Betrayed
Walter Williams brings us another good look at the fight for school choice in our nation’s capital with this article in Capitalism Magazine: “Obama’s Betrayal of Education.”
Some may argue the title is a bit harsh, but let’s look at it from the perspective of the thousands of children that have been trapped in the failing DC public school system. As Mr. Williams points out, the DC public schools are not underfunded (spending is nearly 50% above the national average), teachers are the highest paid in the nation (approximately $15,000 more annually!), and the teacher-student ration is better than the national average. Yes, by nearly every measure of performance- to say these schools underperform would be a serious understatement. In most every category, DC ranks last behind every other state.
As readers of this blog well know, DC families are now fighting to save the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. This program costs a fraction of the cost of the DC public schools- and gives students and their families choice and hope for a brighter future. Yet, many in Congress are working to terminate the program. The President and Secretary Duncan have already denied scholarships to 216 students who had been promised them earlier this year, and it is not clear if they will work to continue the program at all.
As Mr. Williams writes, “For people in power to tolerate the Washington, D.C. school system is despicable. For a black president to do so might qualify as betrayal.”
Our kids deserve better. We cannot continue to accept a status quo that is failing our children and our families.
Coverage of the “DC School Choice 6″
Yesterday, we told you about a dramatic stand taken in DC by several leaders in the school reform movement. We fully support the “DC School Choice 6″ for their actions to bring attention to not only the situation in DC, but the need for all kids in this country to have access to a high quality education that best meets their needs.
The events in DC received some great press coverage.
Watch this great video from the House Republicans:
The Washington Times also has a good article with another wonderful video:
Voucher advocates face up to police
“You may not lock us up, but we’ll be back,” Mr. Chavous said. “We will make sure that we do everything in our power to give our children the education they deserve. I am disgusted by the fact that they can go to great lengths to stop or muzzle the voice of freedom.
“It is fundamentally wrong for this administration not to listen to the voices of citizens in this city.”
Fox News even ran a full piece on the action. In it, Secretary Duncan gives the same old song and dance about not just saving 1 or 2% of the students. Fine, Mr. Duncan- then give all students a choice and a chance and don’t teach even 1 or 2% that it is okay to lie by extending a chance at a better education only to take it away and send them back to unsafe and failing schools. You wouldn’t risk your own kids’ education in the DC public schools- why would you force that upon other families?
An Open Letter in Support of the “D.C. School Choice 6”
Today, more than twenty five education and civil rights leaders released a jointly signed letter in support of the six school choice advocates who blocked the entrance of the U.S. Department of Education headquarters in a dramatic act of civil disobedience.
School Choice Virginia was proud join with so many other leaders from around the country in signing onto this letter in support of the decisive and dramatic actions taken by these education leaders. Their actions today gave a voice not only to the 216 children denied their scholarships this year from the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, but to all of our children in this country who need a voice in the fight to reform education.
The full text of the letter is included below and available online. To learn more visit http://saveschoolchoice.com.
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An Open Letter in Support of the “D.C. School Choice 6.”
Today, national education leaders took a decisive stand to protect one of America’s most successful education reform initiatives—the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Their actions were strong and powerful, and we salute them for standing up for low-income children who have been deprived of educational opportunities.
Kevin P. Chavous, Virginia Walden Ford, Rev. Anthony Motley, Dr. Howard Fuller, Gerard Robinson, and Darrell Allison engaged in a dramatic act of civil disobedience by blocking the entrance of the U.S. Department of Education this morning.
Their only request was a public statement from President Obama or Secretary Duncan about why the Administration wants to eliminate the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and the Administration revoked the scholarships of 216 low-income District children.
America deserves answers to these questions. The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program must continue, and President Obama has the power to lead on this issue.
Today’s actions send a clear message that D.C. residents are serious about protecting the wellbeing and educational futures of low-income children. President Obama and Secretary Duncan owe it to D.C. schoolchildren to face the cameras today and explain why their commitment to “fund what works, regardless of ideology” doesn’t apply to low-income D.C. school children.
We, the undersigned, applaud today’s protesters for taking extraordinary steps toward highlighting the plight of children in the District of Columbia and around the country.
Sincerely,
The Hon. Anthony A. Williams
Former Mayor, District of Columbia
The Hon. Marion Barry
Member, D.C. City Council
The Hon. Harry Thomas, Jr.
Member, D.C. City Council
The Hon. T. Willard Fair
President, Greater Miami Urban League
The Hon. Kenneth Blackwell
Senior Fellow, Family Research Council
The Hon. Eva Moskowitz
President, CEO Success Charter Network
The Hon. Chris Saxman & Ms. Whitney Duff
School Choice Virginia
The Hon. Lisa Graham Keegan
Former Arizona State Superintendent of Schools
Jeanne Allen
President, The Center for Education Reform
Chad Aldis
Executive Director, School Choice Ohio
Anthony J. Colón
Education Reform Activist
Maudine R. Cooper
President, Greater Washington Urban League
Vernard Gant
Association of Christian Schools International
Rabbi Yehiel Kalish
Agudath Israel of America
John F. Kirtley
Chairman, Florida School Choice Fund
Jimmy LaSalvia
Executive Director, GOProud, Inc.
Andy LeFevre
Executive Director, REACH Foundation
Carrie Lukas and Kate Pomeroy
Vice Presidents, Independent Women’s Forum
William J. Mellor
President, Institute for Justice
Susan Mitchell
President, School Choice Wisconsin
Vicki E. Murray, PhD
Project Director, Women for School Choice
Kate Nagle
Rhode Island Scholarship Alliance
Whitney Tilson
T2Partners and The Tilson Funds
George Vradenburg
President, Vradenburg Foundation
Alvin Williams
President & CEO, Black America’s PAC
Johnathan Williams
Founder, The Accelerated School
*Organization names/titles are for identification purposes; letter is signed by individuals.
Big day for school choice!
We’ll be posting updates throughout the morning- and of course you can follow us on Twitter for all the latest, but this is going to be an exciting day for the school choice movement.
The Washington Post already has the scoop: Ex-Council Member to Lead Protest of D.C. School Voucher Cuts
School choice advocates, already trying to pressure the White House to reverse an end to school vouchers in the District, are planning to block the entrance of the U.S. Department of Education headquarters starting at 9:30 a.m. this morning.
Former Council member Kevin P. Chavous is leading the effort to bring attention to 216 low-income students who could not enter their private and parochial schools this week because President Barack Obama’s education spending plan cut funds to the controversial program.
Earlier this year, Obama compromised by extending the program to allow 1,716 students currently enrolled in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program to graduate. But the compromise nixed scholarships to new students, affecting 216 poised to enter this fall.
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.
Vigil in DC for school choice
Been a busy day here, so I apologize for not blogging earlier.
Had a wonderful time joining Virginia Walden Ford, Kevin Chavous, DC Parents for School Choice and dozens of DC students and families for a vigil in support of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program this afternoon in front of the US Department of Education. Earlier this year, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan rescinded scholarships that had already been offered to 216 children for school this year. These parents, families and supporters were there to encourage Secretary Duncan and President Obama to do the right thing and give these kids their hope and their scholarships back.
These kids were awesome- and it was so great to hear them being excited about their schools and getting a good education. We had one mother come up to us, who was worried because she was a government employee, but her son had received a scholarship, and she was so excited showing us pictures of him. You could hear her pride for her son and all he had been able to achieve because he’d received a scholarship to go to a better school.
I’ll try and post some photos later if I have a chance- the kids had some awesome home-made signs voicing their support for the OSP- but check out some early coverage already available online.
From the Washington Post: D.C. Parents Demand School Vouchers at Protest (though I would hardly call it a protest, but I guess that’s a more exciting headline).
Not just bipartisan… “tripartisan”
Last week we’d told you about the unlikely trio touring the country and making the case for education reform. Newt Gingrich, Al Sharpton & Arne Duncan may not agree on many things, but they do agree that education in this country is in desperate need of reform, and they’re joining together to make that happen.
On The Enterprise Blog, Speaker Gingrich shares some more insight into his reasons for joining in this effort, and what it means for our country.
Sadly, 26 years of reform effort have failed to achieve the progress we need. My purpose for joining Secretary Duncan and Rev. Al Sharpton is to bring all of our efforts together to formulate a “tripartisan” plan for arriving at a breakthrough in education.
This is a national security effort and deserves the support of all Americans. If we are going to build that broad coalition, with the support of both parties and Congress and the president, we have to work to work through our differences and come together to help create a brighter future for America’s children.
For more on the tour (which, according to American Solutions, will “include school visits, stakeholder meetings and media briefings, will take the three to Philadelphia on September 29, New Orleans on November 3, and Baltimore on November 13″) and how you can get involved, visit American Solutions’ website.
What do Sharpton, Gingrich and Duncan have in common?
Education. More specifically, education reform. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
…the Rev. Al Sharpton, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will put aside political differences and come together on a national tour of cities showing promise in reforming public schools.
…
Free workshops are scheduled with experts discussing charter schools, school choice, bullying, the slow-closing achievement gap between minorities and whites, graduation rates and other issues affecting students.
We’ve said it before, education reform isn’t about politics, it’s about kids. And while we certainly have some differences about the kinds of reforms that are needed, we applaud these three for pushing for much-needed education reforms, including school choice and charter schools.
Obstacles to Change
We are all too familiar of the challenges faced by those of supporting substantive educational reforms. As this editorial from The Oklahoman notes, our system of public education is far too comfortable with the status quo and they usually are more likely to take the path of least resistance instead of endeavoring to find real changes that can improve educational opportunities for students.
Last month, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan charged that officials overseeing many of the nation’s poorest performing schools had taken “the path of least resistance” and opted out of making bold changes to improve student achievement. He’s right, and not just on the matter of turning around failing schools.
The path of least resistance — and its close friend status quo — is no stranger to the nation’s schools. How else to explain the prevailing seniority rules compensation system, the continued resistance to charter schools and the dearth of true school choice for children who desperately need it (including those in the president’s own backyard)?
And while we think it is great that Secretary Duncan is calling out members of the National Education Association (teacher’s union), we want to see whether he will truly stand up to them and fight for real change. Sadly the President’s unwillingness to fight to save the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program does not give us great hope.
