Here’s who Trump invited to the White House to talk about schools. The list says a lot about his education priorities. - The Washington Post

Here’s who Trump invited to the White House to talk about schools. The list says a lot about his education priorities. - The Washington Post:

Here’s who Trump invited to the White House to talk about schools. The list says a lot about his education priorities.

President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos met with a carefully selected group of 10 teachers and parents at the White House on Tuesday, a list of participants that reveals a good deal about the administration’s education priorities.

DeVos is the controversial new education secretary who was confirmed by the Senate only when Mike Pence became the first vice president in history to break a tie for a Cabinet member.  Also present at the White House education meeting were Pence, presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway and senior adviser Stephen Miller.

Before the meeting, Trump praised DeVos and said she had been through a “very unfair trial” before her confirmation. As it began, he said:

“We want every child in America to have the opportunity to climb the ladders of success. We want every child, also, to have a safe community and we’re going to do that. … It all begins with education, and that’s why we’re here this morning. … Right now, too many of our children don’t have the opportunity to get that education that we all talk about. Millions of poor disadvantaged students are trapped in failing schools. … That’s why I want every single disadvantaged child in America, no matter what their background or where they live, to have a choice about where they go to school. It’s worked out so well in some communities where it’s been properly run. … ”

[Trump praises Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, saying she endured a ‘very unfair trial’]

The 10 invited teachers and parents were, according to the White House:

* Carol Bonilla, a Spanish teacher at a private school
* Bartholomew Cirenza, a parent of seven students in a public school
* Kenneth Michael Smith, a parent and president of a dropout-prevention program
* Aimee Viana, a parent of two students at a private school and a former principal
* Kathyrn Mary Doherty, a parent of a student at a private Catholic school
* Laura Lynn Parrish, a parent of a home-schooled student
* Julie R. Baumann, a fifth-grade teacher at a public school
* Jane Quenneville, a principal of a public school specializing in special education
* Jennifer Jane Coleman, a parent and a teacher of four home-school students
* Mary Caroline Riner, a parent of a student at a charter school

Keep in mind that more than 80 percent of America’s schoolchildren attend traditional public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics:

* About 10 percent of schoolchildren in the United States go to private schools, according to 2013-14 data, the latest available, with 38 percent of these enrolled in Catholic schools.
* About 5 percent attend charter schools, according to 2013-14 data, the latest available. Charter schools are publicly funded but operate outside traditional public districts, and many Here’s who Trump invited to the White House to talk about schools. The list says a lot about his education priorities. - The Washington Post: