A Crossroads in American Education

Full disclosure. I am the product of a public magnet high school in Philadelphia. The School District of Philadelphia was way ahead of the curve in the 50s and 60s with a myriad of choices for students who were interested in music, science, college preparation, and, later, the fine and performing arts.

What about charter schools? Much has been said and written about the success of public charter schools in the United States, especially in inner city areas. A number of schools have demonstrated significant achievement and the areas of reading and math. These are schools that are funded with public money and organized by concerned parents in a community. Some are run by private organizations and there has been significant resistance to such programs by teachers unions.

Another education issue has to do with school choice. Can parents choose to send their children to schools out of their district ? Can public money be used to pay tuition for a student to attend a parochial or private school? A number of cases relating to these issues have ended up in court. Parenthetically, in a number of small and rural school districts in Vermont, the town pays tuition for students to attend the local private school because it is far more expedient and less expensive than to build and staff a school(s).

All of this leads us to the recent Presidential election. We really don’t know which direction the new President will choose to take. What we do know is that President- elect Trump did not send his children to public schools. Keep an eye on who gets nominated to be the new Secretary of Education and what his or her philosophy is. That may give us some insight as to what direction the new administration wishes to take. Keep this fact in mind. There is nothing written in the Constitution of the United States regarding the education of America’s children. Thus according to Article Ten, those decisions are to be left up to the states.

c.2016 J. Margolis