DiSalvo: Vouchers betray our commitment to public education for all
DeVos said the 2016 election results were a vindication of “bold school choice policies.” In this assertion, she means private school vouchers.
Yikes.
Let me explain my worse fears and my queasy stomach since Nov. 8.
I have been a life-long progressive Democrat who believes that children without voice deserve courageous actions from elected leaders to ensure they attend a school where all teachers promote, through their expectations, high levels of achievement for each child.
I have been proud to support Rocketship, ACE, Summit, Downtown College Prep, Voices, Discovery, and Alpha charter schools approved by Santa Clara County Board of Education. In addition, I praise local school districts like Alum Rock and Gilroy Unified for the smart work they do in underfunded systems to achieve their noteworthy student results.
The locally governed and grown charters I listed above create parental choice and competition for local public schools that increase learning opportunities for all. That is what the facts indicate; see the SCCOE 2015-16 Annual Charter School Data Book. During the eight years of the Obama administration’s school choice advocacy and the expansion of high quality charter schools, publicly accountable schools have received strong bi-partisan support.
Shavar Jeffries, president of Democrats for Educational Reform recently said, “I can’t think of anything more potentially harmful to the charter school movement, or anything more antithetical to its progressive roots, than having Donald Trump as its national champion.” I agree with Jeffries.
By choosing DeVos as the Education Secretary nominee, Trump is saying yes to private DiSalvo: De Vos' private school vouchers betray public education:
