Posted on 03/04/2015 12:13:02 PM PST by Academiadotorg
When she served as chancellor of Washington, D. C.’s public schools, Michelle Rhee’s policies provoked scorn from Capital City teachers, to put it mildly. Long gone from the D. C. scene, Rhee’s approach is still benefiting D. C. students.
“Ninety-one percent of the students on opportunity scholarships graduate from high school compared to 77 percent of the students in D. C. public schools,” Patrick Wolf of the University of Arkansas said at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last Thursday. Currently, there are 22 states with private school funding programs, according to Dr. Wolf.
Additionally, some states have Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs), many of which can be used for special education, Wolf related. Internationally, “The Netherlands has had government-funded voucher programs for 100 years,” Wolf said. “Sixty percent of the students there go to private schools and 40 percent attend public schools.” Thus, contrary to assertions of voucher opponents, widespread use of them does not make the state wither away and die.
In the United States, at the federal level, “We already have Title I education spending for the poor,” Ramesh Ponuru of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) pointed out in the same panel Wolf was on. “Let’s let that money follow children to whatever school they attend.”
“Smithsonian” rare.
Governor Walker is now proposing to expand the state’s voucher program statewide and allow any child in a public school to switch to any other school, private or public, with the funding following the child. I’m not sure yet if that includes local funding, or if it’s just the state share (which is substantial.)
If it passes, Wisconsin could be vouchers on steroids and the results should be interesting.
Correcting what I said, there would be an income limit on the families receiving vouchers, and they would be used at private schools or charter schools, but not other public schools.
Of course, if it works, and works well, others will want the opportunity too, so the income limits would likely be dropped eventually. Done this way it looks more like a statewide expansion of the Milwaukee choice program.
When she was head of schools here the union and that mutt Eleanor Holmes Norton called her every name in the book and tried to undermine her every proposal
After she left they tried to undo all she had done. DC is full of dumb kids for a reason
Dumb, leftist teachers
Dumb leftist administrators
Corrupt unions
She took that HORRENDOUS JOB in DC and the FIRST THING she said was that her schools SUCKED.
She will ALWAYS have a place in my heart.
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