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.

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