Thousands of People Showing Support for Choice

School choice supporters can seem few and far between to the average Joe, but the time has come where the movement is not only spreading to every state, but the number of supporters is multiplying. The Alliance for School Choice started a large national campaign, which has surpassed their expectations.

School Choice Group Recruits 10,000 New Supporters in Just Five Weeks
Voucher and Tax Credit Movement's First Interactive Campaign Exceeds Expectations
Last update: 1:22 p.m. EST Dec. 17, 2008
WASHINGTON, Dec 17, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- More than 10,000 people signed up to join a coalition supporting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs over the past five weeks, the Alliance for School Choice announced today. The Alliance, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., had anticipated reaching its goal of recruiting 10,000 new supporters by the end of January.
The new supporters are members of the School Choice Works campaign, which officially launched in mid-November. Membership in School Choice Works is free. School Choice Works is the first national interactive and social media campaign launched by the coordinated school choice movement. More information is available at www.LetParentsChoose.org.
The Alliance, which is the nation's largest organization promoting school choice, provides members with free bumper stickers, e-mail action updates, free news magazines, and information on how they can help promote education reform in their states.
"The quick and overwhelming success of this campaign is testament to the strength of support for school choice across the country," said Andrew Campanella, national campaign director for the School Choice Works project. "We look forward to continuing to recruit individuals who want to make a difference in education reform in their states."
"The fundamental focus of the Alliance is to provide support and assistance to state groups, and the School Choice Works campaign provides, in the form of grassroots supporters, additional resources to these organizations," said the Alliance's interim president, John Schilling.
More than 175,000 children participate in school choice programs. There are 18 school voucher or scholarship tax credit programs operating in 10 states and the District of Columbia.
Individuals can sign up to join the School Choice Works coalition for free at www.LetParentsChoose.org.
SOURCE: Alliance for School Choice Alliance for School Choice
Andrew Campanella, 202-280-1985
acampanella@allianceforschoolchoice.org

Scholarship Tax Credit Fight Nation Wide

School choice comes in many shapes and sizes. Opponents scream voucher every chance they get...only because they are aware of the negative connotations associated with the word. One day, they will realize their inaccuracies in this battle and will finally allow change to occur in the school system. Only then can we finally start to see our schools improve and start going in the direction we want.
Last legislative session, Missourians struggled to pass a bill that would allow private citizens or corporations to donate money (then get a tax credit) into a scholarship fund that would then be passed onto to students. Students would apply and use the money to attend an alternate public school or a private school. This battle has swept across the country...seeing better results in other states. Unfortunately, the opponents were too strong this run around, but I will not lay down and wave the white flag of surrender.
Camden County, New Jersey, is trying to pass legislation that would allow the same type of program. The parents are fighting hard to get access to better education for their children!
This was posted in Excellent Education for Everyone:
by JOSEPH GIDJUNIS The Courier-Post
The chants from the protesters echoed crisply off the City Hall facade Tuesday afternoon.
“What do we want?” shouted Angel Cordero, a city activist.
“Scholarships,” replied the crowd.
“When do we want them?” Cordero repeated.
“Now.”
About 50 city residents and students from Camden rallied at noon to encourage Sen. Dana Redd, D-Camden, to support state legislation offering scholarships to low-income students in the city to attend a nonpublic school. The crowd delivered more than 7,000 signatures from Camden County residents backing the bill.
The legislation, the Urban Enterprise Zone Jobs Scholarship Act, creates a pilot program for five years in eight New Jersey cities allowing private corporations to make contributions to a scholarship fund. The companies receive tax credits in return for their donations.
Cordero, a local activist and organizer of the rally, had the supporters pushing for changes in education.
“This bill will immediately start saving Camden children,” Cordero said during a brief speech to the crowd. “Our children’s lives depend on it.”
The bill was approved by the New Jersey Senate’s Economic Growth Committee in May, and a vote has been scheduled next week in the larger Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, where Redd serves, Cordero said. If the committee approves the bill, it then needs approval by both legislative chambers and Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
If approved, the bill would cost up to $360 million in tax credits by providing more than 18,000 scholarships to students in Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Lakewood, Newark, Orange, Paterson and Trenton, according to a fiscal note analysis conducted on the legislation. The state could save about $17 million by providing less money to these school districts because they’re serving fewer students, the note said.
“There is bipartisan support for the bill. We’re continuing to build coalitions to build additional support in the Legislature,” said Sen. Thomas Kean, R-Westfield, a primary sponsor of the bill. “I believe this is an important priority for the state. I think the benefit for the state will be positive.”

Of course, there is the opposition claims it will steal money from the public schools. That tired argument is unfounded and inaccurate. It is time everyone know the truth.

Holiday Wishes?

Often this time of year, I wonder what to get my family for Christmas. On going phone calls with family members on what to get mom and dad and brothers and sisters keep me busy. This time of year it is easy to get swept up into the gift giving, and even though we always give back to the community, I still get pangs of guilt. I have had a great life and sure to have a great Christmas.
This morning, as I was contemplating what to get my sister and her children, I wondered about the kids who can't even get an education from the country that claims every child should get a good education and that every special needs child should get a free and appropriate public education. This is not always happening and it is a shame! My sister's children attend private schools and my brother's kids go to a great public school. However, there are so many kids who attend failing schools and are stuck there. Why should they be left in the dirt? Why should they be forced to attend failing schools just because of where they live? Shouldn't we strive to make all the schools excellent and get back to what our public education program was based on?
Here is my solution: allow parents to choose the schools their kids go to...public or private. We should encourage schools to thrive not encourage them to continue failing. If we keep giving money to the schools that continually fail, isn't that praising failure? If those kids decided to go elsewhere, the failing schools who have to improve! That is a natural law of competition.
Stores compete for the best product, and I decide where to shop, which is especially for this time of year. Shouldn't something as important as education be granted more freedoms?

Who Should Get Private Schooling?

I often wonder who deserves the best schools. Is it the rich families, living within private gates of their community, that should send their children to the best private schools? Sure, they can afford it and they want to do what is best for their kids. But that brings me to the child living in the slums of a city...they may attend the worst school in the area. Is it the child's fault his/her parents cannot afford a better school or a better neighborhood? Will this child end up the same...living in the slums, barely making ends meet? Wouldn't it make simple sense to allow these children to attend different schools, where they can learn, prosper, and hopefully get out of their current situation? In my simple mind, if this were to happen, all the schools would be driven, if not forced, to improve. Does our country not want every child to succeed?
School choice would stimulate change within our many failing districts, and finally allow children to reach their potential. The American Federation of Teachers strongly opposes school choice, and many other education reform tools. Unions were strong supporters of President Elect Obama, who is also against school choice. Now, they are all in a tricky spot. The Obamas' will most likely send their two girls to one of several elite private schools in DC; and why shouldn't they? They can afford it and want the best for their children.
Now, the AFT says that is okay. Anyone else find a problem a strong school choice opponent using private schools when he promotes public schools and refuses children from choosing other schools? I am in no way saying the Obamas' should choose a failing DC school; I am only suggesting if they feel the schools are not good enough for their girls, why are they good enough for any child? Why does the AFT feel it is okay for the president to not choose a public school when he feels every other child should?
CNS News reports on this in Okay for Obamas' to Send Their Kids to Private Schools, Teachers’ Union President Says
President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle “have every right” to send their children to public or private school, and no one should “criticize” their decision, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said in an interview with CNSNews.com on Monday at the National Press Club.

Some States Can't Afford Lack of School Choice

School choice has been slowly growing around the country and many children are tremendously benefiting from it. While some may think only a select few are reaping the benefits, this is not the case. When children move into a private school, it actually saves the state money by opening up those public school funds. The tired argument by opponents is being proven incorrect and if we truly want all children to succeed, more people need to be aware of this.

Recently, due to hard economic times, the New York public school system is facing harder times that one would have thought.

This article written by Adam Schaeffer at the Cato Institute spells out the troubles New York will face:
I wrote recently about the bad economy causing parents to pull their kids from private schools and enroll them in public school; it costs school districts and taxpayers a bundle of money to educate these new kids.
The New York Post reports today that Catholic schools are hemorrhaging students:
In the Archdiocese of New York - which operates schools in Manhattan, Staten Island, The Bronx and northern suburbs - enrollment at elementary and high schools dropped by nearly 6,000 students in one year, to 88,273, officials said.
Those 6,000 students put taxpayers on the hook for another $120 million dollars at New York’s current $20,000 in per-student spending if they go to public school.
Regardless of what you think about educational choice, governments and taxpayers are in no shape to pony up that kind of cash. It’s a lot cheaper to keep those kids in Catholic schools with an education tax credit.
A little more than a quarter of current public per-student spending – $5,500 in tax credit funds – would pay for the entire average Catholic high school tuition. An education tax credit that size would mean a savings of $14,500 for every kid that stays in private school because of the credit. A credit like that might have saved taxpayers more than $80 million if it kept those 6,000 students in the school of their choice.
And that’s just Catholic schools . . . private schools are losing students across the board because many parents can’t afford to pay both school taxes and private tuition in this economy. Every kid they lose is a huge cost to public schools and taxpayers.
A recent Cato fiscal analysis found that a broad-based tax credit could save New York more than $15 billion in the first ten years . . . and that doesn’t even count savings from kids who would otherwise have gone to public schools without the credit.
New York and other states in financial trouble need education tax credits – they can’t afford not to have school choice.

Today and Tomorrow Education Foundation

According to the Missouri Political News Service, the Today and Tomorrow Foundation had a successful reception. This organization provides scholarships to children to attend private or parochial schools of their choice. When children have better options for schooling, windows are opened for them that may have remained closed otherwise. All children deserve not just an average eduation, but a great one; and organizations like the TTEF make it possible. Now...if only states would allow this to happen freely and for every child.

Children from St. Frances Cabrini Academy in St. Louis delighted guests with their musical presentation at a recent reception held for the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation (TTEF).
The event was hosted by Rex and. Jeanne Sinquefield, and welcomed members of the TTEF board of directors as well as other supporters and friends. The Sinquefields oversee the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, which earlier this year donated $500,000 to TTEF.
Since 1990 TTEF has raised more than $20 million for tuition assistance in the form of grants and scholarships for children to attend the private or parochial school of their choice. More than 1,100 children benefit from this support annually.
Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation is most grateful to Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield for their generosity and commitment to the education of children,” said TTEF chairman Jack Pohrer. “The Sinquefields’ partnership with Today and Tomorrow is vital to the success of the Help for Today-Hope for Tomorrow Kindergarten through 4th Grade scholarship program.”
“Researchers at Harvard University have demonstrated that students receiving private school scholarships progress by more than a full grade level in reading and math over their peers in public schools after only one year,” said Sharon Stopke, TTEF executive director. “Our goal is to provide opportunities for low-income families to enable their children to receive a sound, quality education.”
The Sinquefields are strong proponents of the work done by TTEF. “All children deserve the opportunity to obtain a thorough education so that they can work to realize their full potential,” said Rex Sinquefield. “Jeanne and I are honored to help this excellent organization achieve its noble goals that benefit our entire society.”
The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization for the purpose of seeking financial support to provide partial scholarship assistance to low-income children in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. St. Frances Cabrini Academy is one of more than 50 participating schools in the St. Louis School Choice Scholarship Fund.
For more information on the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation, call 314-792-7622, visit www.archstl.org/ttef or link to http://blip.tv/file/1395921?filename=Tjrenovates-TodayTomorrow520.flv.

School Choice Movement Goes National!

The School Choice movement is gaining national momentum and we all need to join in. Missouri's movement is making headways as well...thought I would share the national scope for those interested.
LetParentsChoose.org

School Choice Movement Launches Major National Campaign to Recruit 10,000 Activists“School Choice Works” campaign is the first national outreach effort for voucher and tax credit proponents.(Washington, D.C.) November 11, 2008—The national school choice movement today launched an aggressive campaign to recruit 10,000 new activists. Coordinated by the nonprofit Alliance for School Choice, the School Choice Works campaign will promote the benefits of school vouchers and tax credit scholarship programs. The effort will coincide with the start of 2009 state legislative sessions. (Visit www.LetParentsChoose.org for details.)The Alliance, which is the nation’s largest organization promoting school vouchers and tax credit scholarships, will launch a blitz of online advertising and radio promotions to spread the word about the recruitment effort. According to the Alliance, School Choice Works is the movement’s first national outreach campaign. The Alliance estimates that it will meet its goal of recruiting 10,000 new supporters by as early as January 2009.The campaign’s Web site, www.LetParentsChoose.org, encourages supporters to sign up for free information kits, subscriptions to magazines, advocacy guides, bumper stickers, and e-mail updates.“America's hardworking families should have the right to choose the schools that work best for their children," said School Choice Works Campaign Director Andrew Campanella. “Special interests have long dominated the public debate over vouchers, but our campaign will present the true life-changing stories of the families who have benefited from school choice programs. We also look forward to providing new ways for our supporters to help advance this important cause.”More than 152,000 children participate in 18 school choice programs operating in 10 states and the District of Columbia. The bipartisan base of support for school choice is growing every year, with public opinion polls showing stronger support among Democrats, African-Americans, Latinos, and Hispanics than ever before. The School Choice Works campaign will shine a spotlight on the failures of many public schools in America. Despite the best efforts of many educators, roughly 4 million children attend failing or underperforming schools. More than 1 million kids drop out of school each year. Every 26 seconds, another child drops out of school.“Despite what defenders of the status quo have told us for decades, more money alone will not solve this problem,” said Alliance President Charles R. Hokanson. “How to improve schools is not a mystery. It simply requires the will to make the necessary changes. Wherever school choice has been tried, it has worked for participating children and parents. If we are truly serious about improving graduation rates and preparing our children to compete in the 21st century global economy—expanded parental choice must be a readily available option.”

Charter Schools Gaining Ground

The education reform battle, (or movement if you prefer) has been gaining momentum, even when the hardest legislation to pass has yet to come. There are several aspects to the education reform movement, which include school choice, merit pay for teachers, transparency, charter schools, and alternative teacher certification. Missouri managed to pass the alternative certification bill...this is a huge victory, although some may not see the significance.
Another instrumental portion is charter schools. Currently, only Kansas City and St. Louis allow these schools.
A recent article in Springfield's News Leader illustrates the energy charter schools are maintaining. More people are placing their children in charter schools, thereby pulling them out of traditional public schools.
This academic year, about 23 percent of schoolchildren in the Kansas City public school district are now getting their education at one of the city's 18 public charter schools.
Kansas City has more than 7,000 students in those schools.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks the city sixth among U.S. communities in the percentage of public school students at charter schools.

Nationally, more than 1.4 million students are enrolled in more than 4,600 public charter schools.
The Kansas City schools are down about 800 students this year. State officials say the enrollment growth might be due to new schools and existing charters opening new campuses.
Charter schools are public schools run by independent boards and supported by the state.

What does it say about the public schools?
Another interesting story...I know a mother in Kansas City, who also happens to be a teacher in public schools. She is largely in favor of school choice, but in fear of the teacher unions, does not want to make this public (which is a shame). Nevertheless, she cannot afford the private school much longer but wants to place her child in a charter school (the name currently escapes me).

More and more parents are putting their children in charter schools or moving to better districts. How bright does the red flag need to be before people realize parents want choice?

Around the state, the races are heating up and people are pulling out everything to win their race. According to the Maneater:

Ed Robb, the Republican incumbent running in the 24th House District, said it is the state's role to provide students with a quality education, and drew criticism from Democrats at the event when he said he would support a scholarship that allows students in failing schools to attend private school.
"We need to offer the parents another option," Robb said.

Opponents say “vouchers” are not good because it takes money away from the public schools. Herein is where the problem lies. Robb, or others in support of educational choices in Missouri, are not and have not been promoting vouchers, which are unconstitutional in Missouri. They are supporting scholarships. In the past several legislative sessions, these scholarships discussed would be funded by private or corporate donations. These people/corporations would then get tax credits. However, when the child uses the scholarships to attend a different school, be it private or public, it does not take money away from the original school of attendance. It is new money added to the pot…how can people have a problem with that?!
There is something disturbing by people using the same “voucher” fear-creating word to deter people from the idea. Everyone wants improvements, right?

Teachers Union Supporting Gay Rights?

Teachers unions have been strong fighters for goals they represent. They have millions of members, millions of dollars, and millions of believers. Recently, the California Teachers Association donated $1 million last week to help defeat a ballot initiative which would ban same-sex marriage. They claim it is a civil rights issue and feel others should not be treated differently. To be clear, I am not taking a stance on this issue…I don’t even live in California.
According to the LA Times:
"I think the California Teachers Assn. is well-known to be a political group, and it's not the first time it has not represented the true voice of its members," said Sonja Eddings Brown, spokeswoman for Protect Marriage California, the measure's backer. She said she agreed that the issue is civil rights -- not those of gay couples, but rather those of children to be raised by a mother and a father.
Parents in states where gay marriage is legal were angered when gay marriage was taught in school, and they could not pull their children out of those lessons.
My question…. teachers unions claim to be protecting themselves as teachers, right? Some even claim they are working together for the students. How does working for gay marriage do either one of these? Now this brings me to my point, the unions are obviously not working for the children and I think that is an important message to parents, students, politicians, and citizens. Many people will buy into whatever propaganda the teachers unions are putting out there. It is no wonder the unions are always the main frontrunners of those fighting against school choice or other education reforms. Are they really doing this for the kids? Doubtful! It is clearly a self-serving act...or possibly a position all teachers represented do not agree with.

Did You Know?

This morning I came across a rather well-produced video that considers the changes that have occurred in the past few centuries regarding the growth of the number of words in the English language. It presents statistics regarding technological advances and population growth. Changing careers, economics, education, and more are packed into about a minute that leaves one drop-jawed with wonder, if not also dizzy with vertigo. The video is entitled Did You Know? and ends asking the viewer "So What Does It All Mean?"

Check out the video. What does this mean to education? Should we not be changing the way we educate in a way that relates to the world around us?

Get Out of the Political Gutter

How far will we let failing schools lurk in the gutter with our children before we reach in and pull them out? In both Saint Louis and Kansas City, charter schools have proven to be a lifeline for those children sinking in the mire created by irresponsible educators and politicians. Unfortunately some politicians are out to cut even this lifeline.

Sometimes it's the Republicans, this time it's the Democrats. Claiming Replubican gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof has "traded the future of Missouri kids in urban public schools for $100,000 in campaign cash from a special-interest front group," Democratic party spokesman Zac Wright, along with the Nixon campaign, tried to shift the focus of this important election from things that really matter, like what we are going to do to create a better education system for our children in this state, to things like campaign contributions.

Let's face it: Both campaigns have a lot of money. Nixon is ahead in the polls and has received huge donations from attorneys and the teachers' unions. Hulshof received a large donation from entrepreneur Rex Sinquefield. OK. We know now.

So back to the things that matter. Last week, Hulshof laid out a specific 5-point plan, giving more choice to parents in where to send their child to school by encouraging the formation of more charter schools. It would also allow for the creation of a fund to which citizens could donate and receive a tax credit. The money would create scholarships for city children whose families can't afford to send them to private schools the option to do just that.

These sound like good things to me. Nixon's only response was that he has the support of school adminstrators. Where is his plan? Would it work?

Get out of the gutter.

Parents Need Options

Parents with Autistic children that are dissatisfied with the services their child is receiving in a traditional public school deserve educational options. Special needs children require an individualized focus on their social and academic needs. These students need specialized instruction from certified teachers beyond the scope of an average public school teacher.

A special education scholarship program would provide parents the resources to secure these services to help their children reach their full potential. These families would be able to access early intervention therapies that are critical to the development of special needs children. Parental control and involvement in their vulnerable child’s education is ethically deserved.

Strong Arguments for School Choice

To coincide with both the Democrat Nation Convention and the Republican National Convention, the Alliance for School Choice (ASC) distributed this press release making the strong, sound case for school choice. ASC’s release makes several strong arguments that school choice produces real results and helps the public school system by adding competition to the mix.

In Missouri school choice is becoming a great option for parents who have children in failing and unaccredited schools. Although strides have been made in this area, there is much more work to be done to make sure children and their parents have real options when making decisions on education. For example, charter schools are currently only allowed to operate in the St. Louis and Kansas City school districts. These schools that are held accountable for educating children should be allowed to operate in other markets in Missouri. Children need options all across the state, not only in St. Louis and Kansas City. Also, scholarship tax credits must be available for special needs and low income families so they can chart the best course for their child’s education. All too often these groups who need the most help are left behind and given little or no options to provide a good education for their child.

ASC’s press release makes strong arguments for the need for school choice not only in Missouri, but all across the country. Hopefully leaders in both political parties will take note of the positives that school choice offers and work to offer options to all children.

Public School Support for Choice

The Voice for School Choice brings some good and interesting news from the public education sector. According to a new study by the Hoover Institute, 46% of public school teachers surveyed are in favor of tax credits for education, and only 41% opposed the idea.
This is incredibly important when we consider that the teachers’ unions (who are supposed to represent teachers’ interests) have acted out vehemently against any type of parental choice.
When even public school teachers are supporting educational options and other methods like merit pay and increased accountability and transparency, we have to wonder what is standing in the way of moving forward on reforming education from the outside in.
There is ample evidence to support the notion that public schools actually thrive on competition—they don’t implode! Teachers are noticing this more and more, and see the benefit choice holds for the diverse body of students they teach every day. The only explanation for the union’s opposition must be that they are protecting bad teachers and the status quo of poorly-run administrations.

My experience in a great public school supports this notion. We had a private school in town, but I much preferred my experience at public school. I learned upon entering college that my classes prepared me much better than some of my private-school counterparts. I had more opportunities to get involved in a rich extracurricular world, and so I know that good public schools can stand up against private ones. But if I had been less fortunate, and my public school was less challenging and advanced, the status quo of public education ignores my potential for the sake of structure.

The Voice for School Choice sums it up well:
“if quality instruction and equality of opportunity are the ultimate objective, we need to value education in itself, not just esteem the government apparatus that claims sole license to provide it.”

A Parents’ Bill of Rights was recently reintroduced by Rep. Cynthia Davis, delineating the role of parents in a child’s education.

In thinking back over the US Bill of Rights, the Civil Rights Amendments, the Bill of Women’s Rights and the International Bill of Human Rights, many of these statements seem second nature to us in the 21st Century. Of course women should be allowed to vote, and of course we cannot discriminate based on race or gender. But at the time, those protections were not widely accepted—thus the necessity to spell it out. This is simply American History 101, but it wasn’t that long ago that civil rights and suffragists were fighting for the most basic protection from their government.

Parents are a group deserving protection as well, but their status as a group that needs it has gotten little to no attention because it’s not sensational. But for decades parents have been relegated to the back of the bus when it comes to deciding what’s best for their child. All things illegal set aside; the schools have circumvented parents’ authority to decide what is best for the education of a child. There are ministerial reason for a child to attend this school and not that, to receive this kind of special education class or tutoring—and those often trump the individual needs of a child. The Parent is the natural counterweight to promote the child’s best interest against the school’s interest in serving children as a whole.

We live in a country blessed by its commitment to individual freedoms, and having a safeguard for parents to promote the rights of the children they bathe, clothe, get to school on time and sacrifice to raise may seem redundant, but is in fact vital so that parents and others know the extent of parental rights and how they can and cannot be addressed in laws and policies.

Hope for Reform In Cape

No Child Left Behind—love it or hate it, it’s a law. The law specifies that children in a failing school have a right to transfer to a neighboring school district if the district they are currently assigned to is failing to meet basic standards. Students in Cape school district at Jefferson Elementary will have that choice this year, and officials have said that every transfer request will be accepted by the receiving school. The No Child Left Behind Law states that districts are required to allow parents to move in the case of a Title 1 designation or loss of accreditation.
The noteworthy part of this story is that some school districts in Missouri haven’t afforded parents and students the right to choose another district, even though it is part of the national law. St. Louis Public Schools and neighboring districts did everything they could to block students from transferring after the district lost accreditation. Unlike the Cape district, they took no action to notify parents of their options, and adjacent districts refused to accept students from St. Louis Public Schools seeking to transfer under the provision of NCLB.
What recourse do parents have when their school district refuses to comply with the law? I think the only option would be to bring a lawsuit, which is too costly and time consuming to be a reasonable recourse. St. Louis families are essentially held hostage by the district—but if parental choice was the standard in Missouri they would not be faced with this conundrum and could seek out an appropriate education.

"But parents can't possibly be expected to make choices for their children!"

Chess For All

According to an article in The United States Chess Federation, a new multi-purpose chess club has opened its doors in St. Louis. Come to find out, the creator is the same Rex Sinquefield that has been creating news in Missouri. Many people criticize issues he takes or how he goes about them, but I have always felt he truly believes in his causes and wants to make a difference. People who say he is only out there for his own benefit make no sense. He wants to help education in Missouri, and while some may disagree with his methods, how would be benefit from it at all? He has no children in school anymore but has been through the rough and tough in his own childhood. Helping children in need is his main agenda and that is indisputable.

Now, he has used his own money to create a state of the art chess club that will not only be a place for chess players to convene, but it will also serve as a medium to encourage school age children to take up the game or to continue it. Chess is a strategic game and can help children with all areas in school. What will the critics come up with now?

The club’s existence is primarily due to the generosity and passion of one man, Rex Sinquefield. Known in Missouri for his dedication to the advancement of educational initiatives, he explained his reason for opening this beautiful chess and scholastic center. “Kids who get into chess benefit in all sorts of ways,” he said, noting that the main purpose of the center is to support scholastic chess. However, “St. Louis has lacked a centralized resource to teach kids and to teach teachers.”

The First Move program of America’s Foundation for Chess has begun to be utilized by a few schools in St. Louis, and it is the goal of the St. Louis Chess and Scholastic Center to increase this presence. Part of the club’s mission statement notes that the group “is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools, while encouraging the development of new programs within regular school curricula.”

Check out St. Louis' new chess club on Maryland Ave. in the Central West End. The Chess Club and Scholastic Center is beautiful and working toward bringing more chess programs to the local schools. Beginner or Grand Master, stop by and get involved in this movement!

More mismanagement from SLPS

Whether the problem is under-qualification or selfishness, the management of the St. Louis Public School District is unacceptable and continues to be extremely detrimental to both students and the community. The latest distress comes from funding cuts of school libraries. Other private and charter schools in the area are able to fund superior library programs on an even tighter budgets. Yet Rick Sullivan, the CEO of the Special Administrative Board that made this regrettable cutback, continues to repeat the untrue and scapegoat ‘lack of funds’ excuse. The school district needs to be held accountable for their funding decisions. Why would we invest more in a system that has continually proven to fail to distribute it properly?

School Choice in Florida makes headway

From the Penn Patriot:
The School Choice movement is growing in Florida, with Gov. Charlie Christ signing into law a $30 million expansion of the state's existing program.The expansion will provide scholarships to send an estimated 6,000 low-income children to better schools.Meanwhile back in Pennsylvania, the education lobby puts up roadblocks to School Choice, fearing that competition would expose the inadequacies of the existing public school monopoly.To learn more about school choice in Pennsylvania, visit SchoolChoiceSaves.org

Florida is really leading the way in the realm of school choice. It occurs to me that the states that really give school choice a chance end up loving it and seeing the value, and the states that seem bent in opposition are just the ones who haven’t had the guts to try it.
St. Louis Public Schools are starting to complain about how much money they need to make their schools better, yet they don’t want to go down the path of more choices for students. Florida, though, has seen $150 million in savings to the state budget. 10,000 families applied for scholarships in Florida over the funding cap, leading Democrats and Republicans alike to call for an expansion of the program.
Those who see any sort of voucher, tuition tax credit or scholarship program as a way for the rich to get a break on a private school will be shocked to note that the average household income for scholarship recipients (for a family of four) is $24,000.
This is really great news and a testament to the green-eggs-and-ham of school choice.
Try it, try it and you may! Try it, and you may, I say!

Teacher's Unions at it again!

Parents have been struggling for years to get choices for their children's education. In some states, they have been successful, while other states, they have not. Missouri, unfortunately, has not had many big successes. We do have some great charter schools in our two biggest cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, but they cannot serve everyone. Teacher Unions have been at the forefront of every legislative battle against choice. Two legislative sessions ago, they fought and won to keep lower income families from getting scholarships to use at their school of choice, and this year, they won to keep thousands of special needs children in schools that will only fail them. They will stop at nothing to keep the status quo, whether the children are suffering or not. Their arguments don't change much, but their all powerful lobbying group has great influence at the capital. We are gaining momentum in the parade for choice and I know it will come soon...I must remain optimistic.
Florida's teacher unions are now causing havoc for those lower income families, who were stuck in failing schools, but finally were given a shot. Newsweek's "Choice Under Fire, Yet Again: Teachers Unions Fighting School Choice for the Children of Poor Families in Florida Use 19th Century Bigotry and 21st Century Obscurantism"
Florida's Supreme Court last week was the latest venue for the movable feast of meretricious arguments by which public-school teachers unions wage war in any city or state where families of poor children try to escape from failing public schools. The attack on Florida's school-choice program relied on 19th-century bigotry and 21st-century obscurantism.
Florida's Opportunity Scholarships, the nation's first statewide school-choice program, was enacted in 1999 to ameliorate a gross civil-rights injustice--the fact that poor families whose children are trapped in terrible schools are helpless to prevent their children's life chances from being blighted. The program empowers students to transfer from failing schools, as defined by set criteria, to the public or private school of their choice.
Teachers unions immediately filed suit to block this escape route--this underground railroad, if you will--from the public-school plantation.

The rest of the article goes over the weak arguments the unions have...and why they are so weak...Why they must fight against the children, will never make sense to me. At least I can sleep at night knowing there are people and organizations willing to put their neck out and do something for these kids.

However, according to Earth Times,

Florida Governor Charlie Crist this week signed into law a sweeping $30 million expansion of the state's popular Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, opening the doors of educational opportunity to an estimated 6,000 additional low-income children.The Alliance for School Choice - the nation's largest nonprofit organization promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs - hailed Governor Crist's action and praised his commitment to providing a quality education for all Florida children. Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program is the largest program of its kind, and the Sunshine State has provided more children with enhanced educational opportunities than any other state in the nation.

Hooray!

It's catching on...

The school choice movement is spreading. People are realizing the schools their children are allotted to are not performing up to their standards. People without children are realizing that without high performing public schools, our country's productivity is riding downhill, fast. Last year, I read a study the Show Me Institute put out that showed overwhelming support for choice in Missouri. While the majority of the legislature is stuck voting with the NEA's of the world leading their puppet strings, there are a few standing up for what they know is not only effective and necessary, but the right thing to do. I have faith eventually the rest will come around. The teacher unions are finally getting people and organizations to stand up against them. Choice won't kill the public schools, it will only help them. Oklahoma, not far from us, is realizing they want some choice as well. This was from an Oklahoma news source:

Will Bourisaw’s Endorsement Help Wright-Jones?

State Representative Rodney Hubbard’s opponent in the fifth senate district election, Robin Wright-Jones, was endorsed this week by the outgoing head of the St. Louis School District. This endorsement by Diana Bourisaw demonstrates Wright-Jones’ stance on maintaining the status quo of the failing public school system.

However, the community view of Bourisaw is lukewarm at best. In fact, the School Board member who appointed her flipped opinions to the point of publicly criticizing Bourisaw for her suspicious performance. Recently, the supervisory board of the state joined the attack, beginning a search for a new superintendent. Clearly unhappy with Bourisaw’s performance, the board announced her replacement without even hearing her appeal.

Education will be a very significant issue in the upcoming August primary, since Hubbard is publicly and consistently in support of education reforms for the city of St. Louis. He stands for better educational opportunities though parental choice.

Video: Today and Tomorrow Foundation scholarships offered in St. Louis

Lack of ethics in SC Teacher's Unions

The Voice for School Choice has a very revealing story today about South Carolina's Teachers Unions use of tax dollars to oppose a parent's right to choose the best school for their child:

Comprised of public school teachers and school officials, the SCEA should be the nonpartisan voice of educational improvement and access for all children. But working with politicians and bureaucrats at the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA) and the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA), the SCEA aggressively uses taxpayer money and out-of-state special interest support to block all substantive reform to South Carolina’s worst-in-the-nation public school system. In 2005 alone, the SCEA took in over $125,000 from national teacher unions to fight against school choice.

How much are these public employees and officials willing to spend to defend the status quo?

A lot. Based on lobbying disclosure reports filled at the South Carolina Ethics Commission for 2005, 2006, and 2007 we can begin to see how SCSBA, SCASA and SCEA use taxpayer-financed membership dues to purchase political influence. In the case of the SCASA and SCSBA most members have their dues paid directly by the county of district that hires them! These numbers only represent money paid to lobbyists, not the additional money used for political action committees, maintaining websites, advertising, robocalls, email chains, and other attempts to manipulate public opinion.

School Boards Association
SCSBA: $176,811 in lobbying since 2005

Association of School Administrators
SCASA: $287,505 in lobbying since 2005

Education Association
SCEA: $50,000 in lobbying since 2005

Wasting a half million dollars in taxpayer money to politicize education reform and defend failing schools is shameful. Denying special needs children access to the best possible schools is heartless. These so-called “education” groups lack credibility. Their narrow concern with shielding a failing public school system shows how little regard they have for South Carolina’s children.

School Choice Movement Spreading

I came across this in the Heritage Foundation's blogs. I wonder, as the school choice movement is spreading across not only the country but the world, why are there still so many that fight it? Don't they wonder what they are missing? Don't they wonder why other areas are jumping on that train and they are stuck at the station (for some districts...the failing station)?

More School Choice in Georgia

• Posted April 25th, 2008 at 10.43am in Education.

ATLANTA — Georgia state Rep. David Casas, speaking to conservative activists from across the country this morning at The Heritage Foundation’s Resource Bank, described how a broad coalition in Georgia helped bring school choice to special needs children and put a bill to give school choice tuition tax credits to all children on Gov. Sonny Perdue’s desk.

Casas, a Republican, stressed that grassroots organizing by conservative groups was essential to turning out supportive parents for town halls and committee meetings. The legislative push had to be bipartisan, however, as some conservative legislators didn’t want public money creeping into private schools and more liberal Republicans didn’t want to cross local school boards.

Casas said the key to success was finding the right message, which meant establishing that school choice “was not just some private-school parents that wanted to get some free public money, but was instead real market reform designed to help all students.”

I am happy for Georgia this passed. Hopefully, I will be reading something similar about my home state...Missouri soon.

Choice shows promise

A January article by John Stossel, author of Stupid in America, discusses places where school choice is the typical mode of public education—and how well it works. I’ll pull a few quotes from the article:

“Last week, Florida's supreme court ruled that public money can't be spent on private schools because the state constitution commands the funding of only "uniform . . . high-quality" schools. How absurd. As if government schools are uniformly high quality. Or even mostly decent.

Apparently competition, which made even the Postal Service improve, is unconstitutional when it comes to public education in Florida.

Remember when the Postal Service said it couldn't get it there overnight? Then companies like FedEx were allowed to compete. Private enterprise got it there absolutely, positively overnight. Now even the Post Office guarantees overnight delivery sometimes. Competition works.”

It’s safe to say that with one million children dropping out, there is a need for sweeping change and improvement. The logical conclusion that competition will help students is powerful, but I think even more powerful is the fact that where choice is in effect, students succeed.

“For "Stupid in America," a special report ABC will air Friday, we gave identical tests to high school students in New Jersey and Belgium. The Belgians trounced the Americans. We didn't pick smart kids in Europe and dumb kids in the United States. The American students attend an above-average school in New Jersey, and New Jersey kids' test scores are above average for America. "It has to be something with the school," said a New Jersey student, "'cause I don't think we're stupider."

She was right: It's the schools. At age 10, students from 25 countries take the same test, and American kids place eighth, well above the international average. But by age 15, when students from 40 countries are tested, the Americans place 25th, well below the international average. In other words, the longer American kids stay in American schools, the worse they do. They do worse than kids from much poorer countries, like Korea and Poland.

This should come as no surprise since public education in the USA is a government monopoly. If you don't like your public school? Tough. If the school is terrible? Tough. Your taxes fund that school regardless of whether it's good or bad.”

Compulsory school age in Belgium is 6 through 18, with an option for 16+ to study part-time, similar testing to the US, rigid assessment and schooling is free in most cases—but choices are inherent in their system. You can choose a type 1 or type 2 school; 1 is more general and 2 is a more niche approach. Beyond that, there are different language schools, international schools where children can stay with the system of their originating country, a variety of religious or secular-focused schools, method schools that provide an “experience” of each subject as an alternative to a formal setting, selective “European” schools and Montessori schools. It is still largely a government-funded and controlled system, but the choice remains with parents.

Now, Belgian schools are having problems, particularly Jewish schools, but the problems they face according to the news I’ve read are because of too much rigid government control. Some Belgians feel Jewish schools are becoming the target of de-certification (which means their students cannot go to college) because of their religious objections to education policies. Parents seem to feel deeply that choice and vouchers are valuable and legendary, and that the government should be more laissez-faire.

“Vandensavel [Belgian School Principal] adds, "America seems like a medieval country . . . a Communist country on the educational level, because there's no freedom of choice -- not for parents, not for pupils."

In kindergarten through 12th grade, that is. Colleges compete, so the United States has many of the most prestigious in the world -- eight of the top 10 universities, on a Chinese list of the world's top 500. (The other two are Cambridge and Oxford.)

Accountability is why universities and private schools perform better. Every day they are held accountable by parents and students, and if they fail the kids, school administrators lose their jobs. Public school officials almost never lose jobs.

Government schools are accountable only to their fellow politicians, and that kind of accountability is virtually no accountability.

The public schools are cheating the children.”

I think that good sense, and a sense of urgency, should find us applying more choice to our reform of education.

Rep. Scharnhorst discusses Bryce's Law

Missouri Education: In need of reform

The need for autism education reform in Missouri (Part 2)

The need for autism education reform in Missouri

Taking Giant Steps

From the St. Louis PD Letters 3/20/08

Ulterior motives

I am the parent of an autistic child, and I oppose the proposed tax credit programs for the parents of autistic children. I oppose this legislation because I believe some of the people behind it have ulterior motives.

The nonprofit group pushing this legislation, the Children's Education Council of Missouri, is just another of many "school choice" organizations that are political fronts for the religious right. Jason Crowell, who authored Senate Bill 993, and House Speaker Rod Jetton, who pushed House Bill 186, both have strong political ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Missouri Baptist Convention and other religious groups that are hostile to public education. Most informed people know that helping the families of autistic children has little to do with these bills.

Nora Kelleher, who wrote "Special needs students will benefit from new tax credit program" (March 11), a commentary supporting the legislation, was identified as a development officer for Giant Steps of St. Louis. Her job is to raise money for Giant Steps of St. Louis; but at least she's honest about her agenda.

David W. Johnson | Overland

The author of this op-ed demonstrates that many parents ARE well-served by their public schools. The idea that the movement for more school choice, especially for special needs children is either a front for the so-called “religious right” or that Giant Steps’ interest is money. It’s an easy enough subterfuge, but considering I’m a left-leaning Democrat who thinks HB 1886 makes sense and has an excellent chance of making a difference in the lives of many families whose children aren’t getting what they need.

I believe that Giant Steps’ priority is helping special needs children, not making money, or else their founders would have created Giant Steps Bank or Giant Steps Real Estate.

But what about the parents who use Giant Steps?

Shari Kaminsky’s child is at Giant Steps, and believes the tuition tax credit will help families like her, and why.

"I hope that because of hearings like this, more people will begin to take notice of what's happening to the children falling through the cracks of the school system," said Shari Kaminsky, a mother of two autistic children from Kirkwood who testified before the committee.

Kaminsky's older son has done well in the special public school district, a government entity organized to deliver educational services to special-needs students. But she removed her younger son when she observed the system was not serving his needs. Since enrolling him last autumn at the private program Giant Steps, she has witnessed marked progress in his verbal and social skills.

But the Kirkwood mother said Giant Steps faces declining enrollment as special school districts have stopped establishing new contracts with private providers.

"Unless there is some degree of choice here, it means there will be no Giant Steps," Kaminsky said.

Representatives Need to Be Educated

This week, I arranged a coffee date with my state representative and three other parents about special needs legislation for Missouri. Bryce's Law, as it is known as, is great legislation that has seen tremendous success in other states. Unfortunately, I have read some disturbing articles that do not tell the truth about it. The opponents of this bill either have been brainwashed, do not know about it, or have never been in the shoes of a parent like myself. I am a proud parent of a 5 year old little girl who has autism. She is very sweet and bright, but needs some extra guidance and services. She has an IEP, however, the school she goes to does not only not give her everything promised on her IEP; they also do not have the potential to give her what she needs. The school is just not equipped for it.

However, there are no other schools that we can afford. I can say all of this for many other parents across the state I have spoken with. This brings me to my meeting with our state rep. He seemed unsure of how he would vote on this matter, although at the end of the discussion, I think he had realized this legislation is needed, worthwhile, and would not only help the children but also the public schools. First off, he was afraid it would drain money from the public schools. Actually, it would help public schools because it could take a child who may be very expensive to educate and place them in a school that can do a better job. It will not cost anything as the scholarships are paid for by private donors. In fact, in Florida, they have seen savings of millions of dollars because of this program.

Secondly, he was afraid children without special needs could somehow sneak into the program. I explained to him this would not happen because only children with IEPs are eligible for the scholarships. As any parent knows who has been through the IEP process, it is not an easy task to get one.

Finally, he was concerned that if the state were somehow involved with paying for children to attend private schools, the government would be able to start controlling those private schools. I assured him this was not possible!

After the coffee, he told me he had learned so many things that he did not know before. He was quite grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with us and grateful he learned the truth. Then, he promised me a yes vote! Now, if any other parents can meet with your legislators, please do. The time is now to make sure this passes. Even if you do not have special needs children, show your support. This program will not cost taxpayers anything...unless they decide the donate to the program. It is a win-win situation!

What Missouri's constitution says

One thing I’ve been wondering about is the state’s language guaranteeing a “free and appropriate public education” for all Missouri elementary and secondary school-aged children.

Perhaps a constitutional scholar or lawyer will answer this for me. The language (that I find quite lyrical) is as follows:

A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the general assembly shall establish and maintain free public schools for the gratuitous instruction of all persons in this state within ages not in excess of twenty-one years as prescribed by law.

I’d take issue with the idea that intelligence can be diffused, or spread over the population, because intelligence is inherent (to an extent) and independent of learning. We can measure a child’s IQ at a very early age, and even though we may see that fluctuate throughout someone’s life it is not a thing that can be “imparted” to a child through a series of verifiable tactics. As I understand it, intelligence is just one of many characteristics that influence academic achievement, and the correlation is not necessarily strong!

Children with higher IQs tend to perform better on tests, but The American Psychological Association's report Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns says that IQ only accounts for 25% of a given variance in test scores, suggesting that there are other factors at work that are more significant. We see that phenomenon clearly with many autistic children who have very high IQs but aren’t able to retain new information or express themselves.

At any rate, I’ll concede that a “general diffusion of knowledge” is essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people. We have to know our rights in order to defend them, we have to be skilled and learn a body of knowledge to be able to pursue our life and our happiness as well. I’m sure there are cases where that isn’t true, but certainly to simply provide for one’s self a minimum amount of education is needed.

We talk about a “free and appropriate public education” as something that only public schools can offer, but I don’t think that is necessarily true. I think that the obligation to provide knowledge is paramount to the obligation to maintain public schools as we know them. We have, since the inception of the public school system, relied on it to provide that, and upon discovering time and time again that it does not, and that our efforts to improve it aren’t working and are leaving children behind, to camps emerged: those who feel our primary duty is to the public schools at any and all costs, and those who feel our primary duty is to educate and diffuse knowledge.

Tonight I’m watching Gattica, a Gore Vidal adaptation about genetic mapping and predestination—a very disturbing look at chance and editing out “bad” genes, and about the possibility of discrimination based on genetics more than race or social status. A scary thought, indeed, though the story is old—but the moral says that your possibilities are not limited by any definition, disability or restriction. We do have the opportunity to give every child a chance—and a bigger one even than they may be born with, but it will take a leap of faith, and a look at education as a general diffusion of opportunity. The more choices we offer our diverse and unique children, the more knowledge and skills we can offer to all.

Columbia: Cuts to Special Education Threatened

If you are in the Columbia Public School district, you can not miss the press the tax levy vote is receiving. The CPS Board is urging voters to approve a tax levy and threatening budget cuts if it is not approved. First off, they should have been more fiscally responsible and not put us in this place to being with. They have had surpluses from year to year and now they are saying they need more money? Did they think about that when they were using money to sue the state in the adequacy case? Nope! Although now they have pulled out, thank goodness. I find this interesting too. This is from the Columbia Missourian...They are threatening to cut special education programs.

Currently, special education is set up in a team model that includes 19 teams of 120 to 125 students and 19 paraprofessionals, each one assigned to a team. There are also professionals assigned to the individual students. This model is unique to the middle school level, DeSpain said. After the restructuring, the remaining paraprofessionals will be assigned to students.

“We’ll assign a paraprofessional when a student’s IEP, the individual education plan, calls for it,” Barnett said.

Another cut to special education in the district would be a 50 percent reduction in the budget of the special education summer program at Newton Middle School. That cut would save an additional $118,000.

I would like to add, I think many of their budget cut threats are scare tactics into voting for the tax levy. What Hank Waters, of the Columbia Tribune, thinks...

Recently the district released hundreds of detailed steps it could take to cut millions in spending. The list for a first round of cuts appeared in this newspaper Friday, and the district has made all its proposals available for public review.

Bureaucracies rarely do any such thing unless seriously threatened with loss of revenue. Such a threat now faces the school district, whose proposed 54-cent tax levy increase probably will fail in the April 8 election, leaving the district with a need to find cuts even beyond the initial list.

In a perverse way, the improper budget management the district did back in June is a blessing. The reckless use of reserve funds for projected ongoing operations costs put district managers in a budgetary tight spot forcing an unscheduled need to cut other costs.

A sad but true fact of public bureaucratic life is that periodic revenue squeezes are needed to bring serious cost control. You can understand why. As long as funding increases, bureau managers will look to expand operations. They believe they are doing a good job and steadily expanding budgets are needed to keep the valuable momentum going.

Trouble is, in such happy surroundings, restraint and accountability are lacking. No marketplace full of choice-making customers is on hand to tailor their activities. The most reliable restraint comes in the form of an unusual revenue challenge, something beyond the perennial revenue shortages officials habitually bemoan.

One of those rare cyclical moments is at hand for the Columbia school district. Many or most voters will want to send a message of disapproval for the district’s lack of openness, but the ancillary benefit of spending control is just as important.

The district will be able to trim millions from operations without damaging the quality of education. It never would have happened but for the rush of public disdain that threatens its cash flow.

While they are threatening to cut special education programs, I think it is even more crucial to Columbia special needs students that Bryce's Law passes. This would give those children a shot at a decent education when their schools cannot provide it. And if, the CPS do in fact, cut those programs, the children here will be even more lost in the system. Please, urge your representative to vote yes!

A toolbox-full

Last week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran this story about a daycare bill that has been approved by the Senate.

“— The Senate on Tuesday gave initial approval to a program aimed at providing preschool for children in the St. Louis Public Schools.

Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, added the program to a bill that creates a quality rating system for day-care centers.

Smith's program would provide preschool for children in school districts that are not accredited by the state Board of Education, such as the St. Louis district.”

Approximately a thousand students would be served under this program, capped at $5 million a year. Half of the available funding would go to private organizations to contract with the public schools.

Legislators see this as a way to help turn the St. Louis school district around, and I think it sounds like a viable tool—one of many that have been proposed this legislative session now that three districts in Missouri are unaccredited (Wyaconda, Riverview Gardens and St. Louis City).

Studies have shown that students in day-care and pre-schools that focus on preparing them for school are much more likely to graduate and succeed. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen evidence that in poor-performing public schools that added benefit is lost when schools fail to build on those new skills.

Building from the ground up is a great idea, but there should be an equal focus on helping students currently behind, because they represent an entire generation that we can’t afford to lose.

One tool we need is the special needs legislation currently pending a vote in both the house and senate. Missouri families have little to no options if they can’t get the right response from their IEP teams. We’ve done a good job so far of responding to an historical lack of services for students with special needs, but with this legislation we can move that service from good to great.

By giving parents a choice about what education is appropriate for their child, we’ll be able to see the benefits of early intervention which is key in helping children with autism learn. We’ll see more students mainstreamed after targeted, short-term treatment, and countless other benefits in the lives of individual students. We can offer this aid to families with special needs children, and there is no reason good enough not to pass the scholarship tax credit.

Let’s add this tool to our educational toolbox!

Rep. Gayle Kingery: Education is an investment

Gayle Kingery (Representative from Poplar Bluffs) was quoted during a rally of students last year saying “Education is expensive, but it's a good investment for you, for your future, and it's wise for us to invest in you for our future because you are the future."

Missouri has been caught up with the sale of MOHELA loans (higher ed.), and a battle has ensued between those who think the sale was a good idea, and those who foresaw disaster. The difference in how we fund college education and how we fund K-12 has always been baffling to me. Our legislators commit every year to making college affordable—and nationally, it’s a huge component of the current presidential debates: no one who wants to go to college should be denied that American Dream because they don’t have the money to pay for it. We make state money available for state universities and colleges, but we also have a network of scholarships for any and every type of student. Some are for a particular degree, others for disabled students and still more for community involvement or redheads. My private college’s financial aid package, funded mainly by alumni, made my family’s out-of-pocket expenses cheaper than a community college.

We see college as a stepping stone to success, and no matter what career or college you choose, there are funds available from all kinds of institutions to offset the cost. And while college is more expensive than ever and critics abound, I still see it as a very American opportunity. Missouri legislators are working hard to make sure no one is left behind because their family doesn’t make enough to pay for rising college costs.

So why isn’t the same true for K-12? I think we can hardly say college is more important that K-12, but we apply different principles to the funding. Missouri is scared to death of offering a competition-based model to public school, even though it works for colleges where public colleges still get hefty state support and private foundations offset the cost of private or religious colleges.

Rep. Kingery and others have a chance to give opportunities to special needs students in Missouri by voting for Bryce’s Law that would create a tax credit scholarship program for students with an IEP to transfer to a private school that can meet their needs. The opportunities we afford our K-12 students should be no different than what we afford college students, because they are contingent upon one another. With the early intervention this scholarship program could afford families who need more services but cannot pay for them, we will be giving many students the chance to go to college, hold a job, live independently and succeed. It IS wise to invest in our future, and this is how we do it.