Debate - Mention of DC Schools

[Anonymous]

Who got the story right? I am doubtful that vouchers will solver the problem, and certainly do not think they could be available to send a middle class kid from a bad neighborhood to a decent private school. Nor would an addition 2,000 work. Also, I thought that the majority of the catholic schools that once accepted vouchers are now charter schools. Also, I did not think that Rhee was pro-charter school or vouchers, just into fixing the problem as a whole

[Anonymous]

I understand that there are some great Charter Schools out there, however I do not think that The Seed School can compare to Sidwell Friends or St. Albans. McCain kept referring to offering people the same choices available to Senator Obama and himself, but that is far from the case.

I am all for Charter Schools, however, does that make it ok for the DC schools to be in shambles. Problem schools and school districts need to be addressed and fixed. It took time for the schools to fall into the state they are in, so it will obviously take time to fix the problem, but Vouchers and Charter schools are not the solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who got the story right? I am doubtful that vouchers will solver the problem, and certainly do not think they could be available to send a middle class kid from a bad neighborhood to a decent private school. Nor would an addition 2,000 work. Also, I thought that the majority of the catholic schools that once accepted vouchers are now charter schools. Also, I did not think that Rhee was pro-charter school or vouchers, just into fixing the problem as a whole

--Rhee is supportive of the charter schools; that's not to say that starting from scratch she would have chosen that path, but she's not opposed in any way that I've ever heard;
--She also came in when Congress had passed vouchers. It's not her reform plan, as it shouldn't be-- there aren't enough private/religious schools to accommodate all of the kids nor the funding for vouchers. Whether she has the same concerns that I do-- such as Establishment Clause issues and dismantling the public school system-- I don't know
--Obama also made the point that it's not a nation-wide fix, which most people (even conservatives) acknowledge

It was sad to hear about the DC schools being a non-shining example of a failed system. I feel fortunate to be in boundaries for a great school.

[jsteele]

Vouchers in DC have been a complete failure. They haven't even been able to find enough people to take them. Mostly they are used by people already in private school (or so I've been told).

[Anonymous]

The Mayor was on this morning and said that Rhee had NOT taken a position on vouchers period. McCain was wrong.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:Vouchers in DC have been a complete failure. They haven't even been able to find enough people to take them. Mostly they are used by people already in private school (or so I've been told).

Really? There were not 9000 applicants for 2000 vouchers? There is an income restriction on the vouchers so I find it hard to believe the applicants are all currently enrolled in public schools.

From the WashPost

D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program ... awarded scholarships to 1,903 children from low-income families, granting as much as $7,500 a year for tuition and fees at participating schools.

I believe that DC is an excellent example of a failing public school system. Most public school systems nationwide ARE functional and my children attend public schools. However, for a motivated family in DC who doesn't have the luxury of time to wait for DC to fix its problems, opting out via vouchers makes sense. I don't see why we should through away a generation of kids while the disfunctional system tries to clean up its act.

I particularly like McCain's wish to expand the funding for online studies. This allows students in more rural or economically disadvantaged areas the opportunity to take AP and other upper level courses that their school systems don't have the teachers or funding for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why we should through away a generation of kids

Sorry, meant throw

[Anonymous]

I want my child to attend Dc public schools but we are not in a good district, and my income is not low enough for a voucher (does Beauvoir take them?, I cannot afford private school either)... nor do they really seem the amount being enough to cover private school in DC. I vouchers cover around $14K/year for tuition, what schools (outside of catholic ones) have tuition that low?

I was just shocked at McCains statements as they were very different from my understanding of the system here in DC.

I am glad that I have choices; charter schools, out of boundary applications, etc. If neither of them work, I can also chose to move.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Really? There were not 9000 applicants for 2000 vouchers? There is an income restriction on the vouchers so I find it hard to believe the applicants are all currently enrolled in public schools.

The quote that you provided shows almost 100 vouchers not used. Of course I said "most", not "all", with regard to students already attending private schools.

[Anonymous]

What happened to the wait list of the 7,000 students that could not get vouchers - did they not contact them? How much is a voucher for? What schools take them?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Really? There were not 9000 applicants for 2000 vouchers? There is an income restriction on the vouchers so I find it hard to believe the applicants are all currently enrolled in public schools.

The quote that you provided shows almost 100 vouchers not used. Of course I said "most", not "all", with regard to students already attending private schools.

Pardon me for rounding the numbers - I have found no evidence that there were funded vouchers left on the table, and it certainly looks like roughly 7000 children were turned away.

[jsteele]

Here is the most recent evaluation of the voucher program:

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20084023.pdf

After 2 years, there was no statistically significant difference in test scores in
general between students who were offered an OSP scholarship and students who
were not offered a scholarship.

Someone seems to have fudged the numbers used in the debate. According to this report, over four years there where 7,126 total applicants, of which only 4,893 were eligible. 3,300 vouchers were awarded, but since many vouchers weren't actually used, there are only 1,930 current users. The capacity is 2,000.

This report might not include numbers for the current year, so maybe things have changed a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It was sad to hear about the DC schools being a non-shining example of a failed system. I feel fortunate to be in boundaries for a great school.

Yes, it drives me nuts that all we ever hear about is how bad the DC system is and we rarely hear about the success stories in DCPS.
True, it is very bad for most students but there are some truly bright lights in the system. How about some publicity for those?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It was sad to hear about the DC schools being a non-shining example of a failed system. I feel fortunate to be in boundaries for a great school.

Yes, it drives me nuts that all we ever hear about is how bad the DC system is and we rarely hear about the success stories in DCPS.
True, it is very bad for most students but there are some truly bright lights in the system. How about some publicity for those?

AMEN to both pps!

Here's a bit of rant from a parent and school volunteer who's dealt with all sides of DC options.

Nobody in the media or politics seems to have any idea how their potshots hurt the self-esteem of kids, teachers and parents who are struggling every day. DCPS kids may be undereducated (no fault of their own), but they are not stupid. They watch TV, some read the paper/blogs, and many hear their parents' frustrations. They know what other people will think of them. That they're dumb. That they're not worthy. That nobody cares because they're (mostly) black and poor.

I'm so sick of DCPS being the "whipping boy" of the education reform, the voucher/choice/charter-school-of-the-month industry. Worst of all, politicians who
a) don't have kids in DCPS (uh, hello Adrian)
b) haven't done jack s__t to help the majority of DC residents (despite the fact that we pay federal taxes)
c) act like unengaged parents and crap teachers are to blame (Barack, I love you, but shut the [bleep] up about taking more responsibility for our kids)

I wish Rhee would keep her head down and stop doing all the interviews with the Economist et al. She can't claim credit for anything much yet other than firing a bunch of people. Which needed to be done, but outside scrutiny and commentary are just distracting.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'll miss at least one Bush in the White House. Jenna the charter school teacher may have a stronger legacy of impacting DC kids than any of the blowhards who have nothing better to say than the obvious.

Whew! Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

Back to the books, homework, and ugh-lottery season in a few months...