School Choice

As a Baltimore city homeowner and taxpayer, I'm tired of spending a per pupil fortune and then ending up with the dismal results we do. Unlike Professor Howell Baum ("School choice is bad for us," Commentary, Dec. 30), I see no harm in school choice if it means most kids graduate, test scores rise and once again Baltimore has a productive work force. I don't care about "societal interests" if they end up damaging education outcome. And what's so horrible about folks wanting to be with those who share similar values?

The principal of Federal Hill Preparatory Elementary/Middle School told the Baltimore city school board Tuesday that she strongly supported the district's recommendation to drop the school's struggling middle grades program. Since the system rolled out it's fourth-year-recommendations to close or discontinue struggling programming in schools, we hadn't heard as much from the Federal Hill community as we had from other schools impacted by the proposals. You can read about the distric'ts recommendations, here.

"Choice" is a common mantra in school reform today. Some reformers talk as if just letting families choose schools will somehow improve education. Because school reform is a hard and urgent problem, we look for quick fixes. Some — especially non-educators, who do not know what curriculum, teaching methods or classroom organization would work — ignore the substance of education and focus, instead, on the process of assigning children to schools: replace school system control with parental choice.

Sixteen-year-old NaTeera Smith would rather ride buses for three hours a day between her home in Belair-Edison and Southside Academy in Cherry Hill than start over at a new school. She lived near Southside when she entered ninth grade but has since moved, choosing to stay at the struggling school despite the commute. But, going into her senior year, she may not have that option. the city school board is considering closing Southside in June. Catrina Taylor, Smith's mother, said she may end up home-schooling her daughter.

I was happy to see the "school choice" article in today's Baltimore Sun ( "National movement for 'school choice' embraced in city," Feb. 3). Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso and many of the charter schools in our city should be applauded for what they are doing and have accomplished. Certainly, more choice rather than less choice is beneficial to Baltimore City children and families looking for the best education that they can obtain. People interested in the topic of school choice should keep in mind that full and true "school choice" must allow parents to consider sending their children to non-public schools in our city as well as public schools.

In your Feb. 3 article "School choice finds a welcome in Baltimore," much respectful attention is paid to critics of school choice like Diane Ravitch, who is quoted as complaining that choice programs "introduce friction into districts, splitting communities as parents battle over space and who gets to which schools. " This reminds me of my mother's reason for depriving my young, hungry self and my five siblings of goodies such as cherries and chocolate ice cream: "Ten minutes after I bring it in the house, you guys just eat it up and there is nothing left.

Three years ago, Sylvia Paylor was ready to upend her family's life so her fourth-grader could get a good education. Concerned about the neighborhood middle school, she told daughter Ayanna that when she left Cecil Elementary, they might have to move in with another family to save money for a private school. But then Paylor met Andrés Alonso, the new city schools superintendent, who had already pushed a dozen schools toward overhauls. "I asked him flat out: What am I supposed to do?

Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the site Saturday of a contest waged not with bats, balls and gloves but test scores, curriculum overviews and student testimonials. It was the annual school choice fair for Baltimore City public schools. Students and staff from 64 middle schools and high schools set up shop to woo fifth- and eighth-graders who will soon choose where to attend next year. School officials said that nearly 15,000 people came to the event on the stadium's club-level concourse, triple the number of attendees last year.

AMERICANS increasingly are turning to reforms that allow parents to choose the schools their children attend as the best solution to the nation's education crisis.In New York City's East Harlem, for example, granting parents a choice of public schools has boosted that district's student achievement from last to 12th among the city's 24 school districts. Wisconsin last year passed legislation allowing 1,000 low-income Milwaukee youngsters to use state education funds for tuition in private schools.

In his State of the State message, Governor Schaefer endorsed an experimental plan in which the state would pay to send 200 low-income students to private or parochial schools. The governor's frustration with public schools, particularly Baltimore City schools, is understandable. A parade of superintendents has come into office, assessed needs, reorganized, started programs and moved on. Meanwhile, a generation of kids entered kindergarten and reached high school -- where half dropped out.The choice plan looks like a quick and low-cost answer, at least for a few kids.

Maryland's search for a 2012 point guard has led to Southern California. According to Nation of Blue recruiting analyst Garrett Tucker , the Terps are "now expressing interest in 2012 point guard Trey Dickerson of Price HS. "  Dickerson, an unrated prospect from Van Nuys, Calif., is also reportedly starting to hear from Georgia Tech and USC . The 6-foot-1 senior is a New York City native who has spent his entire high...

In his article, "School choice is a fact, but who chooses?" Robert Maranto grossly misinterpreted the educational philosophy and performance of Joshua Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler was superintendent of schools in Baltimore County from 1970 to 1976. Mr. Maranto quoted Mr. Wheeler as saying: "The purpose of public education is to provide an education for those few who want it. " If Mr. Wheeler actually said this, it was certainly taken out of context and contrary to his performance as an outstanding school administrator.

Editor: The Harford county Board of Education's opposition to any public money for non-public schools, while regrettable, is understandable. The board sees no responsibility for the education of Harford County children not in their corporate system; the board's business is preserving its monopoly on education tax dollars for their corporation; however, your editorial of Dec. 2 is a chilling, exclusionary and discriminatory statement not shared by all Marylanders. Many Maryland voters support school choice reforms and policies so parents aren't economically denied freedom of school choice.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the site Saturday of a contest waged not with bats, balls and gloves but test scores, curriculum overviews and student testimonials. It was the annual school choice fair for Baltimore City public schools. Students and staff from 64 middle schools and high schools set up shop to woo fifth- and eighth-graders who will soon choose where to attend next year. School officials said that nearly 15,000 people came to the event on the stadium's club-level concourse, triple the number of attendees last year.

One of the great ironies of education reform in Maryland is that for all the standardization and testing directed at the classroom, the one place where there's no clear-cut formula for success is how school boards should be selected. Some boards are elected by voters (with candidates running at-large or by district), some are appointed (or appointed and then affirmed by vote) while others are hybrids of the two. There are arguments for and against various approaches, and the fact that so many of Maryland's public schools and school systems are well-regarded nationally (regardless of their governance structure)

Mayoral candidate Otis Rolley III announced last week his "platform" on the future of education for Baltimore City's youth. The cornerstone of Mr. Rolley's plan is a pledge to fund a private school voucher program to address what he has characterized as Baltimore's failing middle schools. Unfortunately, this campaign promise is neither original nor a realistic way of improving outcomes for our students. Baltimore City, as with every jurisdiction in Maryland, has an obligation to provide its youth with a quality public education open to all regardless of race, religion or socio-economic status.

In your Feb. 3 article "School choice finds a welcome in Baltimore," much respectful attention is paid to critics of school choice like Diane Ravitch, who is quoted as complaining that choice programs "introduce friction into districts, splitting communities as parents battle over space and who gets to which schools. " This reminds me of my mother's reason for depriving my young, hungry self and my five siblings of goodies such as cherries and chocolate ice cream: "Ten minutes after I bring it in the house, you guys just eat it up and there is nothing left.

I was happy to see the "school choice" article in today's Baltimore Sun ( "National movement for 'school choice' embraced in city," Feb. 3). Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso and many of the charter schools in our city should be applauded for what they are doing and have accomplished. Certainly, more choice rather than less choice is beneficial to Baltimore City children and families looking for the best education that they can obtain. People interested in the topic of school choice should keep in mind that full and true "school choice" must allow parents to consider sending their children to non-public schools in our city as well as public schools.