The American model of education is founded on the idea that schooling is a public responsibility and a public good. This model asserts that a good education benefits not only the students who receive it, but society on the whole. In this country, our children are promised an education, but what happens when disparities occur in the system - and some students are given a better education than others? Should parents remain satisfied with this system?
No.
Hispanic CREO believes that parents should have the freedom to choose the school that provides the best education for their child. This will help close the current achievement gap, lessen high school dropout rates and improve our schools!
Top Three Principles of School Choice
1) Parents should be the Superintendents of their homes.
In our current educational system, local government agents - not parents - make school assignments for individual students. However, we believe that this power should be in the hands of parents, not the government. School choice is a parent's fundamental right to choose the best school that benefits their children's educational needs, regardless of where they live or how much money they make. It provides social justice to those families, who are economically disadvantaged and/or are trapped in failing schools.
2) Funding should follow the student.
Today's educational system is financed through local, state and federal taxes. Usually, local property taxes are the main source of funding for school systems, yet only two out of every five dollars actually makes it to the classroom. Money raised through taxes should go to schools chosen by parents, not to bureaucrats who are far from the classroom. School choice increases parents' ability to improve public and private education by holding institutions financially accountable to their promise of a high quality education.
3) Schools improve when they are required to compete.
Studies have shown that school choice improves student achievement and public school performance when schools are faced with competition because they are at risk of losing students. A 2002 study conducted by Harvard Professor Caroline Hoxby showed that student achievement in public schools improves as public inter-district choice increases and as the share of students who attend private school in the metropolitan area also rises. |
