More Choice and Competition is the Answer

Janese Heavin at Classnotes posted recently about school board members in Columbia, MO acknowledging something many of us who follow education have known for a long time - Missouri's public schools are failing minorities.  This is not just a Kansas City or St. Louis problem as the link in the previous sentence shows.  

It is refreshing to see members of the Columbia Public School Board acknowledge the district's shortcomings.  Hopefully they will take appropriate actions.  One action they should take to to press state officials for more choices in their community.  The addition of charter schools to Columbia would be a great first step in that direction.  Currently, charter schools are only allowed in St. Louis and Kansas City.  While the charter schools would not be under the Board's control, the new competition will press the traditional public schools to improve. The innovations being used in charters can also be good examples for teachers in the public school system.    

Walking the Walk

This press release from the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation is just one more example of moving a child from a bad school to a good school working.  TTEF gives scholarships to children in St. Louis Public Schools to go to private schools.  According to this release 1,100 children benefit annually from TTEF scholarships.

I would hope the anti school choice advocates take note of the Sinquefield's contribution to helping these children get into schools where they are receiving a good education.  A Harvard study, also noted in the release, has demonstrated students progressing more than a grade level past their peers in reading and math after transitioning schools.  Mr. and Mrs. Sinquefiled are clearly walking the walk and backing up their advocacy by donating to TTEF.  Real examples of the lives of real children being positively changed.  I invite the anti education reform movement to show where they are helping children in SLPS in such a monumental way by maintaining the status quo.       

Preach What You Practice!

I thought this OpEd was an appropriate follow up to the election results.  It is ironic that many elected officials, both nationally and locally, oppose school choice but yet send their kids to private schools.  Why shouldn't poor families have choice also?  It is frustrating to hear school choice opponents say that these programs only help the rich and high performing students.  Many choice programs are specifically aimed at children with special needs or in low income families.  

When a business is not providing a quality service at a good price you take your business, and dollars, elsewhere.  Why should it not be the same option with schooling?  I look forward to the day when more elected officials will practice what they preach (or in this case preach what they practice) and support more school choice for children.   

Presidential Election 2008

Tomorrow Americans will go to the polls to elect the next President of the United States, as well as vote on many state and local candidates and issues.  Voting is the great equalizer in our country. Our votes count the same as Warren Buffett's, Bill Gates' or President Bush's.  Voting is blind to color, gender and ethnicity.  The ballot does not know if you are young or old or rich or poor.  

Both of the presidential candidates in this election, John McCain and Barack Obama have outlined their plans for education on the web and in speeches across the country.  Unfortunately, education has been far overshadowed in this election as an issue by the ecomomy and the wars and should have received much more coverage and investigation.  I watched all three debates and the only question on education was at the end of the last debate.  

No matter what your background is, I hope you will strongly consider education reform as a top issue when you go to cast your ballot.  America is lagging behind many other developed countries in K-12 education. This trend has to stop!

Tomorrow I will vote for the candidates, Presidential and statewide, that I think will do the most for education reform in our country and the state where I live.  This includes candidates who support expanding education choice and greater accountability for teachers, administrators and policy makers.  I hope everyone else does the same.     

17th District Race

This article in the Kansas City Star highlights a close State Senate race in the Northland area of Kansas City.  State Senator Luanne Ridgeway is under fire from her opponent, Sandra Aust for being a supporter of scholarship tax credits.    Aust incorrectly labels scholarship tax credits as vouchers and takes the status quo approach that more money dumped into the same system will fix the problem.  Aust then goes on to say tax credits are perfectly good ideas for corporations looking to locate in Missouri. 

I would really like to see Mrs. Aust look into the eyes of a parent with a special needs child or a parent who's child is trapped in an unaccredited school and tell them that a big corporation is worth a tax credit but someone trying to help their child is not.   It would be unbelievable, but it is the same worn out approach that opponents of scholarship tax credits have always taken.  I would also like Mrs. Aust to refer to our previous blog dated October 14th that links to an article about a girl who is thriving under Rhode Island's scholarship tax credit program.  After looking at REAL stories about REAL people, instead of the education establishment's talking points, the evidence is clear that scholarship tax credits do help students!  

Thinking Outside of the Board

Something that is necessary for 21st century education reform is to think outside of the box when looking at options to help educate children.  Many skills employed in chess, like strategic thinking, are necessary to be successful in society.  For this reason the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis  can be a great avenue for educating children.  This center opened in July of 2008 and has already garnered great media attention in the community both in print, television and radio media.  

Chess would be a great game to promote in our schools as an educational tool.  Ideas like this is what is needed to transform schools in a 21st century environment.    

Scholarship Tax Credits Work!

Today I came across an article from the Providence Journal.  The article told the story of a girl who, along with her parents, are refugees in the US from the civil war in Liberia.  After doing poorly in the local school she received a tax credit scholarship to go to a Catholic High School where she thrived.  She is one of 278 students to receive one of the scholarships in the program's first year.  

This scholarship tax credit program in Delaware has many of the same features that previous legislation in Missouri sought to enact.  It is very frustrating that this option is not out there for low income Missouri students who are often trapped in failing and unaccredited schools.  I dare any of the opponents of scholarship tax credits in Missouri, including Jay Nixon, to look this girl and her family in the eyes and tell them that her daughter should not have had this opportunity. 

This is just one example of how scholarship tax credits really work.  They are not always intended to help wealthy kids pay for private school.  They are, in fact, targeted at low income students who can thrive if given the opportunity to move out of the local schools.  Missouri legislators should make this option available to low income and special needs children in Missouri in the 2009 legislative session.