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STUDENTS NEED ALTERNATIVES
By Jeanne Allen,
USA
Today Online, January 31, 2003
With Hispanic children failing and dropping out in record numbers, it is clear traditional public schools with their focus on money and unproven programs do not provide the answer. Trying to reform these schools from within will never succeed without the pressure that school choice creates. In cities offering alternatives to traditional schools, Hispanic children flock to better learning opportunities. Consider the multimillion-dollar effort by the National Council of La Raza, which connects Latino-based charter schools nationally.
In most of these schools that families choose over their assigned school, Hispanic children are starting years behind and advancing beyond expectations. One example: Cesar Chavez charter high school in Washington, D.C., had to re-educate the majority of its students in math and reading. Last summer, every senior graduated and went to college; most received scholarships to schools of their choice, a few in the Ivy League. Where traditional public schools fail to serve children of Hispanic heritage, charter schools tailored to their individual needs give them opportunities to excel.
Programs offering choices of public or private schools are drawing healthy numbers of Hispanic children. One in four students enrolled in such programs are Hispanic. Ninety-three percent of San Antonio's Horizon Scholarship participants are Hispanic, many of them previous dropouts. These programs are likely to grow under new state leadership and parental demand.
This nation once succeeded beyond all hopes in educating a melting pot of cultures. High expectations, a determined attitude, less bureaucracy and openness to family needs were hallmarks of school in the past century. To restore those attitudes and embrace current realities, our entire social fabric needs to participate in starting and offering education programs to our children.
By diversifying how we deliver education and providing the most options, we can succeed with any culture, and our nation will be richer for it. Standards and accountability programs are necessary to help stem the tide of low expectations that typify the education of so many children of color. But those alone are not sufficient. To have choice in education is to have power. American parents need that power to ensure that education serves their children successfully.
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Jeanne Allen is president of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C. The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization providing support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For further information, please call (202) 822-9000.