Sixty-three percent of African-Americans said they
would prefer to remove their children from a public
school and enroll them in a charter or private school.
Forty-six percent supported the idea of charter
schools operated by local residents, the poll
conducted by the Black America's Political Action
Committee (BAMPAC) last month showed.
"African-Americans are becoming increasingly
frustrated with the public school system and its
failure, in many cases, to provide a quality education
for their children," said Alvin Williams, BAMPAC's
president. "This poll illustrates that school choice in
all its forms is an idea that should be explored as a
viable alternative for parents to consider."
Sylvia Slaughter’s daughter, Enriqua, attends St.
Michael’s Catholic Elementary School through
the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Eriqua
received the option to attend a private school
under the Opportunity Scholarship Program,
when the public school she was assigned to
received its second ‘F’ grade in four consecutive
years.
The following is Ms. Slaughter’s description of
Eriqua’s experience with the Opportunity
Scholarship Program:
"I was very upset about the idea of her going to
Dixon [public school], given their performance. In
pre-school she wasn’t participating. She was like
in a shell and wouldn’t answer. I thought that
would only get worse in an environment like
Dixon."
"Now, she wants to come to school. Her speech
is much clearer. Before, her words weren’t
coming out clearly. She’s participating more."
"She is challenged at the private school. At St.
Michael’s they learn how to respect other people.
That helps the whole learning environment."
"Someday, I hope she can look back and see this
was a challenge and that she did well, and it
made a difference."
"I don’t have money to send her to private school.
If she had to go to public school, it would be a set
back. If they cut the voucher now, it would be
devastating. She loves school. She loves to
learn."
Fifty-six percent of blacks gave a "C" grade or lower
when asked to evaluate the condition of public
schools. They said lack of discipline, lack of
resources such as computers and books, classroom
overcrowding and social issues like drug use and
juvenile crime are the biggest problems facing their
schools, the poll found.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered black voters
between June 20 and June 30.
--Excerpted from Washington Times Article by Ellen Sorokin
Dissemination Grant Writing Workshop
,
Embassy Suites Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale
July 23, 2003
Dissemination Grant Writing Workshop
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Tampa
July 25, 2003
Florida Charter School Review Panel
Four Corners Charter School, Davenport
August 1, 2002, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Review Panel will discuss recent
developments regarding Florida
charter
schools.
All students in the
McKay Scholarships for
Students with Disabilities Program
must
be registered & enrolled in a private school to
receive full FTE funding by August 1, 2002.
Federal Voluntary Public School Choice
Grant
application must be submitted on
August 19, 2002.
During the week of July 15-July 19, 2002, the McKay
& Opportunity Scholarship team,
Bill Greiner (team
leader), Juanita Hurst, Claire Philippe, Monique
Duncan, John Thompson, Lisa Alvarez, Monica
Settles
and
Scott Montgomery,
fielded
1,507
parent calls.
This week, the American Federation of Teachers
released a report, “Do Charter Schools Measure
Up?,” declaring a moratorium on charter schools.
The Goldwater Institute quickly wrote a rebuttal,
criticizing the research techniques employed by
AFT to reach these findings. The Goldwater
Institute founded their argument on their study of
Arizona charter schools. The rebuttal was based
on the following assertions:
405
new McKay student registrations were entered
by private schools, bringing the total number of new
McKay registrations to
2,769
. New registrations
combined with re-enrolled students from last year
now total
6,220
.
The AFT ignores parent, student, and
teacher satisfaction.
According to the
National Study of Charter Schools published
by the U.S. Department of Education,
students and parents who went from district
schools to charters found the charters safer,
friendlier, and more effective academically.
Teachers in charter schools report greater
job satisfaction than do their peers in district
schools.
The team made significant strides in eliminating the
backlog of new OSP registrations. These are
students who have declared intent but have not
been officially registered by the private school. 176
students were registered this week, bringing the total
427
.
Parental intents for McKay now total
9,873
. They
are expected to exceed the 10,000 mark during the
coming week. Parents may declare intent to
participate throughout the year.
The AFT says charter-school students
"generally score no better (and often do
worse) on student achievement tests than
other comparable public school students."
This claim is true in some states, but test
score data from Arizona, which has the
nation's largest charter-school marketplace,
show children enrolled in charters improve
with each passing year. Lew Solmon, author
of a landmark Goldwater Institute study on
academic results in charter schools, reports,
"Students enrolled in charter schools for
two and three consecutive years have an
advantage over students staying in
traditional public schools for the same
periods of time."
Claire Philippe
and
Juanita Hurst
offered technical
assistance to private schools, who must have their
students registered and enrolled in the McKay
Program before August 1, in order for the student to
be eligible for all four quarterly payments.
The AFT ignores key research on the
impact of charter schools on district
schools.
Peer-reviewed research published
by Columbia and Harvard Universities finds
that where strong charter laws exist, districts
respond to competition by working harder to
please parents with leadership changes,
more program options, and better customer
service.
Approximately 44, 000 Florida students are home
educated. Since the 1996-1997 school year, the
number of students being home educated has
increased by 71%.
A home education program allows a parent or
guardian to be fully involved in the student’s
education. A home education program is defined
as the “sequentially progressive instruction of a
student directed by his or her parent or guardian.”
To view the entire AFT report, visit www.aft.org.
Florida Trend
The August issue of Florida Trend focuses
almost entirely on education. Articles on
student achievement, Just Read! Florida,
teacher certification, and school choice
may be found at
www.floridatrend.com
A parent must notify the superintendent of their
district that they wish to establish and maintain a
home education program. Parents are also
responsible for keeping a portfolio of their child’s
work progress and arranging for an annual
evaluation of their child.