President Barack Obama was getting credit for “taking on teachers’ unions” before he even gave his speech on education today, and nothing he ended up saying contained enough substance to honestly be called courage. True, he did vaguely endorse “merit pay” but it is still completely unclear what type of merit pay he will end up proposing. If Obama just provides bonuses for teachers who put in extra hours or receive more training, then there will be no real change at all. Even his call for more charter schools, which …
The Senate is expected to vote on the $410 billion Omnibus bill today, which includes a provision that would effectively end the successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program – potentially disrupting the lives of more than 1,700 scholarship students while sending a signal that school choice is not welcome in Washington. The scholarship program, which has dramatically changed the lives of the students involved, provides scholarships of up to $7,500 per student to attend a private school of their choice. With an average scholarship being less than $6,000, enrolled children are …
The thought keeps coming to mind: First lady Michelle Obama is a natural to champion the 1,700 D.C. schoolchildren from low-income families whose tickets out of failing public schools – scholarships to attend a school of their choice — are on the hit list of congressional Democrats. One reason is Mrs. Obama’s gift for inspiring young folks, as when she recently welcomed dozens of local kids to the White House. The scene: the East Room. The date: Feb. 18. The occasion: a visit by 180 D.C. students. The first lady spoke after the …
President Barack Obama’s parents exercised school choice. All these kids ask for is the same opportunity he had: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPjHUMiBSRw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan broke with liberals on Capitol Hill last night by making a statement that D.C. kids should be allowed to keep their vouchers: “I don’t think it makes sense to take kids out of a school where they’re happy and safe and satisfied and learning,” Duncan said. “I think those kids need to stay in their school.” This is a good sign that the Obama administration is listening from the calls of D.C. students asking them to keep their Opportunity Scholarships. But a careful reading of …
Since being sworn into office a little over a month ago, President Barack Obama has found a way to increase the size of government spending in just about every possible way. Except when it comes to government spending to empower parents to better educate their children. George Will notes: In one wee particular, congressional Democrats want to shrink government. At the behest of the teachers’ unions, the $410 billion omnibus spending bill dooms a $14 million (a rounding error on GM’s bailout) scholarship program that enables 1,800 children, mostly low-income …
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty goes to Capitol Hill tomorrow to testify on President Bush’s proposed budget for the District in 2008. In an editorial today, The Washington Post encouraged Mayor Fenty to support the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, which is now helping more than 1,900 disadvantaged kids attend private schools: Political ideology and partisan gamesmanship should not be allowed to blow apart the educational hopes of hundreds of D.C. children. Congress must respect the judgment of District leaders in giving parents a choice in one of the most crucial aspects …
