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SCHOOL CHOICE IS ESSENTIAL FOR WASHINGTON, DC
By Jeanne Allen
Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post Submitted April 18, 2003
The conclusion Marc Fisher makes about the issue of school choice in DC [Cafritz Rolls With The Polls, April 17] misses a glaring fact: almost 85 percent of children in the district’s public schools struggle to read, write or compute at even basic levels.
Charter schools are helping solve
some of the problem, but they are limited
by capacity and the fact that the District’s public school system doesn't
extend to them the facilities they need.
So, at the same time the federal No Child Left Behind law is pushing communities like the district to come up with options fast, and the private Washington Scholarship Fund reports receiving ten times more requests for scholarships than the 1,300 they can offer, Cafritz’s critics call to restrict choice.
Embracing choice, such as the
school board president did, makes good sense.
And, what's more, it works. We know from Milwaukee, Florida and Cleveland
that choice programs raise the level of all schools. We also know that minority
children, in particular, benefit from the higher standards and personalized
attention they receive in choice programs.
In the District, where parents are desperate for better educational options for their children, choice is essential.
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Click here for the latest developments on school choice in Washington DC.
Jeanne Allen is president of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C. The Center for Education Reform is a national, independent, non-profit advocacy organization providing support and guidance to individuals, community and civic groups, policymakers and others who are working to bring fundamental reforms to their schools. For further information, please call (202) 822-9000.