DeVos and the Problem of the "Right Fit"
In 2017: “It shouldn’t matter what type of school a student attends, so long as the school is the right fit for that student.”
During Charter Schools Week this year: “... to celebrate the millions of students who have found the right fit for their education...”
In her recent letter to parents: “...we believe families need more options than ever to find the right fit.”
In the rhetoric of school choice, “right fit” has become a replacement for the “rescue from failing schools” and “trapped by their zip code.”
The “right fit” rhetoric has some advantages for school choice proponents. In particular, it lets them target a much broader “market,” pitching school choice to students whose school is well-rated and generally successful. “It’s a great school,” the pitch goes, “but it still might not be the right fit for your child.” Voila—instant expanded choice customer landscape.
But there are reasons to be extremely wary of this language.
First of all, while DeVos likes to suggest that parents know what the “right fit” for their child will be, it is the private and charter schools that will ultimately decide whether or not the child is the “right fit” for their school. Charter schools have a history of pushing out students who are too CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos and the Problem of the "Right Fit"
But there are reasons to be extremely wary of this language.
First of all, while DeVos likes to suggest that parents know what the “right fit” for their child will be, it is the private and charter schools that will ultimately decide whether or not the child is the “right fit” for their school. Charter schools have a history of pushing out students who are too CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos and the Problem of the "Right Fit"