Uh-Oh. New Orleans “Miracle” Crumbles [View all]
Robert Mann, a professor of communications at Louisiana State University, recognizes that the point of charters and vouchers is to withdraw into gated communities.
He writes: “Private schools have long flourished in America for reasons legitimate (religious and scholastic), and some not so legitimate (race). But now many parents and taxpayers – manipulated by politicians who argue that the only way to fix public education is to weaken it with privatization – are giving up on the very idea of public schools.
“A strong component of Louisiana’s education “reform” agenda – led by Gov. Bobby Jindal and state education Superintendent John White – is abandoning public schools in favor of private educational enclaves.”
Vouchers do not fulfill their promise. Voucher students fare poorly. Only 40% perform at or above grade level.
And more: “Then there are the 80 schools in Louisiana’s Recovery School District (RSD), beset with allegations of mismanagement, wasteful spending and millions in lost or stolen property. Last year, New Orleans’ RSD schools – mostly charters – were the worst performing in the city.”
The truth is beginning to break through the myths about the glories of privatization.
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/06/27/uh-oh-new-orleans-miracle-crumbles/
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