Poll: School vouchers

A new report shows that Florida students who use vouchers perform no better than those who don't. Should Florida continue the program?
Yes, the vouchers cost less than public school
No, the vouchers don't lead to better results

(Photo from Education Next)

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Comments

[Leigh]

The same could be said for you, then. Perhaps you should not have to pay for me to use the library or street lights if you don't use them.

The fact of the matter is that no one would feel the need to use vouchers at all if we felt that the public school system was actually doing its job well. We fully intended for our children to go to public school for their entire education. They would still be there if we hadn't had such a horrific experience with our son.

Thank goodness education money didn't get cut from the budget this time around, but it normally does. Then add all of the hoops teachers have to jump through for things like the FCAT and it gets difficult to teach at all. The private schools are not required to use the FCAT. They don't feel the pressure to teach to the test. I frequently hear this fact used against private schools and it makes me wonder what is so fantastic about the FCAT. They do give other standardized tests (such as the SAT 10 and the OLSAT) to measure achievement. Parents want to see those scores as well as report cards to justify the money they are spending on tuition! The prevailing attitude about those tests is different from the near panic that I observed at my son's public school as the FCAT got closer each year. The private school is very relaxed about it and the teachers believe that the children will do well if they are taught well throughout the year. They are right. Our kids consistently test above grade level. This isn't a school with mainly wealthy families, either. There are many of us with scholarships, vouchers, or just scraping by and making sacrifices to keep our children there as well as parents who go to work there to get the tuition discount. We see many parents who switch to public school and come back within months because they can't believe the difference and are shocked at how far ahead of the public school curriculum their children are. If private schools are no better than public schools, why does that happen?

I firmly believe that there are many people who would qualify for the McKay scholarship but don't even know about it. I now know that the school was supposed to tell me about that option. They never did. I was talking about our struggles with an acquaintance who runs a tutoring program and they mentioned it to me a full year after the original IEP meetings we had with the school. Again, the school didn't do its job. Some of us are just sick and tired of that happening!

[Pat Connolly]

Leigh,
While I am sorry for all your child and you went through, it does not make the case for a wide-open Jeb-style voucher system. There are McKay scholarships for special needs children whose needs are not being met by the public schools. That is the appropriate avenue for you to pursue.

That aside, let's explore your argument that "my spouse and I pay taxes, too. So do our parents. If we are not going to use the service that we are paying for, why can't we get our money back". Suppose you don't go out at night, should you get back that part of your taxes that pay for street lights that you "don't use"? Suppose you don't use the public library but prefer to purchase your books, should you get back that part of your taxes that pay for the library that you "don't use" to fund your purchases from a private business? I could cite examples ad infinitum, but I think you catch the drift. Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society, whether we choose to use the services provided or not is a matter of choice which does not absolve us of our obligations to society.

[Leigh]

I would like to remind you that my spouse and I pay taxes, too. So do our parents. If we are not going to use the service that we are paying for, why can't we get our money back to send our child/grandchild to the school of our choice? We gave public school from K-5 to get it right for our son and they FAILED big time! Should I be forced to pay for and send my child to a place that was not only not working for him but was actually destroying him?

After a lot of fighting and being put off for a couple of years, I finally had to take my son to be tested by a private psychologist outside of the school system. I had tried going through their system but was fed up with it and no longer trusted them. He was in the 4th grade when the family pooled our money together and were able to pay for the outside evaluation. He told the psychologist testing him that he wanted to die so that he wouldn't have to go to school anymore. He had no self esteem at that point and really meant that with all of his little heart. It broke mine. I hope you sanctimonious anti-voucher advocates never have to hear your child say something like that or watch them go through that kind of pain and struggle. If you did, you'd quickly change your mind. Especially when you finally figured out how much resistance you encounter trying to get your child the help they need. It took almost an entire school year to wade through the process and finally get him an IEP. And they wouldn't stick to it the next year, either! He was clearly still struggling in class and they wanted to send him up to middle school with no accommodations or help classes because they were afraid he would be stigmatized for it. In their words, “We'll see how he does and if he starts to drown, we'll pull him back in.” I was horrified! He was already drowning! Was I supposed to just sit there and watch it continue to happen?

All of that has changed when I got him out of there and into a private school that actually gave a damn about him. He got the help he needed and has slowly gotten his self confidence back. He is tested twice a year to measure his progress and make sure the plan in place for him is kept up to date. I don't have to beg or fight for it. It's considered to be an essential part of the program. I've gone from having a child who cried every day and wanted to die so he wouldn't have to go to school anymore to a child who smiles and quotes facts and figures at me all day long! I have no doubt that he would have wound up as a statistic had he remained with the public school system that let him down in the first place. Taking him out of there was the best thing we ever did, but we wouldn't have been able to afford it without assistance. We work hard, scrimp where we can and manage to scrape by from month to month. But maybe you think that only those who can afford it should be able to save their children. Why don't you get out there and talk to families like ours before you get up on your high horse and condemn these programs. You might actually learn something!

[Pointer out of the odd]

It has nothing to do with educating the children. It has everything to do with funneling public money into the hands of the politicians' friends.

[constance]

Every parent has the RIGHT to CHOOSE the school that they want, but they don't have the right to make ME pay for it.

Where are the personal responsibility and anti-entitlement folks when it comes to school vouchers? This is a huge entitlement for many students who would have been home schooled or gone to private school (without any tax money being spent) ANYWAY.

Finally, the study proves that they aren't getting a better eduction, and keep in mind that the PROVOUCHER politicians controlled and funded the study. This was the best that they could come up with? Voucher students don't do any worse than public school students? Please.