School choice has become the rallying cry of RVC, and it sounds harmless, kinda good, right? In fact, the school choice movement takes advantage of parents' natural desires for the best for their children, while dividing communities. If you want to dig into the complexities of this issue, and understand who is behind the school choice movement, this piece from Educational Opportunity Network is the best.
The idea of school choice originated with Milt Friedman (read more about the global influence of his "Chicago Boys," here. Two of his famous acolytes include Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney). Originally, it referred only to school vouchers, but is increasingly used as a justification for charter schools, like this Koch Brothers' website. Their zeal for "pure capitalism" and their mastery of rhetorical tricks led to its embrace by conservatives and even some liberals, as we are now seeing in our community.
Originally described as a panacea for urban poverty, Diane Ravitch reviewed the stats from all-choice districts, and found them to have had no impact on reducing poverty. Meantime, middle class and upper middle class parents have jumped on the bandwagon (see MAP and RVC).
According to Jeff Bryant of Educational Opportunity Network, "the choice that most parents will be stuck with is whether they stay in their neighborhood school – as it is rapidly being defunded to the private sector and gradually being depopulated of the children of the most well-to-do parents – or choose a private or charter..."
We wholeheartedly agree with and our state's Constitution and Rethinking Schools. Our public schools are the bedrock of our democracy, and should be fully funded and supported.
Each child deserves a quality, free, public education.When it comes to public policy and public schools, there is a responsibility to go beyond individual concerns and promote what is best for all children...It's impossible to think about public education without understanding its relationship to our country's quest for democracy. Schools are the place in this society where children from a variety of backgrounds come together and, at least in theory, try to learn to talk, play, and work together. Schools are by no means equal and play a significant role in maintaining our highly stratified society. At the same time, there is no comparable arena in this country where there is a vision of equality, no matter how much this vision may be tarnished in practice.
MAP already has a long, substantiated history of discrimination, which the ACLU expressed "grave concerns" about (Link here). We also know that RVC, like all charters, will be governed by self-appointed leaders, not democratically elected school board members, which the Washington Supreme Court just ruled unconstitutional. We just had an election, remember? The people spoke and soundly defeated the only pro-charter candidate.
According to Valerie Strauss in this Washington Post article,
We know from school choice experiments in other states that students with disabilities or other special needs are most likely to be denied admission at voucher schools...
Local school boards are committed to providing each child—regardless of race or religion, family income, or special needs—with an outstanding education that will prepare them for higher education, the workplace, and a fulfilling life.
Rather than being sidetracked by school choice ploys, we must focus on our community public schools. We must ensure that our school leaders have the means to make every public school a great school, for the sake of all of our students and our country.