鈥淧ublic school choice is a good thing鈥攂ut choice shouldn鈥檛 be viewed as an engagement strategy,鈥� Dr. Maria Fletcher, president of the New York PTA, told a U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education in Washington, D.C., yesterday at a hearing called 鈥淓xploring State Success in Expanding Parent and Student Options.鈥�
鈥淧erhaps we鈥檙e asking the wrong question鈥攊nstead of asking how to empower parents by providing alternatives to their neighborhood school, why aren鈥檛 we empowering parents by engaging all stakeholders to ensure that every neighborhood school lives up to the quality promise we鈥檝e made to educate all students?鈥� she asked.
鈥淎ll public schools鈥攖raditional, charter, magnet鈥攎ust have the capacity to build and capitalize on effective school-family partnerships to increase student achievement,鈥� she said in her prepared statement before the committee.
Referring to , which was introduced in 2011, she said: 鈥淲hile thankful for the bipartisan attention that family engagement has garnered during the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization process, we strongly urge the Committee to further consider the role of research-based family engagement policies and programming that are both more effective and far-reaching than school choice as communicated through the provisions of H.R. 1821.鈥�
In a phone interview after her appearance before the subcommittee, Dr. Fletcher noted that the three other experts offering testimony all supported choice and/or 鈥減arent trigger鈥� laws. Her testimony, and that of the other speakers, can be .
鈥淎ccountability is a big issue,鈥� Fletcher said as she returned home to New York. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e talking about public [charter] schools, they should be as accountable as our traditional public schools. The assessments used should be the same assessments that are demanded in traditional public schools. We don鈥檛 have clear data that charter schools are better. They are an alternative.
鈥淎s the PTA, we support that alternative. However, if they鈥檙e getting public funds they need to be accountable, and a funding stream other than siphoning off from traditional public schools needs to be initiated. Funding for education is a huge problem.鈥�
鈥淚f parents were to become more involved in their school communities, and the school district, they would have the potential of accomplishing good things not only for their children, but for all children,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need parents who are advocates and activists. We need to see that change happening in our public schools.鈥�
For the political angle on yesterday鈥檚 hearing, read Education Week鈥榮 Politics K-12 story by Alyson Klein.