Education Over Politics

One’s political affiliation should not dictate their stance on educational options, including opportunity scholarship programs, says StudentsFirst’s Michelle Rhee in her new book, “Radical: Fighting to Put Students First."

Rhee, who previously served as the chancellor of the D.C. public school system, is a lifelong Democrat, something that she says squares perfectly with her support for vouchers. 

When Rhee arrived in D.C., she was faced with a dilemma.  Families had been enjoying the benefits of the city’s Opportunity Scholarship program, but this program went against what she thought she should believe as a Democrat. Rather than rejecting the program, Rhee decided to meet with families across the city and get a sense of their stories.  She soon discovered that countless families across the city depended on the scholarship program to deliver their children with a high quality education.

“After my listening tour of families, and hearing so many parents plead for an immediate solution to their desire for a quality education, I came out in favor of the voucher program,” Rhee recalls.  “People went nuts. Democrats chastised me for going against the party, but the most vocal detractors were my biggest supporters.”

Across the board, Democrats and Republicans tend to agree on the issue of providing tax dollars to private hospital institutions, Rhee says.  Schools should not be an exception.  

“Our approach should be no different for our children,” she says. “Their lives are at stake when we’re talking about the quality of education they are receiving.”

Rhee isn’t alone.  Doug Tuthill, President of Step Up For Students, is as a progressive Democrat and even served as president of two local teachers unions in Florida.

In a recent piece for the Huffington Post, Tuthill says the number of Democrats siding with educational choice is a growing trend. 

“Despite charges to the contrary, school choice is not a right-wing plot to privatize public education,” Tuthill writes.  “McGovern, Moynihan and Humphrey were not right-wing zealots, and neither are the increasing numbers of modern Democrats who want to give more options to underprivileged and struggling students.”

With bills under consideration in Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee to create voucher programs, bipartisan support is necessary!  With substantial learning gaps between students based on their family’s income, it is time our leaders put politics aside and take a stand for students.  Providing low-income families with educational options is a proven way to close the achievement gap and give all students a fair shot at a quality education and bright future.

-American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, KMS

With More than 17,000 Children on Waiting Lists for D.C. Charter Schools, It’s Time to Expand the Educational Options in the District

Former D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is a supporter of vouchers, including the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.  At the American Federation for Children’s 2011 National Policy Summit, Rhee explained why she became a supporter of private school choice.

Rhee had been a longtime supporter of education reform and charter schools.  When she became chancellor, she heard from parents who did what engaged parents do for their children: looked at the assigned public school, if unsatisfied, applied for a high-performing public charter, magnet, or other opportunity.  But when rejected from the alternative—which is represents a sad reality in which a quality option is based on a lottery system—parents had nowhere to turn.

Said Rhee last year:

These mothers would often come to me and say ‘Now what do I do?’  And when looking these women in the eye, if I did not have a spot at a traditional D.C. Public School that I would feel comfortable sending my own two daughters to—because I did send my children to the system—then I thought ‘Who am I to stop this parent from taking a $7,500 voucher?’

Her explanation for supporting the D.C. voucher program is especially relevant today.  The Washington Examiner reported on Monday that more than 17,000 children are on waiting lists to attend a charter school.  As the D.C. Public Charter School Board notes, that is 51 percent of the total students attending a charter school in the city. That's right—there are more than half as many students on charter school waiting lists as there are kids in charter schools in the nation's capital. Enrollment at charter schools grows every year, while enrollment in D.C. Public Schools decreased almost every year since 1969.  Yet, an astounding number of children are still waiting for access to a high-quality education.

Strong Democratic Support for School Choice

You may hear that school choice is an issue with only supporters from a single political party or of a single ideology.  But as more school choice programs are created and expanded, more Democrats than ever before are voting in favor of these bills.  In fact, when Governor Bobby Jindal signed an historic statewide expansion of the Student Scholarships for Excellence in Education program yesterday, nearly half of the “yea” votes in the Senate were cast by Democrats and a dozen Democrats voted for the legislation in the House.

Hare are some of the most prominent Democrats who support school choice:

Cory Booker: America’s mayor is not only a hero when it comes to saving neighbors from fires, but he’s also a hero to Newark’s children.  A strong supporter of education reform, this Mayor has teamed up with Republican Governor Chris Christie to fight for the Opportunity Scholarship Act, a corporate scholarship program that, if enacted, would allow the state’s most disadvantaged students who attend the state’s poorest performing schools to have access to education alternatives. He'll also be a keynote speaker at our annual National Policy Summit on May 3-4, 2012!

Michelle Rhee: Former chancellor of D.C. public schools, Michelle Rhee is founder of StudentsFirst, which does just what it sounds like: puts students first.  Rhee is a strong supporter of charter schools and private school choice.  In fact, Rhee spoke in support of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program while heading up D.C. public schools.  Speaking at the 2011 AFC Policy Summit, Rhee said:

“I do not believe that my job is to protect and defend and preserve a district that is doing a disservice to children. I believe that my job is to make sure that every single child in this city gets a great education. I am agnostic as to the delivery mechanism.”

Joel Klein: John Klein, former chancellor of New York City public schools and now, the executive vice president of News Corp., has been pushing strong education reforms in New York and nationally, with a particular strong note on educational options.  A strong supporter of public school choice and charter schools, Klein also supports giving parents the most options available, including through voucher programs.  Writing in the New York Daily News in March, Klein wrote:

“Public school choice, charter schools and vouchers like the D.C. Opportunity Scholarships help to level the playing field for families and encourage educators to think creatively about how to best serve students and families. Coupled with necessary resources, well-prepared educators, and strong curricula, I believe that choice has the power to improve the overall quality of education we are providing to our students.”

Rhee: I'm for Choice That 'Results in Better Outcomes and Opportunities for Kids'

Here at School Choice Now!, we know former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee supports vouchers.  In fact, she even spoke at our 2011 Policy Summit on why she—as a Democrat and former chancellor of D.C. Public Schools—supports putting all educational options on the table.

Rhee also recently sat down with Education Week to discuss why she supports private school choice.  Here’s what she said:

"I believe in accountability across the board. If you're going to be having a publicly funded voucher program, then kids have to be taking standardized tests. We have to be measuring whether kids are academically better off in this private school with this voucher than they would be going to their failing neighborhood school. If they're not, they shouldn't get the voucher. ... I'm about choice only if it results in better outcomes and opportunities for kids." 

"There are a lot of people out there who sort of believe, the free market, let the free market reign, the market will correct itself—give every kid a backpack with their money in it and let them choose wherever they want to go. I don't believe in that model at all." 

"I don't think it makes sense to subsidize families who are already sending their kids to private schools, anyway, I'm not a voucher proponent in the way that some people would want me to be. ... This is not about choice for choice's sake." 

"When people talk about universal vouchers, first of all, I've never seen an economic model that actually made sense and laid that out in way that's sustainable. I haven't seen any kind of model that makes economic sense. ... My support for vouchers is around a specific group of kids." 

"But the vast majority of kids are going to be in a high-performing public school environment.  I'm a believer in public schools. I'm a public school parent. I ran a public school district."

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

"Agnostic As to the Delivery Mechanism"

At our 2011 National Policy Summit, held two months ago in Washington, D.C., we were honored to welcome renowned education reformer Michelle Rhee, who discussed the evolution that ultimately brought her to support school choice and endorse reauthorization of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Of particular note was the following portion, in which Rhee explained what she'd say to people who questioned why, as the then-Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools, she supported giving kids the choice to exercise options outside of the District. Here's what she said:

I do not believe that my job is to protect and defend and preserve a district that is doing a disservice to children. I believe that my job is to make sure that every single child in this city gets a great education. I am agnostic as to the delivery mechanism.

Not surprisingly, this has been a sentiment she has echoed many times before and since. In some ways it gets to the heart of our support for school choice. We do not believe in any one system as better or worse than another. We simply believe that if low-income families get the opportunities afforded to others as a result of  socioeconomic variables, they can then choose the schools that will help children flourish. We could not care less whether the schools were traditional public, charter, or private—we just want kids to get the best education possible.

Let's remember that there are many great traditional public schools, countless high-performing charter schools, as well as private schools. But there are failing public schools, unaccountable charters, and private schools that miss the boat, too. The point is that no system is perfect and every system excels in certain environments.

In the same way that Rhee isn't willing to support a system as an idea, it doesn't make sense for our fellow voucher advocates to oppose a system as an idea. That's why we took notice of some quotes we found in an otherwise misguided piece that characterizes the fight for the Opportunity Scholarship Act in New Jersey as an effort to privatize education. The overwhelming majority of voucher advocates there and elsewhere care about helping giving opportunities to kids who otherwise couldn't afford them. It's the driving force behind prominent school choice advocates like Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Rev. Reginald Jackson, and, we believe, Gov. Chris Christie. But the story also quotes the following from a state tea party advocate:

Our ultimate goal is to shut down public schools and have private schools only, eventually returning responsibility for payment to parents and private charities. It’s going to happen piecemeal and not overnight. It took us years to get into this mess and it’s going to take years to get out of it.

Let's set the record straight right now: this is not what we believe. Our foe is not a system, it's people who are blindly protecting a system without acknowledging its faults and embracing ways to improve it. While we're happy to embrace a diverse coalition of allies and school choice advocates, it will always be the ends—not the means—that matters to us. If all public schools were excellent or all private schools were abysmal, we'd be in a different line of work. But as long as there is nuance in the nature and quality of the choices, there should be an equally nuanced debate. This has never been about either/or. Through vouchers, scholarship tax credits, and quality charter schools, this is about permitting choice where it would otherwise not be present.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MAG