The school choice movement is growing because of real parents with real children, with real needs, who are seeing real benefits. In this video from Louisiana BAEO, parent LeAnn Mason talks about the upside of the voucher program in Louisiana, which is facing a constitutional challenge from the state teachers unions.
Mason said one of her children was in a public school where she endured a string of substitute teachers for two months. To get her to a better school, Mason sent her to live with relatives.
To help another child, Mason used a private school voucher. Now "my baby's reading ... she's blossoming," she said. "And this means a lot to me because this is going to help my children come out of poverty. This is going to help my children do things that I was not able to do."
Mason makes her case far better than I can. Please watch the video.
From redefinED host Doug Tuthill: Today we begin a new feature at redefinED – an ongoing dialogue between myself (that's me pictured on the right) and John Wilson, who writes the Unleashed blog at Education Week. For the last 25 years, I’ve been one of Wilson’s biggest fans. I worked hard for John when he ran for president of the National Education Association in the late 1980s (we lost), and I’ve always respected the sincerity and dignity with which he conducts himself. John is a passionate and intelligent advocate for children, teachers and public education - and he’s a gentlemen. So I was thrilled when John accepted my invitation to dialogue with me on redefinED about how best to improve public education. I’m looking forward to learning from John, and I’m hoping our exchanges will inject some more civility into our public discourse. Our first installment is below.
Doug Tuthill: John, I was pleased to read your endorsement of customization on your blog recently. For readers who missed it, you wrote, “our citizens want choice. Parents want to choose the school that best fits their children. Let's not stifle this customization, but embrace it.” But I was especially intrigued when you wrote that we need to “stop the fragmentation and welcome charter schools back into the community and the conversation.” The charter school folks I know think they are in the community and think they are part of the conversation. So I was hoping you’d elaborate on what you meant.
John Wilson: Doug, I always start with my strong support for the institution of public schools. I believe public schools are the foundation of our democracy, best prepared to educate the masses, and the most strategic driver of the American economy. Public schools deserve necessary funding to accomplish their mission, and they must be relevant to the needs of that public. For the 21st century, that means customization to assure every child receives an education that prepares them for success. That means a willingness to collaborate with more appropriate providers that serve children but within the public school institution. Creating a hodgepodge of providers outside the public schools causes fragmentation and weakens our public schools. We have tried division; I want us to try addition.
Doug Tuthill: John, I share your belief that public education lies at the foundation of our democracy. Public education is responsible for helping ensure every child, regardless of economic class, ethnicity, disability or race, has an equal opportunity to succeed. This promise is what holds our democracy together, and while I doubt we’ll ever achieve full equality of opportunity, this ideal should always guide our work. (more…)
Arizona: Gov. Jan Brewer signs into law a bill that makes students in D and F schools eligible for education savings accounts. (Arizona Republic) An estimated 100,000 students could be eligible. (Arizona Daily Star)
Florida: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan questions why the Florida Legislature decided to continue a program that allows low-income parents to choose private tutoring providers. (Associated Press) Tutoring providers fire back, saying Florida's law is a model. (Tampa Bay Times' Gradebook blog)
New Hampshire: Both houses of the Legislature have now passed a tax credit scholarship bill by margins big enough to override an expected veto from Gov. John Lynch. (Concord Monitor)
South Carolina: Gov. Nikki Haley signs into law a bill that will allow expansion of charter schools, including creation of boys-only and girls-only charter schools. (Associated Press)
Louisiana: State teachers union president says opponents will try to undo the sweeping education changes led by Gov. Bobby Jindal, including the statewide voucher program. (Baton Rouge Advocate) (more…)
No matter how many times critics of parental choice say it, it’s still not true: Tax credit scholarships in Florida (aka vouchers) do not drain money from public schools.
The latest example: An op-ed in Sunday’s Ocala Star Banner by Andy Ford, president of the state teachers union. Ford (pictured below) focuses on the state of education funding in Florida, and much of what he argues is undeniable. These are tough times for schools. The money that Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature scraped together for education this year is still billions short of where the state was five years ago. I have one child in public school. In a few months, I’ll have two. I sympathize.
But then Ford redirects his financial argument toward tax-credit scholarships, suggesting they’re part of the reason why public schools are in dire straits. “There’s also money in the budget for expanding charter schools and increasing money for corporate voucher schools,” he writes. “Here’s another example of political leaders favoring unproven and less-accountable schools over our traditional neighborhood schools.”
He concludes: “At a time when the governor and lawmakers doled out more tax giveaways for corporations, more money for unaccountable voucher schools and more support and freedom for for-profit charter schools, our public schools are given a budget far from adequate and far from a true investment in our children.”
We'll save the issue of accountability for another day, because it’s the pervasive myth of financial loss that resonates most with parents and voters. Despite what Ford says, one credible, independent report after another has found tax credit scholarships save taxpayer money. The Collins Center for Public Policy came to that conclusion, as did Florida Tax Watch, the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability and, just last month, an impact report from Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference. The latter found the tax credit program will save taxpayers $57.9 million next year alone. (more…)
