Students Use Vouchers to Flee D.C. Schools

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON -- As the school year begins, more than 1,000 students are using a new voucher program to escape troubled public schools in the nation's capital.

Officials running the nation's first federally funded voucher program said Wednesday the response was overwhelming. Seventy-four percent of students who applied for vouchers and were determined to be eligible are enrolled in participating private and parochial schools, and more applications are under review.

snip......

The Bush administration views vouchers as a way to empower parents and free students from struggling schools. Bush has proposed another $50 million for vouchers initiatives next year.

Critics, including Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, say vouchers strip money from public schools and funnel it to private schools that face little accountability.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-school-vouchers,0,4606503.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[Malva Zebrina]

1. Once that horse is out of the gate, it can hardly be put back

especially if there is not any accountability. Religious schools will get their opportunity to teach religion in the classroom on the taxpayer money. and private schools do not have to comply with any regulations re challenged children.

[pscot]

2. I thought that was the point.

N/T

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. A small sample of the bush social agenda

[Southpaw Bookworm]

4. On the other hand . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50668-2004Aug31.html

Many D.C. School Vouchers Go Unused
290 Students Forgo $7,500 Tuition Grants

By Sewell Chan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 1, 2004; Page B01

More than one in five students who received vouchers to pay for private school tuition in the District are not using them, according to figures released yesterday on implementation of the nation's first federally funded voucher program.

After a lengthy application process, 1,359 low-income students were notified in June that they had won grants of as much as $7,500 a year to pay for private school tuition and fees, contingent on their acceptance by a participating school. Since then, the families of 290 students have dropped out or not responded to efforts by program administrators to reach them.

The remaining students include 1,013 who have been placed in private schools and 56 who are still being matched with schools. Of the 1,013 students placed, more than half are attending schools run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which had the first day of classes yesterday.

The families that did not use their vouchers provided various reasons to the Washington Scholarship Fund, the nonprofit group hired by the U.S. Department of Education to run the program. Many parents said they ultimately preferred the educational offerings in public or charter schools. Others cited the costs and logistical challenges of transporting their children to and from private schools across the city. Still others decided to keep their children at private schools that were not participating in the voucher program. A small number moved out of the District and were no longer eligible.

[JDPriestly]

5. The grass is always greener.

Private schools just have a placebo effect. Public schools are better than most of the ordinary private schools. Teachers are better trained; there are better extra-curricular opportunities and more diversity in the student body. Interestingly, my children got extremely high SAT scores, went to great universities/colleges with lots of scholarships, grants and other financial aid. They attended public inner city schools from the third grade through high school (small town public schools until then), but in college they bettered lots of students from private schools. Private schools are a waste of money.

[Massacure]

6. I have nothing about private schools, as long as religion isn't taught

I went to a public school and was taught about christianity, judism, islam, hinduism and buddism. I don't want a kid to go to a private school and be taught christianity and told that you'll go to hell if you choose any other religion with taxpayer money.