https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh en-us 2023-02-09 17:20:40 UTC 2023-05-05 20:37:46 UTC hello@padlet.com kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2512133103 The topic I chose is school choice in K-12 education. The school choice movement is the movement where many people are advocating for the right of families to choose where their child goes to school. School choice is a controversial topic as many believe that instead of improving all public schools that school will have to start going up against other schools so that they can still receive the tax dollars that the student brings with them to the school to help fund the school.]]> 2023-03-10 17:22:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2512133103 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530360940 The article in Education Week written by Libby Stanford called The Push for School Choice is Accelerating discusses how families are wanting school choice laws to be passed. Families want more schooling options to choose from for their children. The article also discusses the different options from education savings accounts to vouchers that states are trying to pass into law making school choice an option for families. The article also discusses the implications of school choice and how schools in rural areas are going to be majorly impacted as they will lose most of their funding causing them to have to shut down.

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/the-push-for-school-choice-is-accelerating/2023/01

]]> 2023-03-24 12:36:32 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530360940 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530361468 The next article written on EducationWeek is by Mark Lieberman called Voucher Programs Gain Strength With Help From the Courts, An Expert Says. In this article Lieberman interviews Joshua Weishart who is a professor at the West Virginia University College of Law to discuss school choice and a recent court decision made by the West Virginia Supreme Court to strike down a lawsuit challenging the states schools’ choice program. The article discusses how the decision to strike down the lawsuit can cause problems in the future as the state constitution has very specific language in it that prevents vouchers from getting funding from different sources while the courts approved a workaround for legislatures. You also run into the issue of state money going to fund religious institutions as some private schools are owned by religious institutions. This is an issue as church and state are supposed to be separate but if the schools that are private are owned by religious institutions then they are being funded by public funds then the government is not keeping church and state separate. This is one issue that school choice can cause plus with the issue of taking away funding from public schools and moving those funds to private schools, the public schools are going to be even more underfunded and the states or counties may have to raise taxes to get more money to fund the public schools.

https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/voucher-programs-gain-strength-with-help-from-the-courts-an-expert-says/2022/12

]]> 2023-03-24 12:36:59 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530361468 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530362279 This image relates to school choice as it looks at the regulations that school districts are required to follow compared to what private schools are required to follow. With school districts they have many more laws and regulations they have to follow to make sure that they are being held accountable and is available for every student. Private schools aren't required to accept every student so they can pick and choose who attends their school. They also aren't required to assess or report student performance to the public compared to public schools who are required to assess and report student performance to the public. Private schools also have little to no interference from state government when students aren't performing well. Where as when a public school is not performing well the state will step in and help either improve the school or decide if the school needs to be closed. When it comes to allowing vouchers to be used there either needs to be more regulations on other schooling options or vouchers should not be used to allow every student the opportunity to get an equal education as their peers.

https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/policy/where-we-stand-on-school-vouchers/]]> 2023-03-24 12:37:40 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530362279 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530362580 This image is titled Voucher Crew and in the image there is a crew of workers taking apart the building public education and adding the materials to the private schools building. This represents school choice as a huge part of school choice and the debate around it is the funding. State governments are taking public school funding to allow students the choice to attend private schools instead. This takes away funds and materials that public schools desperately need as they are very underfunded as it is. In the end this causes public schools to try and compete with private schools since the money that students are using to attend private schools come from public school funding.

https://progressive.org/magazine/private-school-vouchers-levin/]]> 2023-03-24 12:37:56 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530362580 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530364743 This image explains a school voucher program and how it can function in terms of the costs of private school tuition. While yes with a voucher they use taxes to help cover the cost of private school tuition the amount that most states give families isn't enough to fully cover the full amount of tuition since private schools are very expensive. 

https://rethinkingschools.org/special-collections/tuition-tax-credits-vouchers-in-disguise/]]> 2023-03-24 12:39:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2530364743 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540107937 The first article I found on Education Week written by Williamena Kwapo called Study Links Longer School Bus Rides to Chronic Absenteeism. In the article Kwapo describes a study that was conducted by Temple University and Syracuse University that tracked data on the communte of students that attend public schools outside of their neighborhoods. The test scores between students that had a short bus ride compared to a longer bus ride didn't vary but their number of absences did. The study found that students with over an hour long bus ride had an absenteeism rate of 12%. Missing so much school can cause issues for students because they end up missing important academic knowledge that they would be getting in class. The largest educational inequality is chronic absenteeism. 

This connects to my topic of school choice as the students in the study were all able to choose what public school they went to in the area but it also shows how bad school choice can be in some situtations. When students are able to choose a different school they may end up having to drive a lot further than their local public school which can cause students to miss a lot more school days then normal. This impacts their education in many ways. It can even impact students who choose to stay in their local district as if there isn't enough school funds, schools will have to close down causing students to have to travel further to go to school causing more chances of chronic absenteeism in students and potentially causing students to get behind academically.

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/study-links-longer-school-bus-rides-to-chronic-absenteeism/2022/06]]> 2023-03-31 16:37:40 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540107937 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540113013 The first policy that has been enacted related to school choice is vouchers. Vouchers are a way for the state to help families pay to send their child to a school of the families choosing instead of public school. The vouchers are funded completely by the taxes that would normally be spent on that student when attending public school. Vouchers can be problematic as the money is taxes from the government and some families use it to attend a private school that may be religious. Which in most states is not allowed by the state constitutions as many have provisions against the funding of private religious schools by voucher programs. Vouchers are also problematic because the money students are using is being taken away from the funding public schools get which leaves them even more underfunded than they already are.]]> 2023-03-31 16:42:25 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540113013 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540113422 Another policy that has been discussed a lot is school reform. School reform can mean many things but it mainly covers funding, curriculum usage, standards, and staffing for schools. In theory school reform is a great policy but the problem is that many states aren't agreeing on what school reform looks like or what should be covered in school reform. For example you have states like Florida who is banning many things in the classroom because they have bills like the 'Don't Say Gay' Bill which bans teachers from discussing things like discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in K-12 classrooms. Alongside that many southern states are banning certain books that go against peoples beliefs. Then there are many northern states that aren't enacting laws like that at all. This is the problem as schools state to state are varying on what they believe school reform should be when schooling across the country should be similar. Students is Florida should be learning the same things or similar things students in Minnesota are learning as then no student is being left behind or getting a worse education. 

The same goes with funding. All schools should be receiving adequate funding to provide their students with the education they need. Schools shouldn't have to scrape by with what little funding they receive from taxes and if you take away the funding because of school choice then schools will be forced to close down creating a lack of access to a proper education.]]> 2023-03-31 16:42:49 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540113422 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540113848 Currently some states have tuition assistance programs where families can request the state help pay a portion of their child's private school tuition bills. There are also education savings accounts called 529 accounts where parents can put aside money to pay up to $10,000 worth of tuition each year tax free in K-12. This way not as much money from the state is going towards funding private schools. Plus it also gives families the option to fund their child's private school tuition if they choose to send their child to a private school.]]> 2023-03-31 16:43:15 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540113848 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540114392 The first way we can address school choice is by providing schools with more funding. Part of the reason so many families want school choice is that they feel their public schools are failing their students academically and that can be a problem. But that problem can be solved with more funding. If you provide schools with more funding the schools will be able to hire teachers that are higher quality, they will be able to hire more teachers causing class sizes to go down creating the opportunity for more one on one support. Students will be able to learn more and be better supported in their learning.]]> 2023-03-31 16:43:47 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2540114392 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2553541131 Another idea is change the way school choice works. Make it to where if school choice is an option the other school options are as regulated as public schools are. Schools shouldn't be able to exclude students based off of test scores or based on whether they are a student that needs accommodations because of being in special education. School choice also shouldn't be funded by public school funds. It should come from a separate budget if school choice is going to be an option.]]> 2023-04-13 18:00:27 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2553541131 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2553545703 This article follows three principals in New York and how the school choice system works in New York. Students can enter into a lottery basically and rank what schools they want to attend but most schools require applications and a screening process. The problem that was found in the study with schools being able to screen students is that many schools end up picking and choosing what students go to their school. This is technically not allowed though as the schools aren't allowed to do that by the Department of Education. But schools come up with many work arounds by providing ads with the certain look of their students, emphasizing the school uniforms to certain families that may not be able to provide uniforms, or telling families with special education students they wont be able to provide the accommodations or resources that those students need. When school choice becomes popular these are all issues many students will face. Schools will be biased against students as they want families to see that their school is excelling compared to others in the area. ]]> 2023-04-13 18:04:21 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2553545703 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2553546555 In this article written by Thomas Rabovsky it discusses the main arguments for school choice. There are three main arguments when it comes to school choice and those are parents can find a better school match for their child, school choice allows students to gain better educational opportunities, and the last argument is that it increases competition between schools. In the article it ends up looking at schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The findings end up being that the test scores do end up going up but that racial segregation in the schools does get worse. Racial segregation in schools can cause a difference in test scores too. This article looks at both sides of school choice but ultimately decides that school choice needs to be researched more about the many gaps that exist in research.]]> 2023-04-13 18:05:10 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2553546555 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554910413 The first quote I found in The Schooled Society written by David P. Baker is, "What were once highly legitimate identities lose authority within the institution of schooling, particularly as they might be used to limit access to opportunity for the future development of the person." (2014, p. 32). This quote discusses how in education a students identity can prevent them from getting full access to educational opportunities that students who may have the certain identity that a lot of schools, especially private schools look for. When it comes to school choice students still have to complete applications to attend other schools and some private schools tend to be biased against students of certain races or backgrounds because they may be seen as problematic. Or students in special education will be passed over because of their disabilities as private schools are not required to accommodate special education students.]]> 2023-04-14 18:57:55 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554910413 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554913764 The next quote I choose from The Schools Society written by David P. Baker is, "Academic achievement, and its everyday manifestations as grades, test scores, teacher recommendations, and educational promotions, is the central currency of formal schooling, so much so that a person's intelligence is now largely publicly judged through indicators of his schooling performance, such as formal degrees attained: one's intelligence has become merged with one's performance of academic achievement." (2014, p. 43). This quote explains how important academics is in our culture now a days. Academics can decide what school you go to, your social status, what job you have, and many other things. The problem with academics being so heavily relied on in many areas is that when it comes to school choice schools that are able to are going to pick students that are excelling academically over the regular student as it makes their school look better to other families and to the Department of Education. Schools will be very picky on who they choose which can cause the students who may need extra support to fall between the cracks as they won't have access to the same level of education or the level of education they need as schools may not want to take them. With school choice this means they will attend the public schools which either may be closed near them or may be severely underfunded.]]> 2023-04-14 19:01:52 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554913764 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554915270 The next quote I choose from The Schools Society written by David P. Baker is, "Providing widespread educational opportunity for nations populations is not only thought of as desirable; it is now approaching the cultural status of a basic human right, not unlike nutrition, health care, and civil rights" (p. 56). This quote discusses how in our current society education has become a natural human right. Every child deserves an education and when it comes to school choice that isn't always attainable because when you start pulling funding from public schools they start having to shut down and then students wont have easy access to schooling anymore making it to where students may just not attend school or have access to a very poor education.]]> 2023-04-14 19:03:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554915270 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944119 In this video posted onto Youtube by PBS NewsHour it discusses two schools in Indiana one public school and one private school. The private school accepts over $400,000 in vouchers and that has caused the public schools in the area to lose funding which has caused a rise in class sizes. They discuss how one kindergarten classroom has 28 students in the class which is a very large amount for a kindergarten class. Vouchers can allow access to other schooling options for most families but it takes away funding from the public schools as seen in the video. This can allow families to choose the school their children attend but it causes issues with taking away funding from the public schools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9B2GEKQiPM]]> 2023-04-14 19:44:37 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944119 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944186 In this video created by The Heritage Foundation posted on youtube it describes what school choice is by using a grocery store analogy and two towns to describe how school choice works for people who may not understand. It describes how districts works compared to how school choice works and how the money works under both scenarios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G9MtANh4RM]]> 2023-04-14 19:44:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944186 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944221 In this video created by EdChoice posted on youtube called What are School Vouchers? it discusses what school vouchers are and how they are used in many states. This is one of the main parts of school choice as vouchers is how many people in different states pay for the school of their choice as most schools are unattainable for families as private schools can be very expensive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSYZrZWkaxc]]> 2023-04-14 19:44:47 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944221 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944430 In this article written by Helen F. Ladd called School Vouchers: A Critical View it discusses the different ways a voucher program would work in the US and how it would affect the education system. When a widespread voucher program is used there is very little to no effect on test scores in any groups of students. The voucher programs could actually end up costing the education system more money than the current system in place. The article also discusses how even with the school choice there is no data that shows that an increase in competition will make the public schools work better. This all is being discusses currently with school choice as all of these topics are things that everyone who discusses school choice talks about. ]]> 2023-04-14 19:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2554944430 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555424634 Baker, D. P. (2014). The Schooled Society: The Educational Transformation of Global Culture. Stanford University Press. ]]> 2023-04-15 18:23:30 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555424634 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555435918 Jennings, J. L. (2010). School choice or schools’ choice? Sociology of Education, 83(3), 227–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040710375688

Ladd, H. F. (2002). School Vouchers: A Critical View. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 16(4), 3–24. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.und.edu/10.1257/089533002320950957

Rabovsky, T. (2011), Deconstructing School Choice: Problem Schools or Problem Students?. Public Administration Review, 71: 87-95. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.und.edu/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02309.x]]> 2023-04-15 18:59:11 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555435918 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555436009 Kwapo, W. (2022, June 16). Study links longer school bus rides to chronic absenteeism. Education Week. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/study-links-longer-school-bus-rides-to-chronic-absenteeism/2022/06

Lieberman, M. (2022, December 28). Voucher programs gain strength with help from the courts, an expert says. Education Week. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/voucher-programs-gain-strength-with-help-from-the-courts-an-expert-says/2022/12

Stanford, L. (2023, January 30). The push for school choice is accelerating. Education Week. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/the-push-for-school-choice-is-accelerating/2023/01 ]]> 2023-04-15 18:59:30 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555436009 kaitlynisaacson https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555437181 EdChoice. (2016, July 29). What are School Vouchers? [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSYZrZWkaxc

Here is where we stand on school vouchers. Here is Where We Stand on School Vouchers - Raise Your Hand Texas. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/policy/where-we-stand-on-school-vouchers/

Levin, J. (2021, August 11). The problem with private school vouchers. Progressive.org. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://progressive.org/magazine/private-school-vouchers-levin/

Miner, B. (2020, June 25). Tuition tax credits: Vouchers in disguise. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved April 15, 2023, from https://rethinkingschools.org/special-collections/tuition-tax-credits-vouchers-in-disguise/

PBS NewsHour. (2017, March 14). Are school vouchers good for education? That debate is playing out in Indiana [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9B2GEKQiPM

The Heritage Foundation. (2011, August 2). What is School Choice? [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G9MtANh4RM]]> 2023-04-15 19:03:36 UTC https://padlet.com/kaitlynisaacson/k8i1qmvvcbruvryh/wish/2555437181