Betsy DeVos and Vouchers - Yes!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, not prejudiced, just realistic. You said yourself some DCPS are better than some Catholics. That is exactly what I said up thread. So we agree.

I would add that I would support increased vouchers for parochial/religious schools if those schools used some of the funding to increase their supports for kids with special needs. Very few of these schools have any such supports at the moment.

Yes, there's not super support for special needs because of no funding from DCPS. DCPS used to allow you to bring your kid to a neighborhood public school for services, and then they just abruptly pulled the program and have been very slow to start any kind of "equitable" program, just to screw those kids in parochials. Special needs is an area where the government has to step in and provide adequate funding, which now it's not. DCPS never did like special needs kids; there's a history of lawsuits to prove it.

There is not super support for these kids even if their parents are paying full tuition. If the parochial schools accept the voucher money, they should provide the same services that that money would used for in a traditional public school to support that student. Same for charters and voucher schools. Right now, they take the funding they can get and kick it (and sometimes the kids) back to traditional DCPS. So a voucher system that required every school to provide support as part of their own programming would be a big improvement.

[Anonymous]

^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

If they got that then they would have to subject themselves to all IDEA requirements -- no exceptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you're poorly informed. DC has a school voucher program that is a miserable failure. Most of the students go to schools that are almost entirely voucher-funded and there is no accredation or accountability process for these voucher schools. The state of these schools is extremely bad. Vouchers will not fix the public education challenges in our city or in our country.

They go to parochial schools that cost less than $10,000, many of which are Blue Ribbon schools where kids learn a great deal in a safe environment. What's wrong with that? PP, you sound like a DCPS troll.

Do those kids have the option of not taking religion classes or saying prayers or going to mass or giving their own opinion about things like abortion and women priests or the divinity of Jesus at those parochial schools? Nope, I didn't think so. (I am a graduate of Catholic schools and I know how these things work.)

And that is what is wrong with that. Where is the option for parents who don't want to inflict religion or (or a different religion from their own) on their kids?

um, public school?

And when it's a failing public schools that is getting less money because kids are going elsewhere? What kind of choice do the parents have then, if they don't get into a charter and can't afford a secular private even with the voucher? So the "choice" is send your kid to a cheaper religious school whose dogma you don't agree with? How many school choice advocates would willingly send their kids to a Muslim school if that was their only choice?

[Anonymous]

Tell the other privates to stop charging so much, or go to one like Waterfront Academy. Others will start to meet demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell the other privates to stop charging so much, or go to one like Waterfront Academy. Others will start to meet demand.

Yeah, that sounds like really well thought out public policy. "tell them" to charge less, and just expect that high-quality schools will emerge in line with the exact price of the vouchers. You have a weird idea of market economics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

Including private placement for SN students if needed? Those can cost upwards of 30-40k/year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

They currently give less per student to charters (and get away with it) so I don't see how or why they would give the same in vouchers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

Agreed.

It's pretty obvious, yet now the BS professionals and special interests will come to attack what's obviously best for a majority of families: to have some CHOICE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

Including private placement for SN students if needed? Those can cost upwards of 30-40k/year.

Here's the special interest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

If they got that then they would have to subject themselves to all IDEA requirements -- no exceptions.

And here's the BS professional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

If they got that then they would have to subject themselves to all IDEA requirements -- no exceptions.

And here's the BS professional.

Um, what? So you also want to repeal IDEA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

Agreed.

It's pretty obvious, yet now the BS professionals and special interests will come to attack what's obviously best for a majority of families: to have some CHOICE.

Choice for what? There is already a lot of choice in DC. Please explain for us all exactly how all the quality schools are going to pop up in response to $8000 vouchers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I'm quite certain that a voucher equal to what DCPS spends on average per student (or is supposed to spend) would permit parochials to surpass anything DCPS has yet to provide. Parochials already operate on much lower budgets as it is, and definitely exceed any measure that DCPS could only hope to achieve.

Including private placement for SN students if needed? Those can cost upwards of 30-40k/year.

Again, they already do this too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually, I have it directly from families who have switched from Catholic to DCPS and vice versa ( and one who went from DCPS to Catholic to DCPS) that the good DCPS ES are better than the Catholic in their neighborhood.

Agree I worked many years in the inner city Catholic schools in DC. We were smaller and safer than the neighborhood school in southeast but the education provided was a failure. It was the norm to have kids performing several grade levels below regardless if they transfered into the private school or started at pk. The principal have to call in favors for admittance to Carroll every year because they are not prepared. Imagine a significant portion each year of eight graders graduating performing on a 4th grade level. I still have many friends teaching in these schools who have the heart but not the needed education or training. These same teacher would never meet the criteria for certification and employment in a public school. Just about anyone on this tread could become a teacher at those schools with the degree and experience you currently have. The Catholic schools in southeast are not comparable to Blessed Sacrament or Georgetown Prep. The kids were no better educated and have less resources than being in DCPS. I would never put my kids in any of these .

In some instances, Catholic school teachers are there because they cannot pass the teacher certification exams.