School Choice Program Working In D.C. Schools
Excellent...
This success dovetails nicely with the success seen with a similar program put in place by Governor Jeb Bush in Florida. Here is a description of what happened in Florida:
It would seem as though these results are being mirrored in D.C., which is a resounding testimony to the benefit of voucher programs. Unfortunately, the voucher program in Florida was stopped by a lawsuit from (ironically) minority-rights groups like the NAACP as well as teacher's unions.
What is undeniable here is that voucher programs improve education, especially education for those living in poor neighborhoods with public schools that perform below expectations. Why more people don't get that is beyond me.
WASHINGTON, April 5 — As a student at Shaw Junior High School here, Amie Fuwa strained to shut out the distractions of friends cutting up. She struggled through math, and used photocopies or the library when textbooks were scarce.
Now Amie, 14, a child of immigrants from Nigeria and the Dominican Republic, attends Archbishop Carroll High School, a Catholic school near a verdant hill of churches nicknamed the Little Vatican. When algebra confounds Amie, her teacher stays with her after school to help, and a mentor keeps her on course.
"It's a lot of people behind my back now," Amie said.
Before, she said, she "felt like it didn't really matter to different people I know, like my teachers, if I failed."
Amie is one of about 1,700 low-income, mostly minority students in Washington who at taxpayer expense are attending 58 private and parochial schools through the nation's first federal voucher program, now in its second year.
Last year, parents appeared lukewarm toward the program, which was put in place by Congressional Republicans as a five-year pilot program, But this year, it is attracting more participation, illustrating how school-choice programs are winning over minority parents, traditionally a Democratic constituency.
This success dovetails nicely with the success seen with a similar program put in place by Governor Jeb Bush in Florida. Here is a description of what happened in Florida:
Most remarkable has been minority student progress. While the percentage of white third-graders reading at or above grade level has increased to 78% from 70% in 2001, the percentage among Hispanic third-graders has climbed from 46% to 61%, and among blacks from 36% to 52%. Graduation rates for Hispanic students have increased from 52.8% before the program started to 64% today; and for black students from 48.7% to 57.3%. Minority schoolchildren are not making such academic strides anywhere else.
It would seem as though these results are being mirrored in D.C., which is a resounding testimony to the benefit of voucher programs. Unfortunately, the voucher program in Florida was stopped by a lawsuit from (ironically) minority-rights groups like the NAACP as well as teacher's unions.
What is undeniable here is that voucher programs improve education, especially education for those living in poor neighborhoods with public schools that perform below expectations. Why more people don't get that is beyond me.
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