher movement is picking up steam and is poised to become "a mass movement."
So says D.C. Council member Marion Barry, who led more than one thousand pumped-up supporters of the embattled D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in a rally cry on Capitol Hill September 30 to "Put kids first."
Evoking the words of the spiritual "Go Down Moses," the former D.C. mayor called on President Obama to support the school voucher program that provides federally funded scholarships of up to $7,500 to low-income children to attend private schools.
Speaker Taps School Choice as Key Rights Issue
“I don’t think that there is a single issue that more starkly divides the haves and the have-nots in the 21st Century,” said Clark Neily of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian-leaning organization.
Neily visited the Law School on Monday to speak about the issue of school choice at an event hosted by the Federalist Society. He built his argument around the proposition that “being able to live in a neighborhood where there are good schools . . . is a choice that many people in this country do not have,” and suggesting remedies to this problem.
More than 1,000 students rally at US Capitol for school vouchers
More than 1,000 students from the District of Columbia stood near the U.S. Capitol Sept. 30 urging members of Congress to support federally funded school vouchers through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
The "Save School Choice" rally was a grass-roots effort to save the endangered scholarship program that provides 1,700 low-income students with an opportunity to attend the school of their choice in the district.
Garfield High among 12 schools available to outside bidders
Garfield High, which became nationally known as the real-life setting for the film “Stand and Deliver,” will be among the first group of local schools eligible for takeover because of persistent academic failure, a high-level district source has told The Times.
Garfield’s selection means that the nation’s second-largest school system will invite bidders — from inside and outside the district — to run the East Los Angeles campus of 4,600 students. This “request-for-proposal” process could apply to more than 250 schools under a Board of Education resolution passed in August, but the initial set of schools will number 12, sources said.
'Creaming" is the word critics of charter schools think ends the debate over education choice. The charge has long been that charters get better results by cherry-picking the best students from standard public schools. Caroline Hoxby, a Stanford economist, found a way to reliably examine this alleged bias, and the results are breakthrough news for charter advocates.
Charter Schools Pass Key Test in Study
New York City students who win a lottery to enroll in charter schools outperform those who don't win spots and go on to attend traditional schools, according to new research to be released Tuesday.
The study, led by Stanford University economics Prof. Caroline Hoxby, is likely to fire up the movement to push states and school districts to expand charter schools -- one of the centerpieces of President Barack Obama's education strategy.
Obama's speech to students teaches lesson about power
The president of the United States wanted to talk to kids on their first day of school, and all hell broke loose.
Many Barack Obama supporters pointed squarely at right-wingers who, they say, hate the president and will stop at nothing to bring him down. Columnist E.J. Dionne called it "one of the most shameful episodes of the young Obama presidency."
Critics of the address point to a different culprit: U.S. Department of Education lesson plans that came out well before the speech. They suggested students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president," and made clear that students would be inspired by the president, no matter what. They also indicated the speech might delve into contentious social issues, pushing "students ... to discuss main ideas from the speech, i.e. citizenship, personal responsibility, civic duty." Only one of those fit a "work-hard" message.
Reading Writing and Rap Sheets
President Barack Obama has countless things to worry about, but at least he can be confident his children are safe. Whether the first family is vacationing in the Grand Canyon or hosting town halls in New Hampshire, Secret Service agents are always on the job.
This is true even when the Obama daughters are in about the safest place imaginable: the hallowed halls of the exclusive Sidwell Friends private school, where they attend classes along with the other children of Washington's privileged elite.
The The public chooses school choice
Another respected poll is out that shows the American public overwhelmingly favors school reforms opposed by the union that is misnamed the National Education Association. On two issues in particular, the public is far ahead of the NEA.
The annual poll, released late last month by Phi Delta Kappa International, a professional association for educators, in conjunction with Gallup, demonstrated strong majority support for charter schools and merit-pay systems for teachers. But the power-hungry union consistently puts roadblocks or stultifying restrictions on these reforms.
Charter School is Opportunity for Innovation
Each new school year brings a blend of newness and tradition. For a small group of students and teachers in Vineland this year, it will all be entirely new, and the tradition starts now. Vineland's (and Cumberland County's) first public charter school opened its doors this week.
The concept of charter schools isn't new. The New Jersey Legislature authorized them in 1996, and the state's first 13 charter schools opened the following fall. Today there are 68 such schools approved around the state. They educate about 18,000 students, or a bit more than 1 percent of the state's student enrollment.
D.C. Mayor puts kids in public school and gets school choice at the same time
When D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty took over DCPS a couple of years ago he promised to move his two sons from private to public school. Turns out he stuck to his word although it proved difficult for the press to obtain this information. The reason? Mr. Fenty did what all arrogant politicians do and put his children not in the neighborhood school, West Elementary, at 14th and Farragut Streets that has failed to make AYP for a couple of years, but instead enrolled them at a much better institution, Lafayette Elementary, which is located in Chevy Chase, and whose students score over 90 percent proficient or above in both reading and math.
ACT results show the need for choice
A REPORT FROM the administrators of the ACT college entrance exam may shed light on the phenomenon of "black flight."
In a column published by the Press-Register, Gary Palmer, the head of the Alabama Policy Institute, pointed out that thousands of students have fled the Birmingham city school system since 2000. However, this is not, as Mr. Palmer noted, an example of white flight from predominantly black urban schools. Ninety percent of the students who left the Birmingham schools are black. In many cases, their parents made financial sacrifices in order to move to neighboring areas with better schools, Mr. Palmer wrote.
LAUSD board OK's controversial school choice plan
After more than four hours of debate and often- heated public comment, the Los Angeles Unified school board approved a plan today that will allow private groups to submit bids to operate new school sites and under-performing campuses beginning next year.
The board voted 6-1 in favor of the "Public School Choice" measure, with board members Marguerite LaMotte casting the dissenting vote.
D.C. School Choice Supporters Protest Education Sec. Duncan
D.C. School Choice Supporters Protest Education Secretary Duncan
This morning, Education Secretary Arne Duncan held a joint press conference at a school in Washington, DC marking the start of the new school year. Sec. Duncan was there to speak about the challenges schools face related to the flu and H1N1 virus.
Group Challenging Tougher School Voucher Rules
By Marge Pitrof August 20, 2009 | WUWM | Milwaukee, WI
Earlier this summer, Wisconsin tightened the rules for its school choice or voucher program. The program allows thousands of low-income Milwaukee students to attend private schools at state expense. Now about a dozen people are filing suit against the new procedures that affect groups attempting to start schools. The coalition will ask a judge Thursday to halt the new rules until the courts determine whether they’re constitutional. WUWM’S Marge Pitrof has more.
Special-Education Stigmatization
Federal law first insisted in 1975 that public schools educate disabled students. Since then, the portion of students receiving special education services has increased 64%. Today, 13.5% of all public school students have been diagnosed with a disability. Special education, it turns out, is no longer particularly special at all.
Taxpayers pay a substantial price for the growth in special education. In New York state, for instance, in 2007, the average special education student cost $14,413 more to educate than a regular-enrollment student.
The Cartel: How Special Interests Block Real Education Reform
The Cartel is a new documentary film that should be seen by everyone who cares whether children in this country get a good education. It should especially be seen by anybody who thinks that merely shoveling more money into the schools will make them better.
The Cartel reveals the story behind the story of educational failure in the United States: Teachers unions are special interest groups, and, just like any special interest group, the unions exert a disproportionate influence on the public policies that most affect their members. Candidates for school boards must play nice with the unions, if not play the role of outright stooge; if they don’t, they’ll find themselves opposed by a block of very motivated voters. The teachers can thus select the people with whom they must negotiate their contracts; and teachers unions don’t want contracts that reward the best teachers and that allow bad teachers to be fired.
Rulffes presses for families "choice in school attendance"
Clark County Schools Superintendent Walt Rulffes wants students to pick the schools they want to attend, provided there is space — a proposal that in other districts has led to more innovative programs as campuses compete to fill their seats.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa backs controversial schools plan
Backing a controversial plan that would allow parents to pick private operators and others to take over failing schools, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told a town hall meeting Tuesday that reforming Los Angeles Unified will be a long but necessary fight.
Rep. Lee Moves To Allow Greater School Choice Through Legislation
FRANKFORT, Ky.- Believing Kentucky students desperately need more options, State Rep. Stan Lee has prefiled Bill Request 115, which would authorize the establishment of charter schools in the Commonwealth.
In Honor of Milton Friedman, "Father of School Choice"
On Fri., July 31, groups of people gathered all across the nation to celebrate what would have been the 97th birthday of Dr. Milton Friedman. In Harrisburg, the REACH Foundation and the Commonwealth Foundation hosted a happy hour to celebrate Dr. Friedman’s legacy for liberty.
Senators Launch Bipartisan Effort to Save D.C. School Choice
Lieberman, along with Susan Collins (R-ME) and four other senators, introduced legislation this morning to reauthorize and strengthen the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) for five years. This move provides continued hope for thousands of low-income families in the District of Columbia who seek equal access to a quality education.
Michelle Rhee approval rating is up
Most D.C. voters agree with how D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is doing her job, according to a survey by Braun Research Inc.
Rhee has an approval rating of 62 percent, according to the poll of 1,000 registered voters in D.C., which is a 7 percent increase over a similar poll conducted in 2008.
District set for sixth year of school choice
The school district is entering its sixth year of allowing students at low-income schools that have failed to meet state testing standards to attend other schools in the city.
Last year, 97 students took advantage of the school choice option and Brian Cochrane, the district's director of accountability and assessment, said he expects about the same number of students to change schools this year.
NAACP Supporters Urged To Promote School Choice
Herb Glen, chairman of WeCare Partnership, and Israel Teitelbaum, cofounder of Parents for Free Choice in Education, greeted attendees of the NAACP Convention as they left the New York Hilton after the keynote address by President Barack Obama on July 16. They called on members and supporters of the NAACP to use their influence with the organization to urge them to be true to their mission and support parental choice in education...
Changed federal court order eases school choice for Rome parents
Rome City Schools students can attend any school within the system at the request of their parents or guardians, as long as there is space available.
Groups Rally For School Choice
“Just prior to Independence Day, people of a variety of races and ethnic groups came together in Newark, New Jersey, to rally under the banner “Parental Choice in Education—A Civil Right.” Rally participants came together on July 2 in front of the Essex County Courthouse from many parts of New Jersey, braving a series of downpours. "
School choice leads to more learning
“You are so right: Lawmakers' debates over public-school policies grow wearisome. Vending machines, prayer at graduation - examples are virtually endless. The making of policy for public schools is largely a political process whereby one group of advocates imposes its will on another..."
Do not dismiss achievements of charter schools
“...Parents have the option to examine their locally assigned school as well as the charter school option available to them and choose to place their child in a charter school if they believe it would be better for their child. The possibility of an option is not a threat for the local public school if the public school is doing the job; however, often the public school is not doing the job, and the cost of private school is beyond the resources of most parents..."
Charter schools in Indiana value choice as well as community
“During the current special session of the Indiana General Assembly, a great deal of discussion has centered on limiting charter school growth throughout the state. Much of the rationale for support of a moratorium is misleading and ill-conceived. The effects of caps would be devastating to children, all school districts and urban communities. "
Improving U.S. Competitiveness with K-12 STEM Education and Training
“...Reform the traditional public school system to encourage greater innovation and superior instruction. Legislation and old habits need to change so that funding can be allocated to where it has the biggest impact. School choice, charter schools, online classes, and online learning communities hold promise for encouraging innovation and better learning opportunities for American students and should be funded.... "
Should lawmakers dictate school choice?
“ As political debates across our nation brew about permitting charter schools and which kid should be eligible, I would like to know—whose choice is school choice?"
Indiana Considers School Choice Tax Credit
“ Hoosier State Governor Mitch Daniels included a $5 million school choice tax credit program in his budget, which will be considered in the state legislature’s special session. According to The Brazil Times:"
“ GROCERY shoppers can choose from rows of toilet tissue. An increasing number of homeowners can pick cable, satellite or broadband for their TV programs. Yet in almost every local city, parents cannot send their child to the public school of their choice.
That's because our public school system is bound by arcane rules about district boundaries and public-sector fiefdoms..."
Arlington, Va.—The Arizona Court of Appeals today declared that tax credit programs that fund tuition scholarships for low- and middle-income children to attend private schools “pass constitutional muster.” The decision follows the Arizona Supreme Court’s 1999 decision in Kotterman v. Killian, which upheld the constitutionality of Arizona’s Individual Tax Credit Scholarship Program from an identical legal attack.
Expanding school choice expands educational opportunities. So why limit school choice to the public education system?
The obvious answer: politics. The education establishment remains a powerful force influencing state legislatures - and Congress. It also remains steadfastly opposed to helping even small numbers of poor children transfer to private schools from public schools that are shortchanging them.
Converse Chellis: School choice makes financial sense
My goal as state treasurer is to safeguard our state's financial future and work toward making South Carolina a better place to live, raise a family and do business. Part of a better future for all South Carolinian's is the recruitment of higher paying jobs into our state. To accomplish this, we will need a better educated workforce. But, we must offer more educational choices for South Carolina families to ensure this happens.
This school or that school? Parents now have a choice “ A controversial bill signed by Governor Sonny Perdue will change the way students are educated and give parents more choice in how they are. School zones are now out the door and parents can pick what school they want their children to attend. " Our view on improving education: Despite success, school choice runs into new barriers “ Few national images are more shameful than those of innocent, low-income kids milling through decrepit public schools, uncared for, unsafe and barely educated. In Washington, D.C., alone, 173 schools — 67% — fail to meet federal standards of learning. New Jersey continues shortchanging charter school childreny “The original New Jersey charter public school law mandated per pupil funding for each charter public school student equal to 90 percent of the amount allocated for a child in a traditional district school in the same school district. In fact, the actual result currently averages about 78 percent. In the new school-funding formula, some charter school students are getting funded at less than 65 percent per student. This is because charter school students get none of the so-called adjustment aid afforded by the state to districts under the School Funding Reform Act. In districts receiving high amounts of adjustment aid, the disparity is greatest for charter school students. This must be fixed." School choice and a lesson in hypocrisy “ A Heritage Foundation survey, updated every two years, recently found that 44 percent of senators and 36 percent of House members have sent a child to private school. Open more doors to charter schools “Legislation that would open charter school doors to more students in Tennessee should be approved. “Parents in the Sagaponack School District have submitted petitions to place a referendum on the ballot on May 19 that would allow families a choice of which high school their children would attend, and the matter will be discussed at a board of education meeting at the school next Thursday..." Indiana - on the brink of school choice “ Jeff Brantley is the executive director of The School Choice Indiana Network. He says state lawmakers are considering the creation of a scholarship tax credit program for corporations and individual donors. Creation of the fund would allow parents to send their kids to the school of their choice." “ One bill, sponsored by Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, would provide an average tax credit worth about $2,500 toward the cost of private school tuition for each child and nearly $5,000 for a student with special needs. School choice for me...but not for you “...Burke, who is a former public school teacher, says she has no problem with school choice, but finds it ironic that so many members of Congress exercise that option while at the same time squashing a school-choice program in their own backyard -- the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program." Educational Tax Credit Helps Promote School Choice In Pennsylvania “ The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) provides companies with a 75 percent tax credit for donations to a nonprofit scholarship or educational improvement organization, according to the Reach Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring parental choice in education. The tax credit increases to 90 percent if the company commits to making the same donations for two consecutive years. REACH states that a business paying taxes in Pennsylvania can receive up to $300,000 in tax credits annually." Outside Washington, Liberals Join School Choice Camp “What do Bridgeport, Connecticut Mayor Bill Finch and South Carolina State Senator Robert Ford have in common? Both are Democrats and both are now supporting school vouchers. In March, State Senator Ford, an African-American Democrat, joined conservative legislators in sponsoring a sweeping private school choice plan for kids in the Palmetto State..." Critics ignore success of choice “ The education establishment in South Carolina is running scared, because it’s running out of excuses. Despite more money, more “accountability” and more government programs, South Carolina still has the nation’s worst graduation rate. Our SAT scores are still at the bottom of the barrel.” “ As school choice programs continue to grow exponentially, opposition to such programs by competitors and others has resulted in falsehoods about the positive effects of school choice. Below is a summary of the nine myths surrounding school choice according to the “...BUSH: Well, I think we're in an education arms race with the rest of the world because knowledge will drive job creation, high wage jobs are only going to be created by people that can acquire knowledge...” “...All of these arguments have some validity, all are readily rebutted, they come principally from people who benefit from a monopoly on public funding for education, and none of those who make them offer satisfactory answers to two fundamental questions: why shouldn´t parents have substantial say over where and how their children are educated, and why after all these years and all this money are so many of our inner city schools still so bad?...” School choice bill stirs up debate in House Committee “A bill allowing parents to send their children to public schools in other districts — and even private schools — with state funding stirred up a lively discussion on Wednesday. Arizona School Choice Battle Gains Parent Support “The atmosphere was electric,” Yarbrough said. ”The folks were there saying ‘thank you’ for supporting school choice. They were positive and supportive and were not protesting anything. It was different from the normal Capitol mall fare. It was a remarkable day for school choice in Arizona.” Readers favor school choice by 65.8% “Readers who responded to a two-day e-mail poll overwhelmingly said they were in favor of school choice in South Carolina. Why We Must Fight for School Choice “Across the District, parents recognize that their children deserve better. Some of these families are fortunate enough to have more options, thanks to charter schools and open enrollment. But too many continue to be denied the opportunity to choose a good school for their children. Just ask the parents of the thousands of kids on charter-school waiting lists, and those whose out-of-boundary placement requests were denied.” Act swiftly to remove constitutional ban on vouchers “The Arizona Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that school vouchers violate the state constitution clearly is a setback for the movement to give parents more control over educational options and to improve quality of instruction through competition. School Choice Effort Gains Convert “The issue of school choice and the state giving parents tax credits if they send their children to private schools is back at the Statehouse. But this year, supporters think they have a much better chance of getting it passed, after failing for the last five years. D.C. School Children Take Back Seat to Politics “For years, Republicans in Congress have supported increased local control of education, while advocating for expanded options that allow parents to choose the best educational environment for their child. In 2004, the Republican-controlled Congress focused on the educational challenges in the District of Columbia to assist low income students who were trapped in low performing schools and to prove that expanded school choice would lead to academic success. Politicians Kill DC Voucher Program, Dash Students’ Hopes “We cannot continue to condemn America’s children to dead-end schools that produce kids who will have dead-end jobs, if any jobs at all, or worse, they just end up dead on the streets. New Jersey plan could give students more school choice “TRENTON The state Department of Education wants to make the school choice program available to every public school district in the state, potentially giving thousands of students more options for where they will attend school. “Congressional Democrats succeeded this week in crippling a school choice program operating in the nation's capital. For the last five years, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships have made private schooling affordable to 1,700 poor children. Rather than reauthorizing the program for another five-year term, Democrats have all but ensured it will die after next year.” Vouchers Support Parental Choice “Barry, what's wrong with giving parents a real choice about what school to send their children to? Parents are in a much better position than you or I to decide whether the public schools in their community are providing a solid education in a safe environment.” Will Public Schools Suffer Under Vouchers? NO: Choice Forces Educators to Improve Bold legislators in the Peach State are embracing this moment in history to make history themselves. This session, the Georgia General Assembly is considering one of the most ambitious education reforms ever proposed. New legislation would provide every single child with a voice in their education, building on the state’s successful corporate tax scholarship program and scholarship program for children with disabilities. School Choice can 'free' education “…I am not alone, and I think the time is right: Let’s have serious education reform that brings market-based incentives into the province of primary and secondary education by creating charter schools and voucher systems. Before you say they won’t work, remember that these kind of free-market ideas work everywhere else. We rely heavily on market incentives for so many goods and services. Yet, we rely so little on them in education…” Power to the parents: Forget seats on political panels, give families more school choice “I want power - real power. I want the power to decide where I send my kids to school. I don't want to be seen but not really "heard." The best way my voice can be heard is if I get to choose where my child goes to school. I should have excellent choices in my own neighborhood, the kinds of choices my mother wasn't able to take advantage of. I don't want my girls to be assigned to a failing zone school, and then be told by so-called elected parent representatives that I should be happy with it.” ““I told my mom not too long ago I would like to be president one day when I grow up,” writes Fransoir, a seventh grader and recipient of a scholarship to attend a private school in the District of Columbia. But if congressional Democrats have their way, his academic future could become another casualty in the war of educational politics. Since 2004, thousands of children like Fransoir have had scholarships worth up to $7,500 to attend a private school of their choice as a part of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program. Currently, more than 1,700 low-income children are benefiting. However, language in the current $410 billion spending bill in Congress would eliminate the program. That would mean going back to D.C. public schools, a system with one of the lowest graduation rates in the country, despite spending more than $14,000 per student, well above the national average.” Congress Could End Vouchers in D.C. It's uncommon for the leader of a public school system to support a voucher program that diverts money from public schools to private schools. But the District of Columbia's schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, is not your typical public schools leader. She is the head of one of the worst-performing public school districts in the nation. And she supports vouchers if it means that children will attend better schools.. Let parents pick: Harlem proves moms and dads are clamoring for school choice The parents of Harlem have been given the wonderful benefit of school choice - and they're taking full advantage of the ability to select the best educations for their children. Congressional Democrats Target D.C. School Choice Program for Elimination School choice advocates are trying to save the District of Columbia voucher program, which is targeted for virtual elimination in Congress’ proposed $405-billion omnibus spending bill. The school choice supporters think the termination of the D.C. program could have national significance. What Does the Future Hold for Education Policy? The past few weeks have been rough for many Obama cabinet appointees, but one appointment has garnered an impressive amount of bipartisan support. Arne Duncan, President Obama’s choice to head the U.S. Department of Education, has been lauded by Democrats and Republicans alike A plurality of Vermonters believe their public schools are "good or excellent," but nearly nine out of ten would send their children to private, charter, or virtual schools, or educate their children in a home school setting. Nearly 70 percent of Vermonters believe public school funding is either "too high" or "about right." Voucher Programs Grow by 8 Percent in 2008-09, National Report Shows More than 171,000 children are benefiting from school voucher and scholarship tax credit programs this year, according to the national nonprofit Alliance for School Choice. The Alliance today released its School Choice Yearbook 2008-09, the school choice movement’s most-comprehensive digest of facts, trends, news, and research. 20,000 students now use vouchers “…The number of Milwaukee children attending private schools using publicly funded vouchers has crossed 20,000 for the first time, according to data released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. At the same time, the number of students in the main roster of Milwaukee Public Schools elementary, middle and high schools has fallen below 80,000 for the first time in well over a decade and declined for at least the 10th year in a row.” Sucking ‘Choice’ Out of Education “…The State of Texas reports that it had 16,000 students on waiting lists last year for admission to “charter schools,” which are still public, but in theory at least, free of some of the union and bureaucratic nonsense of the traditional public schools. If there was good news out of the New Orleans hurricane disaster, it was that the monopoly of the hideous public schools was broken, with more than half of the public school students now in charter schools…” Charter schools can help state solve dropout woes Charter schools can be a solution to the horrific dropout crisis afflicting both Texas and America. Nearly nine of ten Oregonians would opt out of regular public schools PORTLAND, OR (January 5, 2009) – Nearly nine out of ten Oregon residents would send their children to private, charter, or virtual schools, or educate their children in a home school setting if they had the decision-making authority, according to the results of a public opinion survey released today by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, the Cascade Public Policy Institute, and several other state and national organizations. Eighty-seven percent of residents polled would opt for schools other than regular public schools, according to the survey.
So it was curious that when President Obama recently allowed 1,716 of Washington's neediest schoolchildren to keep, until graduation, the vouchers they use to escape their failed public schools for higher-quality private ones..."
That's 38 percent of lawmakers using private schools at some point."
The measure sponsored by state Sen. Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, would greatly increase the number of students eligible to attend a charter school. Currently, only students who are failing or who attend a school that the state recognizes as failing are eligible. The new rules would open charter schools to all "at risk" students, those getting free or low-cost lunches. The new rules would apply to school systems with more than 12,000 students."
It also would create a scholarship fund to accept donations to help low income families cover more of the tuition costs.
Two dozen people spoke in favor of the bill, including representatives of the Catholic Diocese of Charleston. About half that number testified about the harm they believe the tax credits would cause public schools by drawing needed resources away. "
Rep. Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, presented HB 959 to the House Elections Committee, saying it would empower parents and provide options beyond failing school districts.”
Sensing a swell of opinion related to state Sen. Robert Ford’s comments and press conference Tuesday in favor of school choice, SC Biz News asked readers in Charleston, Columbia and statewide their opinions on the issue.”
But the best response from school-choice advocates would be to accept this outcome as a challenge to build the type of widespread public support that’s necessary to amend the constitution.”
For one thing, former school choice opponent Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, is now a supporter. “When I started looking at it, when I started going to other states with these gentlemen and learning what other blacks are doing across the country to improve education, then I know that, even though Republicans might have some bad ideas, on this idea they’re right on time,“ Sen. Ford told reporters at a Statehouse news conference Tuesday afternoo”
But only last week, Democrats ended the successful D.C. school voucher system in an action applauded by the White House.”
Every member of Congress regardless of party who voted for the Omnibus Bill should be forced to go to a public meeting and explain to the the D.C. Scholarship students and their parents why they voted to kill their hopes and dreams. I doubt any of them have the guts to do so.
And President Obama, you most of all have a lot of explaining to do because you signed the order of execution.”
If approved, the expansion also could be a way for small or struggling school districts to generate more students and revenue.”
In other words, our goal must be to advance academic achievement by any means necessary, both inside and outside of the current public system. That means empowering parents to find the right school or methods, whether they be public or private schools…
The past few weeks have been rough for many Obama cabinet appointees, but one appointment has garnered an impressive amount of bipartisan support. Arne Duncan, President Obama’s choice to head the U.S. Department of Education, has been lauded by Democrats and Republicans alike. The former Chicago Public Schools CEO comes to Washington with an impressive reputation for innovation and reform
A student drops out of an American high school every 26 seconds, according to America’s Promise Alliance. In Texas, researchers at the Intercultural Development Research Association find that one out of every three school students fails to graduate. Last year, 185 Texas high schools were labeled “dropout factories” by Johns Hopkins University researchers.
Lawmakers outraged at the staggering number of dropouts are looking for solutions. They should consider charter schools as a proven way to address the dropout crisis...
U.S. News and World Report’s list of “America’s Best 100 Public High Schools” included 18 charter schools. Two charter schools in Texas made the cut — IDEA Public Schools in the Rio Grande Valley (number 19) and YES Prep Public Schools in Houston (number 52).