Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Obama: D.C. Public Schools Are "Struggling"
NBC Washington ^ | September 27, 2010 | Staff

Posted on 09/27/2010 7:47:52 AM PDT by MaestroLC

President Barack Obama said Monday morning during a live interview on NBC that his daughters couldn't get the same quality education at a District public school that they currently get at their private school.

Obama says the schools in the District of Columbia are "struggling," though he said there have been some important steps made in the direction of reform.

The president's daughters, Malia and Sasha, attend the Sidwell Friends School, an elite private school. Public schools in Washington have faced criticism for their low test scores and high graduation rates.

The president took a question from Florida resident Kelly Burnett:

"I wanted to know if Malia and Sasha would get the same high-quality, rigorous education in a D.C. public school as compared to the very elite private academy they're attending now?"

"I'll be blunt with you. The answer is 'no' right now," Obama said. "The D.C. Public School systems are struggling. They have made some important strides over the past several years to move in the direction of reform. There are some terrific individual schools in the D.C. system. ...

"I'll be very honest with you. Given my position, if I wanted to find a great public school for them to be in, we could probably maneuver to do it. The broader problem is that for a mom or dad who are working hard and who don't have a bunch of connections, don't have a lot of choice in where they live, they should be getting the same quality education for their kids as anybody else."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: arth; democrats; education; liberals; obama; public; publiceducation; publicschools; schools; vouchers; washingtondc
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-50 last
To: Don Corleone

standard reply to that is “that’s only because public schools have to take everyone and private schools do not”...


41 posted on 09/27/2010 10:58:19 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB ( "I don't want the majority if we don't stand for something"- Jim Demint)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: MaestroLC

Typical elitist entitlement mentality.


42 posted on 09/27/2010 10:58:35 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: maine yankee

I’ve often heard that Obama was cossetted and pampered his entire life. I’ve also heard that he never went to a public school. Is this true? If so, his attitude toward vouchers is cruelty itself. And don’t both his daughters go to a posh private school? The more I know about Obama the more disgusted I become.


43 posted on 09/27/2010 11:03:51 AM PDT by donaldo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: evets
At $13,000 per student, D.C. is #1 in spending:

So, spending more money is not the solution to the problem. The real problem is the students and teachers. It's hard to attract good teachers to work in a war zone full of dolts. The students that had any interest in academic achievement were attracted to the charter school. Ditto for the teachers. Self selection for academic excellence. The rest are present because the government requires them to be present. Neither party is much interested in education. Teachers are present for a pay check. Parents are happy to have a government child care and feeding program. Students do as the government mandates. Politicians get to pander to the teacher's union to buy more votes. The rest of us get to pay for this travesty.

44 posted on 09/27/2010 11:10:27 AM PDT by Myrddin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: donaldo

Most people do become more disgusted with him the more they find out about him. Unfortunately, two years ago, very few people outside this site knew a damn thing about him. Since Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, etc. didn’t do their jobs, the people were uninformed as to who he was. Actually, that’s not quite right. They did do their jobs. Their job was to make sure the people knew the myth of Obama and not the truth.


45 posted on 09/27/2010 11:12:27 AM PDT by conservativebuckeye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: evets

Yur number is too low...try 28170/per pupil....with TOTAL DC education budget = to GDP of Belize!!!!

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/02/dc-public-schools-129-trillion-28170.html


46 posted on 09/27/2010 11:28:10 AM PDT by mo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: MaestroLC

Obama. . . privatize education - simple solution. The amount of money saved would be astronomical and the quality of education would increase tenfold.


47 posted on 09/27/2010 11:34:03 AM PDT by mia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EQAndyBuzz
Your mayor is a crackhead and people keep voting for him, making them idiots.

Actually, the crackhead hasn't been mayor for a while, but point well taken.

48 posted on 09/27/2010 12:25:19 PM PDT by RockinRight (if the choice is between Crazy and Commie, I choose Crazy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: ex-snook

A student who doesn’t give two sh*ts about learning won’t do well in school no matter what.


49 posted on 09/27/2010 12:26:22 PM PDT by RockinRight (if the choice is between Crazy and Commie, I choose Crazy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Doogle

Another one of his ‘Joe the plumber’ moments where he speaks the so called truth as he sees it.


50 posted on 09/27/2010 1:44:07 PM PDT by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannolis. Take it to the Mattress.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-50 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson