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PARENT CHOICE
WHAT IS HOME SCHOOLING?
Children educated at home
Parents concerned about traditional school environment
Provide religious or moral instruction
Dissatisfaction with public or private schools
HISTORY OF HOME SCHOOLING
Vast majority in early history were educated by parents
By 1850s formal classroom training was the norm
Movement reignited in 1960s
Many varieties of methods and materials
Unit Studies
All in one
Online instruction
Community resources
Unschooling and natural learning
Homeschool Cooperatives
HOW DO THEY OPERATE?
HIGHER EDUCATION
Use standardized tests
US Colleges have become more open to home school education students
Tend to vote more in elections
Well connected in their communities
On average outperform their
peers on standardized tests
ADVANTAGES
Some Europeans nations have outlawed the
practice
Not subject to No Child Left Behind
so test results are questioned
Opposition by the NEA
Some cases of unmonitored child abuse
DISADVANTAGES
WHAT IS A CHARTER SCHOOL?
A charter school is an independent public school that is governed by a group or organization that is in contract with the state to be given public money.
HOW IS THE CHARTER CREATED?
Charter schools are created by a small group of people in a community that submit a charter to start their own school in exchange for promising high academic results.
KEY FIGURES
Ray Budde
Massachusetts educator that first formed the idea of Charter Schools in 1974
Formed the idea that small groups of teachers should be allowed to construct contracts or charters in exchange for achievement results
Albert Shanker
American Federation of Teachers President Proposed to the National Press Club in 1988 the idea of
publicly funded schools that would gain increased flexibility in instruction in exchange for greater achievement
HISTORY• Philadelphia started the first charter type schools in the
late 1980s
• Minnesota was the first state to pass a law allowing charter schools in 1991
• Bluffview Montessori School was the first official charter school to open in 1992 in Winona, MN
• California was the second to pass a charter school law in 1992
NUMBER OF CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.
2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 20090
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
Year
• Charter schools are primarily funded by taking per pupil state aid from the district where the student resides.
• Funding for charter schools is typically less than what a traditional public school receives.
• In 2007 MN charter schools only received approximately 98.5% of what was issued to the traditional public schools per pupil.
FUNDING
ADVANTAGES
Enhanced child centered learning Free
High standards and
accountability set by the charter
Smaller class sizes
Strong sense of community
Provide competition to
traditional public schools
DISADVANTAGES
Funding takes money away
from traditional schools
Less stability
Lower teacher attrition
Limited high school
availability
WHAT ARE VOUCHERS?
Vouchers are certificates issued by the government, which parents can apply toward tuition at a private school of their choice.
Intended to allow parents to choose school that best fits their child’s needs.
Redirects the flow of education funding.
DEBATE AT HAND• Public funds used to subsidize tuition for students to
attend private or religious institutions?
• Interpretation of federal and state constitutions?
• Criteria for applying to private schools?
• Public accountability for student performance?
• Extent of autonomy private schools enjoy?
HISTORY OF VOUCHERS
• 1792: Thomas Paine proposes plan for England
• 1950’s Southern schools concerned with desegregation
• 1980’s: Bush Administration fails to address major topics in education debate
• 1990: Bush Admin. Approves 6 National Education goals
unable to get approval largely because of vouchers
HISTORY OF VOUCHERS
• 1994: Republicans new conservative agenda
Key feature: school choice/ privatization
Dissatisfaction of parents
diversity v. diction affirmative action v. basics
VOUCHER TIMELINE 1990: Milwaukee Parental Choice Program
Country’s 1st school voucher program
1995: included private religious schools
1999: Florida Opportunity Program
1st statewide voucher program
Not limited to low-income
1999: Maine and Vermont
Used in rural areas unable to maintain a public H.S.
Could not be used for religious schools
ZELMAN V. SIMMON-HARRIS 2002 Supreme Court declared vouchers permissible under
Federal Establishment clause in Cleveland, Ohio
Permissible when used for a valid secular purpose
5 Chief Justices approved
3 state cases supported their approval (MN case)
4 Chief Justices dissented
Dramatic departure from prior church-state precedent
Everson v. Board of Education Ewing (1947)
CURRENT VOUCHER STATUS
2012: Obama Administration has not crossed the voucher debate line
Mitt Romney campaign:
Would support vouchers to introduce marketplace dynamics into education to drive academic gains
“I will expand parental choice in an unprecedented way. Families’ freedom to vote with their feet will hold schools responsible for results” (Romney, 2012).
8 states offer vouchers to students with special needs
ADVANTAGES
Better quality due to increased competition
Students in poorly performing public
schools have alternative
Increased involvement by
community makes program more
responsive
Allow low-income students wide
range of opportunities
Better education due to lack of bureaucracy
Parent decision results in
government not imposing religion
DISADVANTAGES
Diverting funds from public schools
weakens them
Misuse of public money due to lack of accountability in
private schools
Inadequate voucher amount:
low-income couldn’t go to
expensive private
Increase segregation along
socioeconomic lines
Allocation of gov’t funds violates separation of
church and state
Vouchers failed to improve standard
achievement significantly
GROUP CONSENSUS• The group decided in the end that we all support parent
choice in education.
• We fully support the choice of charter schooling and the use of vouchers as healthy competition to the traditional public school choice.
• Our support is unanimous for home schooling with reservation, however. Our concern lies in the lack of oversight and accountability.
REFERENCES Closing the Achievement Gap. (2004). Retrieved from http://
www.pbs.org/closingtheachievementgap/faq.html
Dizikes, P. (2001). Vouchers: What at Issue? Retrieved from http://absnew.go.com/Politics/vouchers-issues/story?id=121979&page=2
Frankenberg, E., Siegel-Hawley, G., & Wang, J. (2011). Choice without Equity: Charter School Segregation. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 19(1)
Daniel Golden (11 February 2000). "Home-Schooled Kids Defy Stereotypes, Ace SAT Test". The Wall Street Journal.
Jennings, J., & Center on Education, P. (2012). Reflections on a Half-Century of School Reform: Why Have We Fallen Short and Where Do We Go from Here?. Center On Education Policy
Lines, Patricia M.(2008) "Homeschooling". Kidsource
REFERENCESLips, Dan; Feinberg, Evan (2008-04-03). "Homeschooling: A Growing Option in American Education".
Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department. (2002). School Vouchers. Retrieved from htt://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/hrd.htm
National Center for Education Statistics. (2012) Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/
National Conference of State Legislature. (2012). Education Program Publicly Funded School Voucher Programs. Retrieved from http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/educ/school-choice-vouchers.aspx
National Education Association. (2012). School Vouchers: The Emerging Track Record. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/bare/print.html?content=/bare/16970.htm
Reich, Rob, (2002), The civic perils of homeschooling,Journal: Educational Leadership (Alexandria)
REFERENCESRichwine, J., & Heritage, F. (2010). Charter Schools: A Welcome Choice for Parents. WebMemo. No.
2996. Heritage Foundation
Stride Academy. (2009) Retrieved from http://strideacademy.org/pages/Curriculum/
Trip, G. (2012). Vouchers Unspoken, Romney Hails School Choice. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/us/politics/in-romneys-voucher-education-policy-a-return-to-gop-roots.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Webb, L., Metha, A., & Jordan, K. (2010). Foundations of American Education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
WEISS, S. (2011). Charter Choice. State Legislatures, 37(8), 20.
Winnick, Pamela R. (2000-05-01). "Homeschooled students take unorthodox route to become top college candidates".Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.