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As @VP prepares to talk about 'School Choice' today at Thales Academy here in North Carolina, I figured you'd want to know more about the school he has chosen to hold up as his model. (cc: @pcaggia )
Thales Academy -- like many private schools -- offers no transportation or lunches for students.
Thales Academy also doesn't guarantee that they will admit students with special needs detailed in IEPs or 504 plans. Instead, they want to see what your needs are before they will agree to admit you.
Thales Academy also sells itself as a school that focuses on giving students a "Classical Education." What does that mean? Basically, a study of Western Civilizations.
So, if Thales Academy is the model that @VP is going to hold up when talking about school choice, the question worth asking is, "Who is 'school choice' really for?"
Because at Thales, it's not for kids with special learning needs. Or kids who need to take the bus to school. Or kids who need to eat breakfast or lunch at school.
Feels to me like "school choice" in the mind of @VP and @BetsyDeVosED is REALLY just code for "federally subsidizing private educations for our well-off neighbors."
Maybe all y'all are OK with that. But I'm not.
I think undermining public schools by supporting "school choice" plans that really only give options to well-off kids from solid homes with no academic needs is evil.
Plain and simple.
I think undermining public schools by supporting "school choice" plans that really only give options to well-off kids from solid homes with no academic needs is evil.
Plain and simple.
Now, don't get me wrong: Parents most definitely have the right to choose Thales for their kids. But to suggest that all parents can choose Thales under "school choice" plans is disingenuous.
And to suggest that we strip tax dollars away from public schools to support a parent's choice to provide their child with a private education is a shortsighted decision.
Our goal should be to ensure that ALL students receive a "sound basic education" -- including those who need free lunch and special education services.
(This isn't hard, y'all: Instead of criticizing public schools, let's invest in them.)
