Get Schooled

By thomas

July 11, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this

This whole “special needs” voucher game is just a ploy to open up the door for wholesale vouchers. Funny thing this that most SPED students won’t be able to use these vouchers anywhere because VERY FEW private schools will accept them. There are a tiny few private schools in Georgia that are designed for SPED students. They would be quickly filled with the only least demanding (best) students. Where does that leave the other 120,000 GA SPED students?

The same reality exists the other 875-900,000 students in GA. Even if the majority of these students could get vouchers worth $6,000 a year, where would they use them? The real truth is that our private schools exist to serve middle and upper class families- black or white.

More privately owned schools would have to open to serve the children/families of the poor, and lower class, and working class families. Then the question of quality comes into play. We’ve seen what the charter schools we NOW have have wrought. Management and administrative problems, issues with teacher quality and retention galore. Many have failed and are failing.

To make a long story short (so to speak), the voucher game is just a ploy to allow some middle class families the chance to run out of public schools, segregate themselves further, and enrich some other “businessmen” in the process. Everybody else is left behind.

By School Librarian

July 11, 2007 9:42 AM | Link to this

Thomas, you are exactly right. Very few of the students that vouchers are supposed to help would be admitted to private schools. First, the private schools want to maintain the notion that they are superior and would not admit even average students. They also do not and will not deal with students who are behavior problems. So, as you say, the vouchers would go only to middle to upper class students. If private schools want vouchers, then they should be forced to abide by the same admission and retention rules that public schools are, and their students should be forced to take all those blasted standardized tests that public school students are.

By Pompano

July 11, 2007 10:26 AM | Link to this

School Librarian - What’s so wrong with a family wanting to seperate their children during the educational process from “below average” and students with “behavior problems”? Why should high achieving children with engaged parents be penalized - big deal if upper and middle class students flee the public schools. These students are being held hostage to a failing system in order to not upset the Public School Cartel.

By SET

July 11, 2007 10:58 AM | Link to this

No decent private school should allow itself to be involved in this voucher creeping government takeover. A good school doesn’t take orders from any individual parent so why should it subject itself to the “rules” on a voucher - especialy the “antidiscriminatory” nonsense? A good school by definition is “discriminatory” because they select the students, not the other way around.

I oppose vouchers in any way, shape or form. I would consider tax credits for primary and secondary education, nothing more. But then, you could have taxpayers deducting expenses to send their kid to Catholic, Black Panther, Muslim, Nazi, Mormon, Scientology and Rahaneesh schools too I suppose. So in the end we shouldn’t go for that either.

So a better plan is to keep the current funding and tax system as to education and just clean up the public schools. We can start by eliminating forced schooling after 15 and have the public schools split into 3 tracks. I’d beef up the Jr Colleges into vocational powerhouses and really give the private trade schools a run for their money. I’d also encourage the 4 year colleges to expand their high school programs so that University bound high schoolers can get into that atmosphere earlier - admittedly with some social risks.

By Janine

July 11, 2007 11:01 AM | Link to this

School Librarian If the private schools were, as you say, ” forced to abide by the same admission and retention rules that public schools are”, and be subject to all the nonsense that the GOV”T imposes ….then all the advantages of being in a private school would disappear. In my experience, the public schools do not abide by the Retention Rules anyway!!

By thomas

July 11, 2007 11:13 AM | Link to this

In today’s AJC, they had a article on the front page talking about the “special needs scholarships.” First of all, that’s so 1984ish. Our society and government is like that now. Give something a name that is actually just the opposite of what the name implies (ex. Ministry of Truth- the propaganda dept.). These are not scholarships.

One parent wanted to put her daughther in the The Cottage School in Roswell. The tuition was reported as being $19,000 a year. The “scholarships” are for around $5,700 a year. The mother was comtemplating how to come up with other $13,000. Just like a said from the beginning, many people really won’t be able to get much use out of these “scholarships”.

My concern is really about the consequences of these “special needs scholarships”- opening to door to full scale vouchers. You see, the real problem I have with full scale vouchers is not the fact that some middle class students might leave public schools. No I am concerned about the fly-by-night, “johnny come lately” schools that open up to serve the lower and working class students. After all of the existing private schools (which are only going to accept “good” students) fill to capacity, you are going to see start-ups, new “schools” and “academies” open up to serve the others who couldn’t get into the existing private schools.

Many of these newly created schools will be like the charter schools we have now. They may have questionable management and financial support. The academic program may be weak. They will probably end up with second or third rate teachers (because of the lower pay and benefits offered), if the teachers are certified at all (as is the case with some current private schools and charter schools). I predict that many of the new “average student” private schools that spring up after the creation of widespread vouchers will end up housed in churches, old buildings, and storefronts. The proprietors of such “schools” will be in business for the money. It will be the children who suffer.

By IvyLeagueGrad

July 11, 2007 11:15 AM | Link to this

Pompano,

The problem comes from the fact that most of these vouchers would be used by families that could well afford private school anyway. It goes against the egalitarian goal of a public education where your parents’ income level does not necessarily control the level of education you receive. Vouchers would simply draw money away from public schools. Poorer families hardly have the resources of a soccer mom to haul kids 30 miles away to the ritzier private schools.

If your kid is capable and you’re closely involved in their education, the school matters a great deal less than their own capability. The pool of teachers remains the same and a shift to more private schools would simply push more teachers to these private schools resulting in effectively the same education and increased cost.

Part of the reason why private schools appear so successful is the fact that they are able to select their students based on aptitude and the parents tend to take a more active role in getting them into these schools. Subtract those attributes and you’re back to shiftless high schoolers getting drunk and snorting coke on weekends only to realize the best job they’ll get out of HS is down at the local Walmart.

By Janine

July 11, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this

How does anyone know how well these private schools will server the “special needs” students with vouchers? As Ivy League points out, they are accustomed to serving the very best students with involved parents. I doubt that many of the already established private schools in Atlanta will be interested in these voucher students….even if they could afford the remainder of the tuition price that would be needed in addition to the voucher.

By thomas

July 11, 2007 11:46 AM | Link to this

On the surface, I have no problem with “a family wanting to separate their children during the educational process from “below average” and students with “behavior problems””. (I am concerned about the elitist attitude many Americans have nowadays. I believe that our self attitudes will be the death of us all). The reality is that the middle and upper classes pretty have separated themselves through housing patterns. Because of the high cost of housing and housing discrimination, many “middle class” neighborhoods exclude the working class and poor.

The schools in solid “middle class” neighborhoods are already what we consider “good” schools. Despite the fact that many of these schools are predominately white, race is not the key determinant in the makeup of the schools. To the contrary, these schools have significant black and Asian populations (10-20%). What makes all of these groups of people similar is socioeconomic status. Most of these families share the same general beliefs on education, their role in society, and their children’s prospects for the future. They are motivated in striving for the “American Dream”. They KNOW they will be successful, if they play by the rules and do what is necessary to jump over required hurdles (do well in school).

Most of the slackers are already locked out of these classrooms. Of course, an occasional “problem student” may slip into a class from time to time. But by and large, these schools are already the best in Georgia (seriously). They are almost as good as any private school, which is why these people fight SO HARD to protect their neighborhoods and neighborhood schools. Did you know that people actually look at the neighborhood schools and their demographics when making home purchases? Yes!!! Why, you might ask- to make sure they kids can only associate with others who culture and beliefs mirror their parents. Good academic achievement is one of those beliefs.

You see, the average middle school family really doesn’t need vouchers. It is the working and lower-middle class families that need the private schools and vouchers. The middle class already has “good” schools- nice, relatively new, clean buildings, decent supplies and equipment, the better lot of teachers and administrators (more motivated, too!!!). It’s the rest who have the garbage, leftovers (supplies, teachers, etc.).

Read Shame of the Nation by Johnathan Kozol. It is a powerful book about the disparity of schooling in our country. I have experienced it first hand. I used to work in a school that was 70% Latino and 90% free lunch. We had virtually no books or teaching materials. Most of the classrooms were tiny, windowless, old, and dingy. I, along with several other teachers, had to fight off mice in our classrooms. These are some of children are the ones who could use vouchers.

By jim d

July 11, 2007 11:47 AM | Link to this

Hmm, a lot of conjecture today.

Here’s a few publications y’all may wish to read.

Reclaiming Education

James Tooley (Cassell, 2000)

Market Education: The Unknown History

Andrew J. Coulson (Transaction Publishers, 1999)

Decentralization of Education

Harry Patrinos and David Ariasingam (The World Bank, 1997)

I highly reccomend you read this one

The Global Education Industry

James Tooley (Institute for Economic Affairs, 1999)

Global Education Industry is based on good old fashioned field research. Tooley and his colleagues traveled the world to study the merits of Competitive private education businesses from Brazil, to Zimbabwe, to India.

What they found were schools so dynamic, so innovative, and even so technologically advanced that they put to shame the government-run schools of most developed nations.

By jim d

July 11, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this

And Speaking of Tooley.

Here’s a link to a key note speech he delivered in 99, if you’d care to read a bit.

http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/tooley1.htm#_Toc450714548

By MrLiberty

July 11, 2007 12:40 PM | Link to this

I will forego my usual comments on the inherent immorality of stealing money from folks to give to others and get right to the usual failure of every government program.

Have you seen the requirements? A school must have been in business for at least 1 year. Many of the folks commenting have pointed out that there are not enough special needs schools in the state. These vouchers (though I am totally against them) could help establish plenty of special needs schools, but typical government, there must already be established success before they will pay.

How is it the government can propose a program, steal the money to pay for it, never reevaluate its success, set goals that must be met, etc. without any history of success? How is it that the government can fail year after year after year after year and expect success from anyone else that gets the stolen booty?

Work to get government out of the education business altogether. Then all of you, with the help of real charities, can get your individual needs met without the constraints imposed by a bunch of failures whose sole purpose in drafting guidelines is to prop up the failed status quo and to show down the road that the “free market” can’t deliver as well as the government can.

And please stop with that crap about private schools only being for the middle and upper class. If government were out of the way, and the creative minds of entrepreurs were allowed to work on the situation, I can guarantee that you would see schools catering specifically to the poor at affordable rates or with charity subsidization.

That will never happen if you keep supporting the immoral and failed government run system.

By Lisa B.

July 11, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this

I don’t have a problem with parents paying to send their kids to private school. That is the parents’ choice.

I do have a problem with using tax dollars in the form of vouchers to send kids to private school. From what I’ve seen across the nation, few economically challenged children are able to take advantage of the vouchers because of so many out of pocket expenses not paid by private schools (i.e. free meals, transportation, etc.) It seems many people getting the vouchers were already paying for private school anyway. I fail to see how taking funds away from public schools helps more than a small percentage of children.

By Chris

July 11, 2007 1:00 PM | Link to this

I’m tired of waiting for the public school system to get itself together. If I can get a voucher, I’ll take it. I’d like to support public education, but if it’s not meeting my children’s needs, why should I subject them to it?

With the current state of public education, I probably should start saving for private school for my grandchildren because it would take that long to fix it.

And teachers are NOT the problem. It is school administrations and sorry a** parents.

By Chris

July 11, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

Lisa B. As a point of clarification, the special needs scholarship is not available to a student unless s/he spent the last school year in public school. So current private school students would have to come out of private school for a school year, get an IEP and then return. That’s a lot of trouble, but I;ve “heard” that some parents are contemplating it. Personally, I don’t think I’d disrupt my child like that, but then I’m always amazed at parents who pull their kids out of all kinds of schools willy nilly for all kinds of frivolous reasons.

By War Eagle

July 11, 2007 1:14 PM | Link to this

Personally, I hate the bussing and diverse mixing attitude taht these liberal bed wetters use to destroy neighborhoods. Good schools are being destroyed and dumbed down by the special needs-mentally challenged and verbally challenged-read ILLEGAL kids who cannot speak ENGLISH. There should be a different school for them and let the Normal kids stay in their own neighborhood schools. We don’t need the problem drug dealing, law breaking hoods being bussed to good schools.

By JustMe

July 11, 2007 1:23 PM | Link to this

Yawn. More talk on school vouchers. More posts from jim d about how he thinks that he has the answers for everything (although he has never taught school a day in his life).

To create a “good” school (private or public), you need effort from teachers, administration, students, and parents. When one of these 4 parts is not there, it isn’t a “good” school. It is really as simple as that.

The biggest challenge is how to correct the situation when one of those 4 is not there. School vouchers do not make the correction. It is another voodoo political hand waving gesture. This means you can find people that think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, and also people that think it will ruin us forever. In any case, it will not address any core problem.

School vouchers will not make parents suddenly more involved in their child’s education. School vouchers will not make students suddenly realize that their education is important. School vouchers will not eliminate all bad teachers from a school. School vouchers will not eliminate all bad administrators from a school.

Currently, some private schools are “good” only because the parents are paying a boat-load of private money and pay more attention to their child’s education. It isn’t because they have better teachers.

Currently, some public schools are “bad” only because the parents don’t give a rat’s a$$ about education and therefore the kids don’t care. This means that the kids are basically in a place they don’t want to be for most of the day and will make trouble and distract other kids.

If we want to give “choice” it should be options for vocational education where a kid can learn a skill to get a job - everyone doesn’t need to or want to go to college. Why has that “choice” been eliminated from schools?

By thomas

July 11, 2007 1:42 PM | Link to this

Justme,

Well put. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

By jim d

July 11, 2007 1:45 PM | Link to this

Just me,

I really agree with the list you provided above and would only add one thing to it, “an open mind

By jim d

July 11, 2007 1:51 PM | Link to this

Oh dear bite me, oops I mean just me, I didn’t claim to have the answers—just provided a link to another perspective.

Don’t ya just hate it when I do that and it is a perspective of someone with more knowledge than you possess?

By jim d

July 11, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this

For anyone that truly believes Georgia is doing a decent job of providing for our children with disabilities I refer you to yet another site.

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/ga/district_profile/82#students

Read the numbers and decide for yourself if we owe these kids more.

By Jmarsh

July 11, 2007 2:18 PM | Link to this

Lisa, tax dollars are OUR dollars. I’ll be fine if you just let me have mine back and give me a choice.

But that won’t do, the Dewey system wouldn’t approve. Can’t indoctrinate kids if they’re not all in your “system.”

By Gwinn

July 11, 2007 3:35 PM | Link to this

The biggest problem I have with the “scholarship” is that if a student with a speech eligibility takes advantage of the the scholarship in 1st grade, he is entitled to it until he graduates. Nearly all speech only students have their speech articulations errors corrected in a couple of years, yet these students will continue to drain money from the local systems. The program will not hurt systems in the south as much as the ones in metro Atlanta, because there are no private schools that take students with disabilities.

By Lisa B.

July 11, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

If a sped child leaves the public school, and takes the voucher, what happens if the parents decide to put the child back in the public school after a couple of months. The public school won’t have received money for the child. I doubt the private school will give the money back. Is there some sort of rule that the child would have to stay put for the entire school year? I’ve read someplace that has been a problem in Florida with the Special Needs vouchers.

By Lisa B.

July 11, 2007 4:01 PM | Link to this

As Gwinn pointed out, these vouchers won’t be a big deal in South Georgia. I can’t think of a single private school in my area that will honor the vouchers. The private schools here have no special ed teachers, and really don’t want them. Speech, for example, is handled privately by the parents.

By catlady

July 11, 2007 5:33 PM | Link to this

I think a lot of hopeful sp ed parents are gonna be madder than h3ll when they see what this “scholarship” actually means. They all have thought that their kid will qualify for AT LEAST $9000 in scholarship money. Then the issue of finding a school at that price that will accept their child (“You mean they don’t HAVE to accept us and the scholarship?”) And the issue of extras (transportation, food, required family involvement). In our county, too, there are no private schools who will accept the vouchers and provide the services (economy of scale issues, elitism, pragmatism, etc). As I said at the time, many “believers” have been sold a bill of goods on this one. Then the public schools will be left, again, to pick up the pieces with a bunch of disgruntled parents who bought the idea that their problems were solved by this scholarship. The grass is rarely greener on the other side, and when it is, it is frequently due to the manure spread on it!

By JustMe

July 11, 2007 5:47 PM | Link to this

Jmarsh,

You want your tax dollars back so you can use them to send your kid to school where you want? That would be fine with me. I have no kids, so I will get my money back, too? That’d be great! I’m all for this approach! Jmarsh for Governor!

By luvs2teach

July 11, 2007 6:11 PM | Link to this

Jmarsh - I’m just curious - which tax dollars specifically do you want back? If you’re asking only for your portion of your property taxes that is earmarked for education, then you’re probably only looking at $1,000 - $3,000 (unless you live in an overpriced Cobb County McMansion or a prime downtown loft) - nowhere near the $7,000 - $10,000 per child that counties spend.

It’ not all really your money - it’s my money (and Mr. Liberty’s) money, too.

By Terry

July 11, 2007 6:14 PM | Link to this

I am hoping this scholarhsip program will be helpful to those with sp. ed children.

I also hope that our legislators get their butts in gear and listen to their constituents who continue to beg for Universal School Choice in Georgia.

The STate Dept Educrats have not gotten right and will not get it right until we take all the money and attach it to the student. I hope its sooner rather than later

By Ronnie B

July 12, 2007 8:18 AM | Link to this

Agree with thomas and SET. First, any kind of “special ed” voucher is merely a ruse for a generalized voucher system. Second, anyone who gives this even a little critical thought, will quickly see that a $5000 voucher won’t cover the cost of private school tuition—which could easily be triple the cost or more. Allowing this to happen will re-direct our tax dollars to private interests with a bottom-line mentality and no legal obligation to kids’ education. In other words, tax dollars that went to schools that were mediocre but functioning would no longer fund those schools. Where would kids go to school? How would they get there?

This voucher talk is nothing but a cruel hoax perpetrated on desparate parents and students.

By Lee

July 12, 2007 9:07 AM | Link to this

For those of you who are proponents of a voucher system, you need to read through the bureaucratic rats maze of regulations surrounding this special ed voucher, er, excuse me, scholarship.

You think vouchers for regular ed students will be any different?

It’s all about money and power. The state and federal DOE’s, local school boards, school board associations, local superintendents, et al, all have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. This is just a dog and pony show that lets the corrupt politicians delude the populace that they’re doing something.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 9:20 AM | Link to this

Unless private schools in the Metro area are far different from those in the rest of the state, private schools don’t have resources needed to teach most special ed kids. In some cases, I suppose it depends on what type of Sped kids we are referring to. For example; in many states, Gifted students fall into the special ed category. Now, I can see parents of gifted children requesting vouchers for private schools, and private schools welcoming those students with open arms. However, when the special ed students have autism, Down Syndrome, Spinal Bifida, mental retardation, emotional behavior disorders, dislexia, or other learning disorders, etc., without federal and state funding, private schools would have to triple their tuitions to serve these kids. Possibly there are a few private schools geared toward a certain type of special needs children, but overall, I can’t imagine many private schools taking in special needs kids.

As was mentioned above, this seems like a cruel hoax.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 9:50 AM | Link to this

Lee,

Vouchers may also be a way for the govenment to get their “hooks” into private schools. Vouchers, after all, come from government money. (It doesn’t matter that the money started out as OURS. Now it is THEIRS). Some of my friends send their children to private schools. My friends are opposed to vouchers of any sort, because they do not want their schools to loose the ability to select their students.

By Chris

July 12, 2007 10:00 AM | Link to this

Lisa B in answer to your question:
The private schools accepting the vouchers are sent checks for tuition quarterly. The checks have to be endorsed by the parent. If the parent isn’t there to endorse the check because they have removed their child, the check must be returned.

Parents do have the option of removing their child from the private school or transfer to another eligible school at any time, but I believe once the student returns to a public school, the parents can only reapply at the beginning of the next school year. I tried to verify this with the GA DOE site, but it looks like it’s down right now.

By Lee

July 12, 2007 10:21 AM | Link to this

Lisa, I send my youngest to private school and am against vouchers for the same reason as your friends. I wouldn’t mind a tax credit though…

We have school choice at the present time. You can send them to public school. You can send them to private school. You can homeschool.

That said, what most people are mad about is the level of taxation we have to pay for public schools, many of which are complete and utter failures.

We didn’t have this level of animosity toward schools 30-40 years ago. The reason? They were doing a relatively good job at educating.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 10:26 AM | Link to this

Thanks Chris!

By luvs2teach

July 12, 2007 10:50 AM | Link to this

Anyone find it strange that many “good” schools and “good” systems are not meeting AYP because of SPED, and now we have a “scholarship/voucher” to enable some SPED students to go elsewhere?

Lee - I think a tax credit/exemption/deduction for private school education is fair - we give one for daycare and student loan repayment.

I definitely have mixed feelings about this voucher - here in the metro area we do have specialized schools that could probably better serve certain learning disabled children, and I would rather see my tax dollars go to one of those schools than to have a student mainstreamed in an inclusion class and not served effectively. I think the powers that be did take things into consideration and have some measures put in place to prevent “fly-by-night” schools and students going back and forth willy-nilly between the public and private.

However, I am surprised at how little the voucher ends up being, and i’m curious just how this whole experiement is going to pan out.

I would like to see more school choice, at least at the system level - I’m not sure I’d be OK with cross-system choice (but I’m in the metro area where systems have more than one high school or middle school - Randolph county only has one of each - then I don’t know). If we did have choice, I’d like to see some restraints put on transient students - no mid-year switches, for example. Obviously transportation and enrollment numbers would have to be considered.

It’s strange; in Massachusetts where I grew up, we don’t have strong county governments and no county school systems - it’s all city/town based. I’m curious how they feel about choice.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 11:06 AM | Link to this

Luvs,

Cross-system choice is exactly what many constituants want in Southwest GA. We have a Marine base in Albany. The children who live on base may attend school wherever their parents chose. Some children from the base do attend schools in Albany. I believe they can chose which ones. Hundreds of base children attend school in nearby Worth County, and a good number attend in Lee County. Basically, many parents who are not affiliated with the base want those options for choice to be made available to everyone. Would that mean the Lee and Worth County would be flooded with students? Would that choice improve schools in Albany? I assume parents would have to provide transportation to out-of-system schools, which would leave the poorest of the poor right where they are now.

In system choice doesn’t work in small systems. Worth, Lee, Terrel, Baker, Sumter, etc., etc., each have only one high school and one middle school. I know there are many, many such systems in Georgia.

Still, I don’t think school choice would be the disaster some predict.

By luvs2teach

July 12, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this

Lisa - I see what you are saying - it’s easy to forget here in the metro area that all systems don’t have 5 - 10 high schools to choose from.

I’m curious what the travel times and distances would be like if choice were offered in your area - here, I’m within a 10 minute drive of 3 high schools, and a 20 minute drive of more than ten, encompassing three different systems (another ten minutes and I’ve got another two systems, and I don’t know how many high schools).

I would love to see more distance learning put in place for areas that school choice may not work.

What do the rural systems do in the event of not making AYP and being required to offer school choice?

By Lee

July 12, 2007 12:13 PM | Link to this

Speaking of school choice…

The dymamics of this rule is very interesting.

Here in my semi-rural system, my hometown has two elementary schools. In sum:

• Elementary school -A- made AYP. It is at full capacity and they are having to add trailers.

• Elementary school -B- is at 75% capacity and did not make AYP.

What is expected to happen is that many of the parents who wanted their kids to attend school -A- anyway, but were unable to because they were out of zone, will now be able to move their kids over. School -A- will have to add one or more classrooms. Where do you think they will get the teachers? That’s right, from school -B-.

If you were the principal of school B, which teacher do you send?

That’s right, your weakest, most undesirable teachers.

This whole thing is sorta like watching a dog chase it’s tail. Amusing for us bystanders, but frustrating as he11 for the participant(s).

BTW, what is wrong at school B could be solved by getting rid of the principal and about 4-5 teachers.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this

Luvs,

Depending on where one lives in the county, their children may actually be closer to a school in a neighboring county than in their own. Even staying within county, some of my students have a one hour bus ride every morning and every afternoon because they travel 20+ miles or so.

In the county where I teach, our middle school was an NI5, but there was no choice to offer. The school offered after-school tutoring, Saturday school, and the DOE people hung out there for two years. The school just made AYP the second year in a row and FINALLY came off the list! If choice had been offered, about the only place for the students to go would have been Albany, where the schools are in worse shape than ours. Cordele is 40 miles away. Moultrie is also about that far. Lee County Middle is a 45 minute drive from Worth County Middle School. So “choice” isn’t really an option if rural Georgia. Now, if a student lives on the outskirts of a count, he or she may actually be closer to schools in one of the surrounding counties. That’s true in many cases, and I feel like parents ought to have more choices, even if it mean crossing county lines. Of course, then we’d open up the whole property tax can of worms!

Distance learning would be great! Rural counties have a great deal of trouble hiring foreign language, math and science teachers. AP classes often are not offered because there are no teachers to teach them.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 12:37 PM | Link to this

Lee,

Your post is interesting. When school choice was first offered, one rural county failed miserably. The solution was to bus hundreds of kids to a neighboring county, where most of the schools were also on the NI list, but no so far down the list. The neighboring school system obviously needed more teachers, so teachers were hired from the “failed” system. Many kids were busses 40 miles only to end up in trailors with the same teachers from their original schools. By Christmas, many kids had returned to their original schools, and the next year, no buses transported students to the next county. To date, neither high school in either county has made AYP.

Luvs, are students allowed any choice of which high school they attend, since there are so many in the vicinity?

By catlady

July 12, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this

Anyone know where the state got the “values” for each of the disabilities? For example, is a diagnosis of bd “worth” more than LD? If you suffer from both, do you get both the values for your scholarship? What diagnoses do you have to have to get the top amount of scholarship?

I think this program will be short-lived, generally, for two reasons: most parents did not understand what it actually requires of them (except your middle class ATL suburbian yuppies) and there is limited availability of the schools and classes needed, and because of the new “tiers” for ultimately getting evaluated for special ed. If your child did not get evaluated by last year, you are unlikely, UNLESS THE PROBLEM IS INCREDIBLY SEVERE AND OBVIOUS, such as total blindness or severe mental retardation, to get your child tested by the school and placed into special ed. With the tier system now, the teachers will have to “accomodate” your child until they are “successful”, even if that means they are working years below grade level. Once they are found to be “successful” at however low a level, they will not be eligible for special ed testing. They will just be continued in the regular classroom doing work years below grade level. At least, till they hit high school and actually have to PASS to get credit. Just get ready, folks.

By luvs2teach

July 12, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this

Lisa - wow - I guess it’s like a whole different world…so maybe I need to re-evaluate my no crossing county lines stance.

Just throwing some thoughts out there:

What if only state and federal money followed the student? County money stays in county - maybe parents make up the difference?

How about parents pay “tuition” and get it reimbursed (or partially reimbursed) through tax credits?

What about removing the property tax a funding for schools and replacing it with sales tax or a specific “State School Tax” that can follow the children? (Friends of mine from Canada said that they paid a “school tax” as opposed to having it as part of their property taxes).

I don’t know - I do know that I don’t have the answer, and that it’s going to take some “out of the box” (I hate that expression, but in this case it fits) thinking to fix the problem. Leave the politicians and the educrats out of it, please.

Lee - that’s insane! I thought the situational shuffling in my county was nuts. I would be really PO’d, too, if I were normally districted for school A and my child got stuck in a trailer with a reject from school B.

By Jeff

July 12, 2007 12:45 PM | Link to this

Lisa:

I contend that we can scrap the education system as we know it for a tech-based distance learning approach that would a) ensure ALL students have access to the SAME lessons (no more of this “it was because I had Teacher B instead of Teacher A” crap), b) ensure all students are held to the SAME level (no more “School A is harder than School B or similar arguments about schools and/ or teachers), and c) SAVE MONEY, in the long run. (Initial costs would be roughly equivalent to one, maybe two years of current education funding).

The only problem is that there are too many people too set in their outdated ways for this to stand a chance.

By luvs2teach

July 12, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this

Lisa - not really (I’m sure there are some shuffling of athletes with a wink, wink, nudge, nudge attitude).

Obviously, if a school didn’t make AYP, they can go to the assigned choice school (which might be on the other side of the county, and transportation is only provided if the home school is Title 1). If their parents teach in the HS or any of its feeder schools, they can attend that school instead (even if they live in another county). My district also has some magnet high schools, for which an application and acceptance process applies. There are also a small number of transfers available. As far as I know, there are no cross-county transfers without paying some sort of tuition (or claiming that you live at Grandma’s or Auntie’s).

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 1:01 PM | Link to this

Catlady, you make a good point. These test schools test kids OUT of special ed like crazy or refuse to put them in special ed in the first place. Only the more severely disabled kids are served by special ed these days. Georgia has evidently gotten slapped on the hand for having the highest percentage in the nation of kids being labeled “special ed.” Southwest GA has the highest percentage in the state, so school systems are frantically trying to reduce the numbers.

Luvs, something like 3-7% of the entire state’s school budget comes from federal funds. After years of austerity cuts from the state, local property taxes fund way over 50% of the local school budgets. If students cross county lines to other schools, they won’t be taking much money with them if property taxes stay in the county where the children live.

Tuition payments for out-of-system children is quite common in this area. However restrictions are high on which kids qualify to cross county lines to school.

It’s a complex problem. I’ve heard the sales tax/school tax proposal bounced around some.

By Lisa B.

July 12, 2007 1:10 PM | Link to this

Jeff, I really see your proposed model occurring sometime in the future. I don’t know how long it will take, but it won’t be soon. Just for fun, who pays for and maintains the computers for poor kids? What’s to stop crack-head mommies from hocking the computers or smashing them to bits when they fight with their druggie baby-daddies?

Truly though, I do think computerized distance learning is definitely on the horizon. The door for it has already been opened.

By Jeff

July 12, 2007 1:31 PM | Link to this

Lisa:

I would set up computing labs in various government buildings within the community for those that are too poor to maintain their own computer/ internet connection. (I WOULD propose using the labs currently existing in the state’s libraries, but I acknowledge that in some areas - specifically rural GA, both North and South - where there is only one library in the county, this may not be feasible.

Also, elimination of property taxes (though possibly replaced with a state property tax)! (You see, I’m thinking that each student could be given their own unique login, and this login could be used at ANY internet-capable machine. Therefore, just because I LIVE in Cartersville does not mean that I couldn’t do my lessons while on Jekyll Island on vacation, if I got bored. Or even France, for all that matters!)

By Lee

July 12, 2007 1:49 PM | Link to this

I don’t know Jeff, years ago, when I was studying for the CPA exam, I took a course with a format similar to what you describe. It was the most God awful, excruciating 8 weeks of my life. I just don’t see a bunch of sugar’ed up seven year olds sitting through that.

By Jeff

July 12, 2007 1:55 PM | Link to this

Lee:

TRUST me, this is one of the things I was experimenting with at Randolph, and I developed a STUNNING proof-of-concept.

With today’s technology, I can create the classroom in your bedroom, minus my physical presence. (We can incorporate your classmates real-time, if that is the route we wanted to go, or we could do asynchronous instruction, which is more the direction I lean. With real-time instruction, every student in the class would be REQUIRED to be in the class session at the same time, and it would be basically a traditional classroom, but with its students in remote locations rather than the same physical room.)

By Jeff

July 12, 2007 2:02 PM | Link to this

Lee:

Also, that is the beauty of this system: if they get too bored, they can walk outside and play. They LITERALLY could work around the clock if so desired. Can’t sleep? Go to math class. Want to take a nap at noon and go back to class at 5p? Cool! Or, in the case of HS kids: Gotta be at work @2? Cool. Come back to class when you get home, not a big deal.

Again: The technology ALREADY exists to allow us to do ANYTHING we currently do inside a school building at home, and yet still keep records the way we do when they are in a physical school building. The ONLY thing that would change as far as that goes are extra-curriculars, and I would propose that they meet at the local civic center or library, or- in the case of sports teams - at the local sporting complex. Every county I’ve travelled to in this state - and I’ve been through at LEAST 120 of the 159 - has these three things.

By catlady

July 12, 2007 2:58 PM | Link to this

Jeff, your idea sounds workable for the motivated and self-disciplined. But truly, HOW MANY of those did you meet during your teaching? Right. Very few and far between.

Also, doing it your way means no free babysitting, free lunch, etc.

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 12, 2007 3:21 PM | Link to this

With as much talk as there is about discipline, why has the AJC given zero coverage to the “Teachers’ Bill of Rights” that was passed by the Clayton County school board Tuesday?

When a school board is willing to be upfront and honest about the discipline problems in a school system AND the retaliation that often happens when teachers attempt to get support in matters of discipline, that deserves coverage does it not?

Is the documented bias against the Metro Association of Classroom Educators killing coverage of this story? With all the AJC’s talk of its “online presence” you’d think somewhere (the “Get Schooled” blog, the online Clayton Metro link, somewhere) this major policy shift towards supporting the classroom teacher would get coverage.

What gives?

By Jeff

July 12, 2007 3:30 PM | Link to this

catlady:

In other words, my way means ACTUAL EDUCATION.

Also, it would mean that PARENTS would have to actually be INVOLVED in their child’s education. (Truancy laws could be changed from “your child hasn’t been in school in x days” to “your child hasn’t logged in and completed x lessons in y days”

Note that even under this plan, you could still have the “traditional” school year. As in “Classes officially start on this day, and all classes for this school year must be completed by this other day. If you want to continue with your education in the summer, your next year’s classes will be available starting two weeks after the end of the present school year, though you will not HAVE to start them until the beginning of the next school year.”

By Melanie Cameron

July 12, 2007 3:39 PM | Link to this

Special Needs Students, under NCLB, have to show a 10% progress, Italic:per year! For special needs students and their families, this is a much-needed step.

It’s great to see such an active comment base. Feel free to check out other news with vouchers, charters, etc. at www.edspresso.com

By luvs2teach

July 12, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this

Lisa - I had another thought - what about crossing state lines to get to a better system? What if a family in Chattanooga wants to attend a school in North GA, or vice versa?

In all honesty, I have long thought that ALL schools should be privatized - I don’t see that happening anytime in the future though. And of course, that opens up two cans of worms: 1) if all schools are private, then how do we justify keeping mandatory schooling laws, and 2) the ever popular, “But what about the poor?”

Jeff - I absolutely see a role for distance learning in middle and high school classes - particularly for reasons described by Lisa (upper level math, science, foreign language, AP).

But like catlady mentioned, I have a hard time seeing the unmotivated magically transformed. I use a lot of web-based instruction in my classes, particularly for my gifted classes. I have taken several online and mixed F2F/online classes, and I really like them - I like having the chance to do them on my own time, not having to drive anywhere, and being in the comfort of my own home. I had a couple that had mandatory “chat” time, so I know that works. But they did require a lot of self-motivation and organization, and I can’t see elementary (particularly those without reading skills) being able to get what they need solely from tech-presented classes.

By Jeff

July 12, 2007 4:00 PM | Link to this

luvs:

Ah, but that is the beauty:

Thanks to the rise of high-speed connections, I can use some features of powerpoint and similar software to deliver VOICE instruction as well. In other words, almost literally: Whatever I can do in the classroom, I can do online. The presentations would be geared toward the specific grade level of the kid IN ALL FACETS. So that while a HS level lesson might be heavily bulleted with the occasional diagram or video, an ES level lesson would rely more on pictures and illustrations, with simple text explanations using words on the appropriate grade level.

By Terry

July 12, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this

To Lee

How on earth do you get rid of a principal that doesn’t do their job.. That’s mighty hard do..

By Mike

July 12, 2007 5:06 PM | Link to this

There are a lot of comments being tossed around here, I want to let you all know some facts about the Milwaukee voucher program, the nation’s oldest and largest.

1) Participating schools cannot screen students for behavior, prior academic achievement, special needs status, or anything else. If a student is low-income (175% of the poverty level or less), and lives in the city of Milwaukee, they qualify.

2) Vouchers are worth the lesser of a school’s actual audited per-pupil cost (done by a private auditor and reviewed by the state department of ed) or about $6,500. Schools cannot charge voucher students tuition in addition to the worth of the voucher. 3) All schools must be accredited, and give standardized tests in grades 4, 8, and 10. 4) All of the evidence has shown that students using vouchers were performing below average at their prior school.

Granted, special needs specific vouchers are a different than the Milwaukee program. But, it is enlightening to look at a program in practice before condemning a new program.

By Wondering

July 13, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this

Jeff,

First, there are already many on-line opportunities for teaching higher-level courses through the virtual high school program. Many public school systems have their own on-line course catalog and some even allow students outside their system to purchase courses.

Second, Whatever I can do in the classroom, I can do online This statement may be true for you, but most of us - both teachers and students - need the social interaction and physical contact to be balanced and happy human beings. I cannot imagine teaching third graders and not being able to hug them or to pat them on the back. I can’t imagine not being able to take them outside to do an experiment or to run and play.

I can’t imagine teaching high school students about the rich literature of American history without being able to see the faces of the students who truly connect with the stories.

I agree with many who have posted about the nature of the person who is successful in on-line/distance learning. I’ve taught students in almost every grade - K-12 through graduate school - and very few of them are capable of learning everything they need without the benefit of discussion, debate, and demonstration.

Finally, please be careful that you do not base your opinions of what will made education better on your limited classroom experience. While I agree that parents need to be more involved, and everyone should be prepared to learn, and discipline issues need to be resolved, I also know that for many students the school building is the safest, most caring environment they experience. They need to come to school. They need to know that there is something better than what they get at home.

Sorry this is so far from the original topic….I just had to reply!

By Jeff

July 13, 2007 9:36 AM | Link to this

Wondering:

So you are in the business for YOURSELF then. That explains MANY teachers, and why we don’t need them.

You see, I have ONE focus: The students. I don’t need to see their faces or pat them on the back. I need to see the results they bring back to the community after HS graduation. And to get them there, the best we can offer IS the model I am developing.

They don’t need to be “cared for” in the classrooms. They need to be TAUGHT, plain and simple. The greatest fallacy of the modern Educational System in this country is that we became SO concerned with keeping our jobs - “caring” for the kids - that we forgot to DO our jobs: TEACH them.

As long as the teacher isn’t beating my kid - another thing my system would prevent, btw - I could not honestly care less if my teacher “cares for” my kid. He is getting enough love and attention at HOME. I need you to TEACH him, NOTHING ELSE.

That is EXACTLY what my system does: gets back to what schooling is SUPPOSED to be about: LEARNING. No more free babysitting. No more free lunches. No more people trying to do your job as a parent. Simply a PROFESSIONAL system that does NOTHING but TEACH your child what the State says they should know.

I saw the problems in our schools from BOTH angles. This system alleviates (and in most cases, does away with) ALL the problems we have.

By Wondering

July 13, 2007 10:03 AM | Link to this

Jeff, I, too, have one focus…Student learning. I just happen to disagree with you about how that takes place. You said that YOU don’t need to see them or pat them on the back - but maybe THEY need you to do that! You have to remember that while YOU may not need/want social interaction, that is not true of the majority of human beings.

Don’t think for a minute that learning hasn’t taken place in my classroom. I happen to believe that students - like most human beings - need to be cared for.

Is that my fist priority? Student learning, not teaching, is my first priority - but I happen to think that students who are hungry cannot learn. (SHOULD the parents be feeding them? Of course! Does it always happen? Of course not!)

Your child…when you have one…may not need to be cared for. Your child may get everything he needs at home. But this is not the case for all children.

I would tell you that students in my classes - at all levels - learn much more than what the State says they should learn.

One thing you may consider - in program evaluation, all the research indicates that at least three years of data should be collected before making a judgement on effectiveness. With that in mind, I would put my 20+ years of experience against your 1.5 or so years in making determination about effective teaching methods.

I don’t mean to offend. I just have to disagree. I can care while I teach. My students can - and do - learn many things beyond the mandated curriculum. It is not about TEACHING, it is about LEARNING.

By Jeff

July 13, 2007 10:16 AM | Link to this

Wondering:

Um, in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been actively in the classroom teaching since I was 13 years old. That puts me with ELEVEN years of experience, not 1.5. (Though I will grant that I only have 1.5 years of politically indoctrinated “teaching”.) I’ve more than likely dealt with more students in more situations than you have, and I had the added complexity during much of that of going through the exact same thing at the exact same time as many of the ones I was trying to lead. It is hard enough to do as an ADULT trying to lead a kid through those situations.

“Research” is meaningless. It has led to a FAILED system. We don’t need more “research” on ways to “improve” the system. We need a new system. (Period).

You got other ideas on how to build a system from the ground up, excellent. Let us hear them. Because right now I see two camps: Those who want the status quo - what is best for them - and those who want a system that actually EDUCATES our students.

By Wondering

July 13, 2007 10:38 AM | Link to this

Jeff, This is my last response…have lots of things to do.

So…if we are going to count years of experience before we were the “teacher of record,” I think I still have you! I know I am much older than you, and I too have been actively teaching since long before I became certified. But we both know that experience and what we gain from it, depends on the perspective of the learner.

I don’t know where you got the idea that I want the status quo…I never said things were wonderful in all schools or classrooms. I simply disagree with some of what you have said.

Research” is meaningless ??? For someone who claims to be such an intellectual, do you really believe this? ALL research is meaningless? Come on. Even what you are proposing is based on research.

I have lots of ideas of how to improve education. I agree with many folks who are regular posters on here. If you will look back, I don’t disagree that your proposal doesn’t have merit, I just don’t believe that the entire system can be structured this way.

I deal with teachers on a daily basis who have completed much of their coursework in on-line courses. It is my experience that the great majority of them miss out on true understanding of concepts because they do not have the opportunity for discourse.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach. We have to look at many options and examine everything through the lense of student learning.

By the way…I would suggest the books The Manufactured Crisis and The Right to Learn.

Have a good one.

By Jeff

July 13, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

Wondering:

I don’t pay attention to research in education, for the reasons I stated above. My current ideas are based on things that I have observed to be true, both in education and technology.

My ideas would not strip anyone of the ability to discourse. Indeed, much of my beginnings in this area were in online discourse, similar to what we are doing now. The system could (and more than likely would) be setup to allow for both asynchronous communication (such as what we are doing now in forums-type atmospheres, as well as email) and synchronous communication (chat/ IM types).

Indeed, I have seen many effective systems that use both, and by all accounts both are extremely popular.

By thomas

July 13, 2007 1:44 PM | Link to this

Here is where I disagree, Jeff. The students NEED to feel cared about, wanted, and respected by teachers and school. They NEED to feel as if there is a purpoose for their work and efforts.

Until this day, I had no idea that you only lasted a year and a half in the classroom. I can COMPLETELY understand your ideas and philosophy now about education and students. You were a middle school (or was it high school?) teacher who only really taught one year. You didn’t get the chance to grow experience and learn. Furthermore, you were so hotheaded, defiant, and inflexible that you had repeated run-ins with students, parents, the principal, area office, and superintendent (at from the stories you told us on this blog). You didn’t even last the school year (AN ABSOLUTELY NO-NO, NO IN TEACHING!!!- FAILING TO FINISH OUT YOUR CONTRACT, EXCEPT FOR HEALTH REASONS, CAN BE A CAREER CRUSHER.)

So I tend to agree with Wondering- YOU (HAD) HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT THIS BUSINESS ABOUT SCHOOL. You see my friend I was kinda of like you once. I used to think that I was “The Bomb” as a teacher. I was concerned about my own thing and “teaching”. It took me years to understand the dynamics of psychology and sociology when it comes to the learning process. I learned through life experience and reading that students must feel wanted, respected, that they are treated fairly, that you care about them (at least on a basic level), before significant learning can take place. I although I always had some students who liked me, there were a few who didn’t. I have come suspect that maybe some of my actions and attitudes may have contributed to it. In fact, Jeff, I used to believe in “strong” discipline, too. I found that you don’t need to be overpowering, manipulative, cutting, and “strong” to be a good teacher or maintain an orderly classroom.

So, you see, I have been somewhat humbled on the years. The relationship with my students is much better than it was when I started teaching. The cooperation and effort level of the students improved, too (for the most part, I always had one or two others who didn’t quite perform as best they could). Students learned more.

I am currently reading a book by Crystal Kuykendall entitled From Rage to Hope: Strategies for Reclaiming Black & Hispanic Students. I think all teachers should read this book. It may give us insight as to why black (and Hispanic, too) students have the attitudes and performance they give in the classroom. Some of us work with large minority populations and it would help to have a framework for getting the most out of these students. It might make our jobs less stressful and more productive.

By Wondering

July 13, 2007 3:01 PM | Link to this

Jeff: * I don’t pay attention to research in education, for the reasons I stated above. My current ideas are based on things that I have observed to be true, both in education and technology*…In Biblical times a person had to bring witnesses to what they had observed - two, in fact - in order for something to be pronounced as “truth.”

If you believe we can build a new system without any truth other than what YOU have observed, you need to keep thinking. While this system may not be perfect, far from it, but to believe that a new system can be based on what you have observed is far-fetched. Think about it…second graders having discourse through on-line chats? Come on! You’ve never taught a child to read, have you?

I will reserve any further comment on your plan until I see the complete plan.

Thomas: Thanks for the support. You are so right…most of us become better teachers with experience. Kuykendall’s work is great! And in support for our theory of caring, read anything by Nel Noddings. She is really out there, but very interesting reading.

By MrLiberty

July 13, 2007 3:30 PM | Link to this

Here, why don’t we try this for a change.

Everyone pays for their own children for a change and the state, the city, the county, and the federal government get out of the education business completely and let the free market with all of its inherent and rapidly responding control mechanisms address the issue.

People on this forum always feel they need to act like central planners when it comes to education. Big surprise since education in this country is socialist. None of you would ever think of trying to come up with a better way to distribute food, clothing, auto parts, household appliances, automobiles, paint, or any of the millions of products delivered by the relatively free market. The free market does it so well that you don’t need to complain or look for fundamental solutions to change it. A tweak here or a tweak there, but fundamentally it is delivering exactly the range of diversity, quality, and value you demand. Just imagine if the educational system could be the same - well it can.

In Wash. D.C. they spend nearly $12,000 per pupil - in other states only $6000. D.C. has the worst schools in the nation. Many private schools spend way less than $6000 and deliver a better education than every government school. Homeschoolers do it for way less than everyone and the quality is unmatched. There doesn’t need to be a single approach. There can be as much diversity as the market demands for everyone from the gifted to special needs. Schools can look like grand palaces or someone’s livingroom. The only factor really determining cost is the facility, not the quality of the teaching or teacher.

Always the complaints about parents who don’t care. They will when it costs THEM. Zero cost equals zero concern equals poor students. Education should cost something. That’s how you know it has “value.” Your kids should cost you money, not me. That’s how you now they are YOURS and not mine. Maybe there wouldn’t be families of 8 and 10 kids if they actually had to pay for their education.

Certainly there would be charity schools. CHARITY - that’s what its called when someone else voluntarily contributes money to your cause. THEFT is what its called when the government takes the money on your behalf. I do not benefit in any way from the presence of worthless government schools near my house. Nobody does, no matter how “good” you claim them to be. The market would open the necessary number of schools in my area, just as Kroger, Publix, Ingles, and the other food stores have properly assessed the need and responded. And would be damn sure better than what the govenrment runs now.

Want accountability. Try a performance contract with the school. You’ll get none of that from the teachers and their “unions” today, but a private school trying ot get your business might offer one up. They fail, you get your money back and you leave. What could be more accountability than that.

And stop worrying about the “poor” kids. All you do is send the message to your own kids that their education and happiness means less to you than the happiness and success of somebody else’s kids. Their parents will start to care the minute school starts costing them money.

Tha’s enough of a tirade for one day.

By Jeff

July 13, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this

Thomas:

Don’t blame me for getting out before I gave in. I left with my finger in the air and my head held high. They did NOT destroy me, though destroy me they did try. They thought they could intimidate me with my employment. They found out early that wouldn’t work. They thought they could intimidate me by letting the students get away with assaulting me. They found out that I had no qualms about fighting back, though I would try to minimize damage to STRICTLY what was necessary to stop the assault, and no more. They thought they could assault my emotions. They found out the hard way that an Asperger’s Syndrome person has NO emotions to assault.

The only way they could convince me to leave was because I got tired of fighting. So I packed my gear and put both my nose and finger in the air. I can honestly say that I am happier in computing. I work with two other people, one of whom is my boss. For the first time in my professional career, no one questions me when I do something I know will work.

As I said earlier: The system is failed. Right now, I’m the only one throwing out viable ideas. Don’t like mine? Fine. Throw out some other ones. But don’t tell me we can work within the current system, because that will only lead to more failure. You people are the very ones that bemoan the problems of the current system. Do you not see that it is the very essence of the current system that causes the problems? To get rid of the problems, we must get rid of the current system. To do otherwise is to condemn our progeny to failure in perpetuity.

By Norma

July 13, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this

So far has anyone reading this article have a special needs child? My child is a special needs child. He will be 7 soon and I have been dealing with the public school since he was 3.

Do you know how irritating it is that every year; I have to educate the teachers. They are not used to dealing with Special needs kids. Even the Special needs teacher only knows one way of teaching. Special Needs children need teachers that understand they learn different from others.

Not only do we have a choice with private schools. With this law, we can elect for our children to go to another school district that may have a better curriculum and staff.

Yes we will have a burden of additional expenses. But we always have burden. Do you know the emotional impact to a family for a child to be labeled Special Needs, Do you know the additional time and money we spend to get our children just to the education baseline.

This will allow us to make better choices. Also this will make the schools aware that we do have choices.

So maybe they will come up with better curriculum for ALL students.

By thomas

July 13, 2007 5:52 PM | Link to this

Jeff,

Admit it- YOU KNOW YOU MISS SCHOOL. You know you do. That’s why you read and respond to this blog nine times day. That’s why you are thinking about all kind of silly “alternative” ideas about education that don’t involve real school.

Do you know why? Because you know that you really can NEVER go back to a real school and teach again. Who knows— they probably reported you to the PSC and ruined your certificate. Either that or you are so burned you never wanted to return. More than likely, I think you really want to go back to school but know that you just can’t hack it.

But that’s OK. At least we have one more person in America who knows the truth about school— NOT EVERYBODY CAN BE A TEACHER- NO MATTER HOW EASY YOU THINK IT IS!!!!!!!

By Diona McKenzie

July 23, 2007 3:13 PM | Link to this

I’m interested in obtaining a list of the 115 schools that are approved for the vouchers. I’m particularly interested in the Metro Atlanta area.

Thanks