Do you want Texas's school voucher program in DC or DMV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t some private schools especially in this area have accommodations for iep and 504 kids?

Some might, but I know one of the very, very expensive ones were forcing a friends Mom to go to school every day, multi times a days to administer insulin.

I couldn't believe she'd stay with that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see no reason we shouldn’t give these programs a try in this area.

Why not?

+1.


These programs are entirely voluntary; no one is forced to use a voucher if they don’t want to.

Shouldn’t parents be offered a choice?

Of course parents should. It’s the absolute worst when parents who send their kids to private school oppose vouchers. The public schools aren’t good enough for their kids, but are good enough for the poors! Gross.

Our kids’ school in Indiana has a high percentage of voucher students and is absolutely phenomenal. The public’s are horrible.

So what problems are the vouchers solving? They are not improving the public schools. You don't care about those kids - but you should. When they grow up, they will be your kids' peers.

They allow my tax funds to be used on the school of my choice that is educating my children. And our school’s tuition is pegged to the voucher program…it costs the same to attend as the voucher so anyone can attend for “free” if they wish. Many of the students are on vouchers.

I do care about those kids and want them to have options. One entire local Catholic school is Spanish speaking only because we have so many children of immigrants who are also Catholic. It’s great for those families and also ensures they aren’t lost in the bad public schools. Many of our school’s tuition families are blue collar.

Most privates here are around 8-10k a year. The objections in this thread are mostly applicable to your “progressive” east coast privates, not us red state families.

How are students admitted to your school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see no reason we shouldn’t give these programs a try in this area.

Why not?

+1.


These programs are entirely voluntary; no one is forced to use a voucher if they don’t want to.

Shouldn’t parents be offered a choice?

Of course parents should. It’s the absolute worst when parents who send their kids to private school oppose vouchers. The public schools aren’t good enough for their kids, but are good enough for the poors! Gross.

Our kids’ school in Indiana has a high percentage of voucher students and is absolutely phenomenal. The public’s are horrible.

So what problems are the vouchers solving? They are not improving the public schools. You don't care about those kids - but you should. When they grow up, they will be your kids' peers.

They allow my tax funds to be used on the school of my choice that is educating my children. And our school’s tuition is pegged to the voucher program…it costs the same to attend as the voucher so anyone can attend for “free” if they wish. Many of the students are on vouchers.

I do care about those kids and want them to have options. One entire local Catholic school is Spanish speaking only because we have so many children of immigrants who are also Catholic. It’s great for those families and also ensures they aren’t lost in the bad public schools. Many of our school’s tuition families are blue collar.

Most privates here are around 8-10k a year. The objections in this thread are mostly applicable to your “progressive” east coast privates, not us red state families.

Are these religious schools?

[Anonymous]

I live in Florida and I know of several people who pulled their kids out of publics to put them in privates or homeschool them since the vouchers were offered. They didn’t have the option financially before that. I also know of schools that accept JUST the voucher as payment for tuition. And at least one of those schools is known as quite a good school that I am looking into for my own kids.

People complain about the vouchers and there are now people getting paid as consultants to try to get people back who left the publics but they aren’t addressing the problems with publics that made them leave. We need to get disruptive students out of the classrooms, as a start. Until that happens, more and more families will leave. Mostly the good ones.

[Anonymous]

I want Florida charter schools. I would love a language immersion or one that focuses on math/science. My kids school is a failing school and I think most of that is due to a lack of discipline. They can't get the bad/distracting kids out of the class enough to teach the rest of the kids.

Voucher program wouldn't work well for me here in VA because my only options seem to be a teensy Catholic school with 20 kids per grade, a very strict Baptist school or a private that's 40k a year. The only one within 20 min of me is the teensy Catholic school too. We just don't have many private school options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see no reason we shouldn’t give these programs a try in this area.

Why not?

+1.


These programs are entirely voluntary; no one is forced to use a voucher if they don’t want to.

Shouldn’t parents be offered a choice?

Of course parents should. It’s the absolute worst when parents who send their kids to private school oppose vouchers. The public schools aren’t good enough for their kids, but are good enough for the poors! Gross.

Our kids’ school in Indiana has a high percentage of voucher students and is absolutely phenomenal. The public’s are horrible.

So what problems are the vouchers solving? They are not improving the public schools. You don't care about those kids - but you should. When they grow up, they will be your kids' peers.

They allow my tax funds to be used on the school of my choice that is educating my children. And our school’s tuition is pegged to the voucher program…it costs the same to attend as the voucher so anyone can attend for “free” if they wish. Many of the students are on vouchers.

I do care about those kids and want them to have options. One entire local Catholic school is Spanish speaking only because we have so many children of immigrants who are also Catholic. It’s great for those families and also ensures they aren’t lost in the bad public schools. Many of our school’s tuition families are blue collar.

Most privates here are around 8-10k a year. The objections in this thread are mostly applicable to your “progressive” east coast privates, not us red state families.

Are these religious schools?

DP. In our case there are some religious schools yes and there are some other independent schools. The bigger privates with higher tuitions usually don’t accept the vouchers (at least not in my city) because they don’t want the government interference in their school. But there are several options for families. FWIW I was looking at a religious school even though we aren’t religious because I see it as the lesser of two evils right now. The students are respectful and the school is much more like how schools used to be with discipline and academic challenges. I can teach some science topics at home if we differ in views. Small price to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want Florida charter schools. I would love a language immersion or one that focuses on math/science. My kids school is a failing school and I think most of that is due to a lack of discipline. They can't get the bad/distracting kids out of the class enough to teach the rest of the kids.

Voucher program wouldn't work well for me here in VA because my only options seem to be a teensy Catholic school with 20 kids per grade, a very strict Baptist school or a private that's 40k a year. The only one within 20 min of me is the teensy Catholic school too. We just don't have many private school options.

Have you given the catholic school a chance? People choose SLACs due to the small class sizes and increased teacher support. Why not the same for school? (Assuming your kid found someone to be friends with in the group)

[Anonymous]

Can a non-religious voucher student opt out of religion classes/worship in a religious private or charter school?

[Anonymous]

NO. It is much better for all of society if we invest in PUBLIC schools, not send our tax dollars to private schools. Private schools have zero obligation to actually teach facts or teach everyone, including the difficult children.

Private school vouchers are just modern day segregation with new vocabulary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want Florida charter schools. I would love a language immersion or one that focuses on math/science. My kids school is a failing school and I think most of that is due to a lack of discipline. They can't get the bad/distracting kids out of the class enough to teach the rest of the kids.

Voucher program wouldn't work well for me here in VA because my only options seem to be a teensy Catholic school with 20 kids per grade, a very strict Baptist school or a private that's 40k a year. The only one within 20 min of me is the teensy Catholic school too. We just don't have many private school options.

Have you given the catholic school a chance? People choose SLACs due to the small class sizes and increased teacher support. Why not the same for school? (Assuming your kid found someone to be friends with in the group)

I would if they had 2 classes per grade, but 1 class per grade is just too small in my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NO. It is much better for all of society if we invest in PUBLIC schools, not send our tax dollars to private schools. Private schools have zero obligation to actually teach facts or teach everyone, including the difficult children.

Private school vouchers are just modern day segregation with new vocabulary.

No- we can't just keep throwing money at failing programs. Clearly public schools aren't working currently. Our test scores are declining, kids are disruptive, and teachers are leaving. Fix what's wrong. If you look at the actual dollars, schools have enough. Are they spending them effectively? Being forced to litigate nonstop special ed violations is a big budget killer.

[Anonymous]

The pro-voucher posters here demonstrate a shallow understanding of ideology-based policy outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NO. It is much better for all of society if we invest in PUBLIC schools, not send our tax dollars to private schools. Private schools have zero obligation to actually teach facts or teach everyone, including the difficult children.

Private school vouchers are just modern day segregation with new vocabulary.

No- we can't just keep throwing money at failing programs. Clearly public schools aren't working currently. Our test scores are declining, kids are disruptive, and teachers are leaving. Fix what's wrong. If you look at the actual dollars, schools have enough. Are they spending them effectively? Being forced to litigate nonstop special ed violations is a big budget killer.

They are failing because politicians have designed them to fail so that they can sell us private school vouchers.

You are for modern day segregation. Sorry that uncomfortable for you. But private schools are NOT the answer for society. It might be the answer for your family. But that does not make good public policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NO. It is much better for all of society if we invest in PUBLIC schools, not send our tax dollars to private schools. Private schools have zero obligation to actually teach facts or teach everyone, including the difficult children.

Private school vouchers are just modern day segregation with new vocabulary.

No- we can't just keep throwing money at failing programs. Clearly public schools aren't working currently. Our test scores are declining, kids are disruptive, and teachers are leaving. Fix what's wrong. If you look at the actual dollars, schools have enough. Are they spending them effectively? Being forced to litigate nonstop special ed violations is a big budget killer.

Who says they are failing? Many public school systems are thriving. Follow their models. Usually it starts with paying teachers a living wage and making sure they have medical insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see no reason we shouldn’t give these programs a try in this area.

Why not?

There is already a voucher program in DC.