Rethinking schools: 'choice' has gottta go!

I look at it like this: you can either have strong neighborhood schools OR you can have a market-based school choice program.  But the two, by definition, cannot coexist.

It's no surprise that the libertarian-tinged Tribune lists Portland's school choice program and its liberal transfer policies as the first thing that does not need to be fixed in its Rethinking Schools series.  But it is troubling that the Trib simultaneously emphasizes the need for strong neighborhood schools to keep students in Portland.   Do the Tribune writers understand the contradiction?

I've long argued that school choice undermines neighborhood schools by draining them of their most precious commodity - good students, particularly those with supportive parents.  District policy enables, indeed encourages, parents to flee their neighborhood schools, leaving in their wake a two-tiered system of wealthy attractive schools, on the one hand, and poorer struggling schools on the other.  It's a policy that "balkanizes" the district, divvying up and assorting children by race and by class.

Consider the case of the Horsey family featured in Jennifer Anderson's article on the district's assets.  Robert and Carolyn Horsey have decided not to send their ten-year-old to their neighborhood schools, Peninsula and George.  Why?  Because they don't offer band, orchestra, and Spanish.  And because, as Carolyn puts it:

“I don’t think he would fit in. It’s just more rough and tough.”

One might wonder why some neighborhood schools don't offer band or orchestra while others do.  But one might also question a district policy that allows parents to pick and choose between schools based on the socio-economic status of the students that attend them.  To me, that's an outrage.

That school choice exacerbates class differences between schools is evident in the district's own data.  That data also undermines Anderson's argument that 'choice' is responsible for keeping "... Portland’s capture rate — the rate at which Portland parents send their kids to Portland schools — at 85 percent, one of the highest among urban school districts nationwide."

Here's the reality.  Wealthy schools like Forest Park Elementary have extraordinarily high capture rates.  Forest Park enrolls 96% of its neighborhood children.  Less than 1% leave for focus option programs.  The poorest (and blackest) school in the district, King Elementary, captures only 57% of its neighborhood students. 

Granted, the district's data doesn't include counts of students who have actually left the system entirely, either for other districts, private schools, or for home schooling.  I do know, however, that the closure of schools (which the Tribune  says is necessary)-schools like Edwards and Smith - have driven some families out of the district.   And each lost student costs the district $5000 in state money.

School choice is a counter-productive policy.  It creates a two-tiered system of schools. And it likely contributes to the marked enrollment decline Portland has suffered the last four years.  It's time for the school board and the district leadership to reconsider its options policy. 

 

Comments

[gus]

"I look at it like this: you can either have strong neighborhood schools OR you can have a market-based school choice program. But the two, by definition, cannot coexist."

The reality, Terry is that PPS has a 3-tiered system of mostly excellent schools (neighborhood and special focus) attended by children of affluent parents, good-enough schools for middle-class kids and mostly bad schools for kids from low-income families. Progressives learned from Social Security that the best supported entitlements are universal entitlements that the affluent class derives benefit from and are therefore willing to support with tax dollars.

Take away special focus or elite neighborhood schools and the affluent parents who demand them will withdraw support from PPS and move their kids to suburban public or private schools.

For a good example Google up Riverdale School District.

[Alex Horsey]

Do you really find it appropriate to chastise adults for wanting better schools for their children? There's really no point to mention my parents or the article that has been written about them.. It's flat out rude. Do you really think that I'm the only student in Portland that has decided to change schools? No.
And for the record, I will be attending Wilson next year, NOT my neighborhood school, and I'm glad. In fact, couldn't be happier about my choice, thank you very much.

[Midge]

Did you ever even consider that some parent choose to send the child to a different school not because it is richer but, because it is actually a BETTER school? I personally know the Horsey family and they live in a dangerous neighborhood, and they can't help that. They chose to take advantage of an opportunity for their children to get their educations in a positive and safe learning environment!!

[CarolynMCMILLAN25]

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