WY needs more school choices

Saturday, November 24, 2007

By Jason Miller

Choice and competition improve most things for consumers. Long distance phone service, automobiles and food quality, for example. We know that one size shoe doesn’t fit every person, and it’s common sense that different kids learn different ways. That’s why education reformers want to introduce more choices and more parental control into the school system.

Most Wyoming communities don’t offer much in the way of school choice. There are, however, some notable exceptions.

The Jackson area does have more options in schools than other parts of the state. Two wonderful, expensive private schools offer those with the fortune and those fortunate enough to win a scholarship the chance for a world-class education. Jackson Hole also has an alternative high school with a hard-working boss that connects with those kids that had troubles elsewhere.

Casper allows total choice within the public school district and has a variety of magnet and specialized schools so that parents can pick the program that best fits their children. And Laramie has Snow Range Academy, the state’s only independent charter school, which boasts amazing student performance and a rigorous

curriculum.

But attempts to bring school choice elsewhere have generally been met with strong opposition. Attempts to start charter schools in Lander and Albin were rebuffed with harsh words from the governing boards. Parents who think that different styles of education will help some kids are treated like traitors to the community.

Jackson Hole’s own school board twice rejected charter schools, which would have been free and open to the public. Instead Jackson ended up with two private schools that are expensive and out of reach of many.

Wyoming’s laws do not allow for school vouchers, which put a parent’s tax dollars back in their own hands to choose their kids’ education. Even the idea of charter schools is thwarted by Wyoming statutes that make a district board with a financial conflict of interest the only body able to authorize new schools.

Proponents of the status quo in Wyoming point to the Cowboy State’s success in education. Nationally, 2,300 schools are listed as “failing” under the No Child Left Behind Act, requiring them to restructure or take drastic action. None of those are in Wyoming. State Superintendent Jim McBride says Wyoming schools aren’t on that list because of the vision of lawmakers and education officials. I say that no Wyoming schools are on that list because the state is pumping tons of money into schools.

You can buy your way out of failing, but you can’t buy excellence. Excellent schools are a product of diversity and curriculum that matches the students, not a one-size-fits-all approach. That’s something you get with school choice. Parents should have the ability to make a choice in their kid’s school, whether it’s gifted-and-talented education, hands-on learning or an old-fashioned Great Books curriculum.

Even Jackson Hole does not have as much school choice as communities in states where the legislature has recognized the importance of choice and made it a priority. The wealthy will always have a choice for their kids. They can afford private tuition or send their kids off to school elsewhere. Sometimes the poor are blessed with scholarships for private tuition from generous philanthropists. But middle-class school choice is where you see your test results go up and how you earn a national reputation for educational excellence and innovation.

That none of Wyoming’s schools are failing is good news. The voters of this state should pressure the legislators to reform Wyoming’s laws to enable more school choice. Universities and community colleges should be allowed to open charter schools. An independent state commission should be allowed to authorize independent, public charter schools. Home schoolers should be given access to state curriculum and textbooks.
The focus of education should be on what’s best for the children, not what’s best for the teachers, their union, or superintendents. This requires both choice and competition.
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Reader Comments
Charter schools are part of the grand plan of Jackson's own Dick Cheney and his band of thugs in DC to turn all public sectors over to corporate Amerika. Do we really want a FOR PROFIT corporation to suck the life out of education for its own gain...sounds like it will work as well as the FOR PROFIT healthcare system, which is the embarassment of this country. Or the mercenaries of Blackwater. In 08, send the bloodsucking Republican neocons back to their bunkers (Teton Pines?) and elect representatives who understand the value of public education. John R. Hall
Partisan rants such as the one made above by Mr. Hall are, in large part, some of the biggest reasons why we've yet to see serious education reform in our country. What America needs is true leaders who can stand up and see beyond 2008, or any other eleciton cycle for that matter. The failure of our education system is one of grave proportions and one that requires creative, collaborative thinking by all Americans. Mr. Hall seems to think that the solution to our education woes lie in, "electing representatives who understand the value of public education". Echoing the words of a recent president I'll add, "Government isn't the solution, it's the problem." For too long, Americans have pointed to Washington as the source of our problems. As partisan as one wants to get, in just 13 months we'll have a different administration in the White House... and believe me, these generational problems will still be around. Perhaps we all need to be reminded of the words of John Lennon, "Power to the People!" Matthew Taylor
When the time comes that Amerika turns all public education over to corporations (to be run for profit), Matthew Taylor's brave new world will be much more in keeping with Milton Friedman than John Lennon, and give ALL the POWER to the Corporations. His wetdream of charter schools will only erase the dream of equal education for all. Don't bring John Lennon into this. He'd roll over in his grave if he knew. John R. Hall
John, you're right... we'll leave John Lennon out of this. But ask anyone for school choice and they're not about "turning public schools over to coroporations" as you suggest. To infer to charter schools as a "wet dream" is convoluted thinking and flies in the face of the many successful charter schools in America today. And most school choice advocates aren't "anti-public education", rather, they're eager to see a spirit of competition instilled in our classrooms. Why is it that schools compete for state championships with such passion and and vigor, yet that same enthusiasm isn't found in the classroom? It's because our current system of public eduation maintains the status quo. In a world where the American economy is beginning to see some of its stiffest global competition, the last thing we need to be maintaining is the status quo. My only hope is that more Americans find a renewed hope in the very free market principles that have helped our nation flourish... and ask the question, "why don't we apply these concepts to education?" I think Will Durant put it best when he said, "Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." Matthew Taylor
Matthew...I would suggest that you and all other fans of free market capitalism take a good long look at "The Shock Doctrine. The Rise of Disaster Capitalism." by Naomi Klein and re-evaluate your opinions of Milt Friedman's Chicago School economics. The fanatics who are running this country are defunding ALL public programs... not just education, but healthcare, the military, public housing, fire, police, The National Parks...bootstrap economics at its very worst...capitalistic terrorism. Government of, by, and for the corporation. Charter schools are run FOR PROFIT. I don't advocate maintaining the status quo. I advocate raising taxes on the wealthy and free, high quality public education for ALL. Remember the phrase "level playing field?" Dick Cheney can afford to pay income tax with his vault full of war profits. John R. Hall
Mr. Hall: I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but charter schools in Wyoming are not run for profit. Jason
John, your knack for invoking Dick Cheney and "the fanatics who are running this country" demonstrates your relentless desire to intermix serious, generational issues w/ partisan rants. Meaningful discussion and debate on issues such as these require creative thinking and the ability to realize that real change comes from people like you and me, not political elites. Matthew Taylor
Matthew & Jason: Every charter school I've ever heard of is run for profit. Are you just in denial? Dick Cheney is relevant here because he represents free market capitalism at its worst. Privatization, government deregulation, radical cuts in social spending, no taxes for the rich, & screw the ever-growing class of have-nots. in Milton Friedman's (and Cheney's) warped minds, free, public education is unfair interference in the free market. Oh, yeah that's past tense with Friedman. When Katrina wiped much of New Orleans off the map, money allocated for flood victims was diverted to erase the public school system and replace it with charter schools. 119 of 123 public schools never reopened, and were replaced by 31 charter schools. And in the blink of an eye, all the gains of the civil rights movement of the 60's were erased. But until you boys understand the basic evil underlying free market capitalism, we really have nothing more to discuss. So go ahead and have the last words. You are simply irrelevant. Dinosaurs. Soon to become cosmic dust..along with Milton Friedman. John R. Hall
John, you're right, we have nothing left to discuss. I happen to believe there's credence in the words of Albert Einstein when he said, "The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the State but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime. . . " To rely as wholly on government as you seem to suggest, that's to devoid a citizenry of its most important asset: the responsibility of the individual. Simply put, government is the problem, not the solution. Matthew Taylor
Matt: Not going to argue with you because you are making no sense. But just in case somebody is inclined to believe you, feel free to look at: http://www.snowyrangeacademy.org/index2.html This charter school is "owned" by Albany County District #1. There is no profit. Jason
It is well to consider that the word, education, stems from the Latin, "Educo," which translates into "lead out from," not "pour into." Although education should be made available to all, funding is not the problem because the educational system is manipulated by the Teacher's Union to protect incompetent and political-agenda prone teachers, while irresponsible parents, and a profit-oriented exploitation media airs mindless entertainment whose impact is obvious. Abraham Lincoln knew poverty as a child, but was taught to read by his mother, and we know the rest of the story. Darby

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WY needs more school choices

Saturday, November 24, 2007

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