(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)
We had a bit of a fauxtroversy here in Arizona last week as some quarters got riled up over Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal’s decision to record a message for parents whose children attend D/F rated Arizona schools about the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. Superintendent Huppenthal serves as the legally designated administrator of the ESA program- it is quite a shock that he might work with private groups to raise awareness of the program. Quelle horreur! This is surely going to lead to the destruction of public education in Arizona right?
Well, no actually not so much. More on the NBC news show Sunday Square Off:
http://www.azcentral.com/video/3203027567001
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How dare he inform parents of their options? Doesn’t he realize that disempowers them?
Actually, parental awareness of the option and how to use it is the critical challenge for “failing schools” programs. They serve populations with low access to information and strong publicity efforts are needed to reach significant enrollment. This is one reason I’d prefer to see the movement move away from this model.
I agree that it is not the ideal model for the reasons you suggest.