What determines a "failing" school? Failing students, failing parents, failing teachers, failing system? Until we are better able to define what failing is and it's cause Choise makes no sense. We are a large, urban district that has had Choice formce on us by a law suit. It has led to educational chaos that has only begun to be straightened out by a strong leadership team and buy-in from the teachers. Planning for materials and needs of individual has been a nightmare as we never know where the parents will decide their child can get the "best" education. There is a revolving door of student and teacher movement from building to building. Consistency was non-existent.
We are gradually moving to a more limited plan which will enable us to focus on those buildings and students who need more resourses - i.e. time on task, smaller groups, consistency year to year in terminolgy of academics. That coupled with real time data on student progress is making a difference. Choise simply did not change anything to a positive.

I firmly believe based on sound economic principles that only through competition can the quality of a product or service increase and the cost of providing the product or service decrease when barriers to entrance in the education market are removed. I am mystified that there hasn't been more discussion in favor of fixing education through competition. Ironically we live in a democratic society that prides itself on freedom of speech and freedom of choice. History has shown us that countries that favor socialism fail to meet the needs of the people, and yet we have embraced that same socialism in our education system without reflection.

With the challenges we face as a society-our government has to become more dynamic, flexible, and innovative in dealing with these challenges. We Americans have many aggressive fronts here in our own country that is wearing away the heart and soul of our civilization-fronts that have been created by government policies favoring the public education system. The battles I am referring to are: the economic hardships of the ever widening poverty and low income population; aggressive and criminal behavior that is a consequence of a society that is suffering economic hardships; and the apathy that is pervasive in our society.

One of the most important and least advocated rights guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the U. S. Constitution is the freedom of association. If there is any hope of counterbalancing the present monolog on education that is presently determined by either the media that is owned by five corporations or the educational bureaucracy that is responsible for the present sad state of affairs in our public schools, then there really ought to be a forum where people who choose to network with each other might ultimately associate and hold those factions accountable in a way that our founding fathers thought essential to a real democracy. Could this be that forum? The same technology that has caused a dangerous centralization of power in the hands of a few also has the power to give back to individuals the power not only to be heard, but also to network with others. Any thoughts?

In an orwellian America of 2007, school-choice is just the latest expression of something that means exactly the opposite of what it purports to say. Like NAFTA which was supposed to bring the benefits of free trade to Mexico, but only brought a mercantile balance of power that favored U.S. agri-business and led to a stampede of illegal immigrants in search of the jobs that Mexican farmers had lost under NAFTA, school-choice and No Child Left a Behind are designed to allow those who fled public education after the landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education to finally get their hands on the public treasury to subsidize private education in an attempt to create the class society that most of our ancestors fled Europe to avoid. In a world where it costs $20,000 plus for such a private education, small vouchers and choice will be the exclusive options of those who already have all the choices.

In an America based on the ideals of our founding fathers, the issue of school choice would be mooted if the greatest investment in education was reserved for the schools that are doing the worst. If the 92% of the Whites that have fled public education in Los Angeles and elsewhere were forced to go to their local schools, you can be sure that they would exercise their social capital to insure that these schools functioned at a much higher and equitable level than they are presently and shamefully allowed to dysfunction.

As long as White people in this country can hide their racist notions about their colored brethren, whose academic inferiority continues to be assured by a system that is more segregated now then it was in 1954, then misnomers like school-choice will continue to be used to describe what we used to call white flight in the 50's and 60's.

When I was a child I walked to my community public school and got an excellent education. As we sit in the gridlock that is becoming the reality of urban traffic in America- caused in no small part by people driving their children great distances to "better" schools- I can only wonder how smart or superior White folks really are.

Allowing for "school-choice" or a voucher system allows the rich to get richer. Take the money being wasted on the promotion and development of these private or charter schools and put it into your public schools and you will see the result. I'm not saying that private and/or charter schools are negative. What I'm saying is that the money spent on the vouchers, etc., needs to be put where it belongs: In the public schools. The more pieces of the pie you slice, the less everyone gets.

After spending many years in public education I moved to a private school. It is much better than any public school I have experienced. If all private schools were like this one I would be totally in favor of vouchers.

The problem is that private schools do not all have the same high standards. Some have low academic standards. Others may have high academic standards but teach hate and separatism. The variations are endless and potentially lethal.

Charter schools and magnet schools have given us diversity without giving up accountability. These schools should meet the needs of those who wish to experiment with innovative ideas in education while still giving the funders some power to regulate unacceptable practices.

I teach in a non-public charter. I make 1/3 the money most 15 year veteran teachers make, but I am making up for what the public school is not doing. Students come to my school, and do not get vouchers YET, but get the education they deserve. I believe all students should be taught and be entitled to an education..vouchers just give the money it takes to educate the student in the public school to a different school. If parents have the choice, they can send them to a new school. Vouchers are a great idea and should not be a threat to educators.

The thing that I don't like about school choice is that is a heavy-handed attempt at applying a free market system to education. Some legislators believe that creating competition between schools will fix them, much as it does in the business world. However, in the business world, thousands of businesses fail. In education, we cannot afford to let schools fail, as children are at stake - not businesspeople.

Our public school system needs revision, not elimination. By diverting funds to private schools, we are taking away sorely needed funds. What we really need is new policy, huge changes, and a more equitable system for allocating funds to the public schools. There should not be such diversity among education. I by no means advocate a generic formula for teaching across the country, from district to district. But I do think that all districts should have well trained staff and equal funding for equipment. By making these provisions to each district, every public school can be a school which graduates students who are ready for college and ready to be productive, caring, and prepared members of society.

It is time to differentiate between public education and failing government schools.