Vol. 11, No. 34
A (BIG) EASY CHOICE. It has been four years since the devastation of Katrina and the brightest comeback of all has been New Orleans' schools, now succeeding beyond all expectations because of a robust system of charters. For once, both the state government and parents are in agreement, with both calling for a continuation of state oversight and more choice for families, choosing what works. Charters have brought rising test scores and pride to the Big Easy, but it shouldn't take a hurricane to push innovation and choice in America's schools.
ROSE-COLORED GLASSES. As showcased in New Orleans, it seems more Americans are supportive of charters around the country, though, sadly, many of them still don't really know what one is, consistent with years of polling from CER. Perhaps due to the ever present defense of the status quo in schoolhouses and state capitals. Perhaps due to years of disinformation. Experience shows that when the concept of a charter school is explained clearly and in the context of a person's own community as a school based on choice, performance and accountability, that people will embrace the idea.
PROMISES KEPT. Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley, the nation's first Mayoral Academy, opened its doors in Valley Falls, RI, to 76 students yesterday after many hard fought battles with naysayers in the State House. It even took the national embarrassment of the Ocean State's legislature in June to make them keep their promise to fund the school in this year's budget. Democracy Prep's intense focus on college preparedness begins on day one with kindergartners' classes named after each teacher's school and a banner proudly displaying the motto "Work hard. Go to college. Change the world!"
ON THE ONE HAND... Not only is the NEA out of step with the Obama Administration (which it helped elect) on many education policies, its executive-level leadership seems to be on a different page than its members when it comes to the healthcare debate, a battle it is fiercely waging with member dues. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent by the NEA in a media blitz to support healthcare reform legislation currently being debated in Congress. Healthcare - just what the largest teachers union should be focused on as 50 million American kids are heading back to school.
ON THE OTHER... In another bit of NEA funding trickery, a new study out of Rutgers University paid for by the union (through back channels) says that private schools are too expensive for voucher programs to ever proliferate. A DC-centric profile shows some comparisons to the region's most expensive private institutions, but the many parochial schools successfully educating a majority of DC Opportunity Scholarship Program participants do so at far less cost than the city's public schools. DC OSP has proven that taxpayer dollars can be spent more wisely and with superior outcomes for student achievement. Similarly, in Florida, where families are afforded choice though a growing tax credit program, the average tuition for participating private schools is $6,335, well below the reported per-pupil spending of the Sunshine State's public schools. Next myth?
WHAT CAN BE DONE NOW?? Here's some advice for the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind, who is leading a panel hearing Wednesday on what can be done NOW about persistently struggling schools: Close them. Give the families of children who attended them scholarships. Let them choose other schools, including private schools. Save your time, your money, and your breath. Take some decisive action NOW.
CUTTING IN LINE? DC's Mayor caused a bit of an uproar by enrolling his sons in a DC public school this week. Too bad it wasn't the school zoned for his neighborhood, but one in a tonier part of town with a more well-off student body. DCPS has said that the Mayor did nothing out of the ordinary, but parents throughout the city are crying foul. He joins other DC luminaries in exercising a choice not offered to his own constituents as opposition to the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program continues to fight for its demise. Saving this opportunity for DC families is crucial in the face of failing schools that even the District's Mayor has gone to great lengths to avoid. Make your voice heard today!
CONVERSATION CHANGER. Read CER president Jeanne Allen's reflection on the way in which Ted Kennedy changed the way education policy debates focused on achievement and funding on National Journal's Education Experts blog or Politico's The Arena.
