We need more GREAT schools
Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day weekend- and for those who start school next week, hope you enjoy your last weekend of summer!
So Secretary Duncan was out in California this week- invited by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to participate in a town hall forum on education, charter schools and education reform. We think it is great that Californians are finally focusing on education reforms- as we saw recently with the Los Angeles schools.
After his own remarks, Duncan took a few questions from the audience. The Sacramento Press reports:
When asked about his opinion on charter schools, Duncan said, “I’m not a fan of charter schools. I’m a fan of good charter schools.”
“What we need in our country is more good schools, and a number of things have to happen; charters are a piece of the solution – never the solution,” he added.
This country doesn’t only need more good schools- it needs more great schools. EVERY child deserves the opportunity to go to a great school.
Taking Sec. Duncan’s first response, that he’s not a fan of charters, just “good” charter schools- well shouldn’t he say the same thing about the public schools? That he’s not a fan of public schools- just “good” public schools? Should parents be forced to settle for an underperforming school? And isn’t that what protecting the status quo does?
What about the 216 children in DC who have been denied their scholarships from the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program- scholarships they were promised, only to have them revoked by Sec. Duncan? Don’t they deserve a good school? Surely Sec. Duncan is aware of the state of DC public schools- he himself admitted he moved to Arlington instead of DC to ensure his own children could go to a good school.
Sec. Duncan is right- charter schools are a piece of the solution to creating more great schools in this country. Sure, not every charter school works perfectly- but is that a reason not to try? Not every public school works perfectly either- yet this hasn’t seemed to stop anyone from continuing to give them more and more money even when they don’t perform.
What Sec. Duncan seems to really miss in all this is the opportunity to say that CHOICE is a part of the solution. If the administration is serious about real reforms- don’t just tweak around the edges; don’t cave in from pressure from the unions; don’t placate the status quo with more money. Demand real change. Demand real results. And give parents a real say in the education of their children. Lip-service to “parental involvement” won’t produce results, put some real control back in their hands.
There’s no silver bullet here to fix education in this country. But a vibrant system of diverse options seems like a pretty solid start. Then you have a market that can truly force out the bad schools- be they public, private, charter, etc- and give parents real alternatives that can help their children to succeed.
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