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Save School Choice in D.C.
Today, a huge crowd of students and parents alike gathered on Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. to raise their voices in opposition to President Barack Obama’s decision to eliminate school choice for many students, who receive opportunity scholarships to attend private schools throughout the metropolitan area. D.C. Public Schools have been in decline for several years, along with increases in school violence, do not provide or promote a safe learning environment. Many of the parents who were there at the event supported Barack Obama during the General Election last year, but now, some are beginning to regret their votes. No surprise as Obama promised to campaign on change, except this is not the change many were hoping for.
The event featured noted speakers, such as Former Mayor Anthony Williams, Councilman Marion Barry, R&B artists Mya and Ginuwine, and School Choice activist Virginia Walden Ford. Additionally, parents addressed the crowd saying how this program has helped their child excel in a safe learning environment, and how they fear that their child will have to be placed in an environment not conducive to learning. However, the two speakers, who had the most impact were two students, who attended Archbishop Carroll and Georgetown Day School respectively under the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships. The student from Georgetown Day mentioned how he would like to be President, but his dream might be threatened if he has to attend the local public school due to the violence. (Writer’s Note: Video is being uploaded and will be included in a later edition.)
If Obama can choose to send his children to Sidwell Friends, which is a prestigious private school, then why can’t the parents in Washington, D.C. send their children to the same schools? After all, children are the future and they deserve the same high quality education without being in an unsafe environment. The key thing to remember is that Obama was a product of a scholarship program that allowed him to attend a prestigious private school in Hawaii. Why would Obama deny a child the same opportunity?
Where does Virginia stand in Public Education Standards?
Recently, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released their Report Card on American Education, and the statistics about the state of education in America is quite interesting.
The report card ranked Virginia #11, in terms of academic achievement, compared to neighboring states, which fared much lower in this department. Another interesting statistic from this study was the amount of money spent per student in Virginia. The national average is $9,389, and Virginia only spends $9,349 on each student with the average salary per teacher being $2,770 less than the national average of $46,593.
Aside from the expenditures, Virginia students also score higher on standardized testing compared to their peers in neighboring states in reading and mathematics. The quality of education being received in the public schools in Virginia is paramount to the success in these subject areas. The Standards of Learning preparations have definitely proven beneficial for the rising test scores.
However, this study does bring some areas where Virginia needs to improve. One would be focusing on increasing the high school graduation rates. Right now, our high school graduation rate is 74.2%, compared to the national average for 70%. Maryland has a rate of 74.8%. Additionally, we need to ensure school choice here in Virginia. Currently, Virginia does not have a school voucher program, which would allow parents to move their child from a failing school to a higher performing school.
Virginia should be proud of its overall score for public education. There is no doubt that improvements still need to be made, but the fact that we have a higher score than neighboring states, which spend more on their students says a lot about the high standards placed in teaching, etc.
**Cross Posted at Virginia News Platoon
Save School Choice in D.C.
President Obama’s Omnibus Spending Bill, which is being debated on in Congress, definitely displays the worst in wasteful spending. This bill, at best, is a move to supersize the government even more. However, this bill is a major threat to many students in Washington, D.C., who attend private schools on school vouchers, and it also poses a potential threat to school choice on the national level.
In a recent post on RedState, Robert Bluey details the threats from the Liberals in Congress, who would rather leave a child behind in failing schools, rather than offer an opportunity to quality education at a higher performing school.
Leave it to liberals to pull the rug out from these struggling families. Without a scholarship, these students — 99% of whom are minorities — won’t be able to afford the private schools where President Barack Obama and members of Congress send their children. Scholarship recipients come from families with mere $23,000 annual income on average.
The threat posed to the Opportunity Scholarship Program is also an attack on the broader school choice movement — one that Obama spoke favorably of Tuesday when he promised to “open doors of opportunity for our children.” Failing to save the D.C. program will give liberals the impetus to attack successful school choice efforts elsewhere.
The scholarship program has the support of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who is trying to reform city’s notorious public school system, plagued by years of poor performance.
Not only is the program giving poor families hope for the future, it’s also a good value. As Andrew J. Coulson of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom, explains in today’s New York Post:
The vouchers are worth an average of $6,000; last year, the District was spending $24,600 per student. If you could save 75 percent on a purchase, get the same or better quality of service, and know you’d be happier with the result, wouldn’t you do it? … It seems congressional Democrats would not.
For a party that claims to look out for the little guy, this is a clear sign that well-funded teachers’ unions (a major source of Democrat campaign cash) are really running the show. Putting this provision in the $410 billion omnibus spending bill without a single congressional hearing and no debate is an outrage.
The 1,800 students who participate in the program deserve the same educational opportunities as Sasha and Malia. How their father reacts will indicate if he’s going to kowtow to union politics or fulfill his promise to “open doors of opportunity for our children.”
After all, Obama owes it to his friends at the NEA, who worked tirelessly to get him elected, since they are losing students in the D.C. Public School system. Many of these schools are plagued with violence and the performance on standard assessment tests are below their peers at public schools in Maryland and Virginia.
Perhaps, The Washington Post further slams the Democrats in Congress for their attempts to take school choice away from these students and their families. Maybe, it is time to stop being partisans and listen to the voices that this legislation will affect.
