Another option: vouchers
We haven’t talked a lot about vouchers here at School Choice Virginia, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t one option that is already benefitting many students across the country.
In this op-ed for the Appeal-Democrat in California, the author, Douglas Binderup, argues that vouchers are working already in localities across the country.
Having been in place now for more than a decade the results are in: publicly-funded vouchers have proven to be successful in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Dayton, San Antonio and most recently the state of Florida. The voucher system has been so successful in our nation’s capital that the democrat-controlled congress, under pressure from the National Teacher’s Union, is trying to outlaw it.
He continues that those who oppose vouchers use scare tactics, rather than facts to try and defeat choice measures.
The opponents of the school voucher system have used ad hominem arguments to scare the public and keep the rank and file in line. The idea that vouchers would condemn the worst performing students because the private schools would recruit the best students has been proven wrong and actually, the reverse is true. The costs to educate a voucher student are half of what it takes to educate a public school student, thereby affording teachers more time with struggling students in smaller classes. Another myth that has been dispelled is the fear that there would be mass teacher layoffs under the voucher system. What has actually happened in that a lot of teachers have decided to open up their own private schools. Teachers in areas where vouchers have been established have reported that because of the competition, the yoke of bureaucratic regulations have loosened and they are able to exercise more creativity. When schools must compete, it is our youth that are the winners.
Finally, he concludes with three challenges:
• It is time to put the interests of our youth over special interests.
• It is time to embrace the change that will give our youth a leg up in a competitive world.
• It is time to assume our roll as leaders in an ever-changing world.
These are 3 key steps that should be embraced by all who want to improve education and create more affordable choices for all.
Life-changing
Yesterday we shared the inspiring story of how one man made the decision to build a program that would positively impact the lives of thousands of young men in Houston.
Today, we wanted to share with you this story of how Roynell Young’s Pro-Vision program changed one young man’s life. It is a reminder to us all that when we look at education, we cannot limit ourselves to one model or one solution. Instead we should embrace as many different options as it takes to positively impact students’ lives, and give them all a chance at success.
Oscar Pena is one of the young men who has benefitted from the Pro-Vision program.
Oscar Pena was a fighter, and for the most part still is. But these days he chooses to battle for his education and success rather than using his fists to make his way in life. His fighting hit a turning point when he chose to stick with Pro-Vision programs rather than joining a gang.
Oscar was stealing, using drugs, smoking and drinking by the age of 10. His rebellious behavior soon escalated when he began fighting other kids at school. But everything came to a head when he was about to fail the sixth grade. “I would have failed if it weren’t for Pro-Vision,” said Oscar.
Although entering the organization’s all-male middle charter school helped him pass and move on to the next grade, he was still causing trouble and picking fights with other students. Like many young inner-city kids, the sixth-grader was intrigued by the brotherhood and lifestyle a gang offered. Luckily, while the gang was showing Oscar support he hadn’t experienced before, Pro-Vision was on the other side supporting him in more important ways.
Read the rest of Oscar’s inspirational story here.
Finding meaning in their lives
All too often, we hear the argument that simply more money is what’s needed to “fix” America’s educational system. Mostly it comes from those who are already entrenched in the existing educational structure. Yet time and time again, we see the results that money is not the “fix.”
Then there are those who don’t accept the status quo. Those who understand that simply pouring more money into the existing model isn’t the answer. Those who are unwilling to believe that socio-economic status is a barrier to success. Those with innovative minds and the entrepreneurial spirit that has made America great, who are willing to roll up their sleeves, get in there and actually work to make a difference. Their personal investment into students’ lives can’t be measure in dollars and cents.
They are people like Roynell Young.
You see, Mr. Young spent nine years playing in the NFL, even making it to the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. Upon retiring, he could have gone down the path of many celebrity athletes. Instead, he decided to make a difference. Mr. Young chose to go where few knew about his football career, and that decision that would change the lives of thousands of young men for the better.
He moved to Houston where he first started an after school program. It wasn’t easy. But Mr. Young wasn’t looking for easy. The New York Times documents the work of Mr. Young in this great article, “Winning Against Hopelessness.”
Many of the young people who have entered his programs are black or Hispanic and from homes headed by single women. Young has encouraged them to find purpose and meaning through faith and community. Young became their last chance. His school, he said, became their refuge.
In many ways, it became more than a refuge. Mr. Young became a father-figure to these young ment, the program became an extended family.
“I had never seen men of such character in my life,” said one of those boys, Jartis Watts, now 32. “I had never been around men I could trust fully. They were educated. I had never seen that.”
From the after school program, Mr. Young’s project took off.
After about five years of running the Manhood Program, Young decided to create an all-boys middle school.
Rod Paige, the federal secretary of education from 2001 through 2005, was the head of the school district at the time and granted Young’s charter. He said he remembers what Young told him in their first meeting.
“Before these kids can get engaged enough to learn in math and reading and writing and stuff like that, they got to find some meaning in their lives,” Paige said in an interview at his Houston office. He paused. “Meaning in their lives.”
Mr. Young realizes the challenges he is up against every day. His programs are not a cure for the environment in which these children live. But it is giving them greater hope and a greater chance at success than they would have otherwise.
The school’s walls are thin. Young’s students return home to encounter drug deals, domestic and gang violence, and neglect. More than 90 percent of the 120 middle school students in fifth through eighth grade live at or below the poverty line.
But a study conducted by the school found that 81 percent of its students ultimately graduate from high school. Citywide, the figure is about 60 percent.
Mr. Young seems to be on to something that is working. His charter school has the flexibility and the authority to make decisions and figure out what works for these students. Rather than being bound by the current structure of the public school system, they are able to create an educational environment that works for students who sadly, in many cases, would be forgotten in the traditional educational system.
“I paint the picture of what could be if only you would invest in yourself,” Young said. “And then I explain to them that no one here makes anyone do anything. The commitment has to come from deep down within you.”
Mr. Young helps his students to see what can be. We should all work to create the kinds of educational environments so that every student has the opportunity to see what can be.
Charter schools providing options
Earlier this week we discussed the situation in Richmond over the proposed charter elementary school. As we have noted, thousands of students all across the country are already benefitting from charter schools. Unfortunately for Virginia families, education bureaucrats are still standing in the way of those types of choices.
Some charter school headlines from across the country:
New Chandler charter has kids aiming high (Arizona):
Parent Lynn Leih said she researched Paragon’s sister schools and liked that they ranked high on statewide standard tests, along with the emphasis on math, science and technology. She enrolled her third-grader, Joshua, who attended a traditional public school, and her kindergartner, Jonathan.
“He’s already learning Spanish,” the mother said. “It’s not that we didn’t like the (public) elementary school, but this was an opportunity for a more advanced education.”
Charter school focuses on individuals (Indiana):
“All of these students, pretty much, at some point were turned off to the idea of learning,” Lukens said. Learning was “something that was done to them, so we want to help them love learning again.”
Charter school can improve education for all (Texas):
There are 196 charter schools operating throughout the state in predominately urban areas. Many have been in business since 1996. Historically, competition from charter schools has encouraged higher standards in traditional public schools. The charter school model is one of the most important advances in public education, and we feel it is absolutely the most appropriate model for this area of Texas, public education and the kids who will attend from the designated geographic boundaries. We feel charter schools improve public education by providing competition as well as a new venue to test new theories and implement the best practices for public schools.
Charter school offers enrichment classes (New Mexico):
Some Cottonwood Valley Charter School students have to answer those questions as part of “The Big Idea,” one of five new enrichment classes. This year, Cottonwood offered an enrichment program for its sixth- through eighth-graders.
Lining up
Charter schools are one way to create educational options for families, but many opponents of choice are quick to attack and try and restrict choice with charter school caps and other limits. But, as Brooke Dollens Terry with the Texas Public Policy Foundation asks in “Get in Line” over at the “edspresso blog“:
If public charter schools are really so bad, then why are tens of thousands of Texas students standing in line for admission?
There certainly isn’t a shortage of interest in charter schools in Texas. Thousands of families are leaving the traditional public schools every year in search of options that will better serve their children.
Last year, at least 16,810 Texas students were on a waiting list to attend a public charter school. …
This large waiting list demonstrates a tremendous parental and student demand for educational options besides their government-assigned public school. For every five students enrolled in a charter school in Texas, another student is on a waiting list.
Houston’s regional waiting list was the largest, with 7,415 students waiting to get into a charter school last year. The Dallas/Fort Worth region had the second largest regional waiting list with 5,896 students. Approximately 24,500 students attended a charter school in Houston and more than 30,000 students attended a charter school in the Dallas/Fort Worth area during the 2007-2008 school year, so their large waiting lists were not entirely surprising.
Too many critics try to suggest charter schools are the problem, when the evidence shows this just isn’t the case. Perhaps those critics would be better served by trying to address problems in the traditional public schools rather than pointing fingers and stoping parents from seeking better educational options.
“Leaving the learning at home”
One of the most important things about school choice is that it allows families to select an educational environment where their children feel safe and are best able to learn. This is why there is no one-size-fits-all solution. More options create more opportunities for families to find what works best for their own children.
For many families, the best option for their kids is home schooling. It is a trend growing in popularity around the country, and of note, more African American families are choosing this option to educate their own kids.
The Houston Chronicle looks at this trend in “Leaving the learning at home.”
Hubert Rowry’s memories of his public school education still haunt him.
As a black student growing up in Beaumont and Austin, Rowry, now 33, says he often felt isolated and ignored in school. White teachers seemed to give white students more attention than to black students, and that affected his learning and self-esteem, said the Cypress resident.
“So many things happened to me in terms of racism from teachers, principals and other students,” Rowry said. “I decided I’m not going to subject my kids to that.”
His three children, ages 8, 6 and 3, have never been in a traditional classroom. He and his wife, Chelsea, home school them.
Once seen by many blacks as something only whites do, home schooling has steadily gained momentum in the black community in the past eight years and is expected to continue to grow, say home school experts.
You can also listen to this NPR program from “Mocha Moms” who discussed the issue of home schooling.
