Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) came out swinging at President-elect Donald Trump’s (R) pick for U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, in a recent Washington Post op-ed. Emanuel is not a fan of DeVos’ support for parental school choice, writing parents should be able to choose, provided, of course, their choices are first approved by elected officials:
By nominating voucher and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to be his education secretary, President-elect Donald Trump has ignited another round of debate over school choice. Yet as cable-news talking heads argue about whether or what kind of school reform is needed in the United States, parents are having a different discussion at the kitchen table – one based on finding the best school, not whether it’s a “reform” school.
Promoting choice at the expense of quality isn’t an education strategy, it’s a political agenda. Rather, those of us creating education policy need to simply focus on providing the quality choices that students deserve.
Emanuel goes on to advise the Trump administration to train principals better, make universal full-day pre-kindergarten a priority, and invest in lots of expensive government-led programs. Rather than let parents determine what education system works best for their own children, Emanuel wants to “invest in better schools, regardless of who operates them.” DeVos should know better than to take advice from Emanuel, whose most recent “investment” in the Chicago Teachers Union cost taxpayers more than $1 million.
SOURCE: The Washington Post
IN THIS ISSUE:
- WISCONSIN: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty finds Milwaukee’s school choice program has had a $500 million economic impact on the city.
- DeVOS: A former Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program student explains in The Hill why we should give Betsy DeVos and school choice a chance.
- ONLINE BOOM: Buzzfeed reports investors are gearing up for a surge in online education when the Trump administration takes office.
- PENNSYLVANIA: A one-of-a-kind Catholic trade school in Pennsylvania is gaining popularity and success.
Common Core and Curriculum Watch
- UNSCHOOL: A California district is planning to open an alternative “unschool” devoid of a traditional education environment, including tedium.
- FAKE NEWS: The National Education Association is teaching teachers how to teach kids about fake news and credible sources.
- CURSIVE: In Arizona, public school students will soon be required to learn cursive.
- PHYS ED: A health group wants to mandate at least 30 minutes of physical activity in Colorado schools.
- ALABAMA: Alabama’s superintendent of education admits the state education board inflated its graduation rate, which has risen dramatically over the past few years.
- SNOW DAYS: The Atlantic analyzes what parts of the country have the most weather-related school closures; Kentucky tops the list.
- SLEEP: Adolescents aren’t getting enough sleep, according to the Academy of Pediatrics, and a new study finds starting school later could stave off serious student health problems.
- CLASSROOM TIME: Florida legislators are debating how much time students should spend in class, and how much money they should spend on the state education budget.
Thank you for reading! If you need a quicker fix of news about school choice, you can find daily updates online at https://heartland.org/topics/education.
Teresa Mull is a policy advisor for education and an editor at The Heartland Institute.
