Choice words

Want proof that some of the people that support the Milwaukee School Choice program aren't really in this debate in order to improve educational opportunities for kids? Look at some of their responses to the compromise that was recently announced and it becomes pretty obvious.

From Senator Luther Olsen:

It's vital that we raise the enrollment caps on the Choice Program.

However, concerns have been raised about the multi-million dollar expansion of the SAGE program. Our schools struggle to pay for mandated programs, like Special Education, that are underfunded by the state. We must thoughtfully deliberate whether tens of millions of dollars of new spending for schools should go to those programs, that all schools must offer, or to a program that is optional, like SAGE, in which many schools, and most of our children, do not participate.

Yes, your kids don't go to the schools in the Milwaukee area that are struggling and that is part of the problem. Otherwise how do you explain that you don't want to ensure that all the kids in Milwaukee have quality schools. Why is it vital to expand the Choice Program for a few kids but not vital to expand a program that has proven results increasing student performance and would reach many more students?

Senator Olsen might also be interested in the fact that SAGE is helping some schools lower their special education needs. From Janesville Jefferson - "Our special education referrals continue to be very low. Due to the smaller class sizes we can differentiate and meet the needs of almost all of our population."

And then there is Dailytakes Brian Fraley. He thinks improving thep erformancee of kids through the SAGE program is too high of a price to pay. And he is worried about accountability, but not for the Choice Program. He will apparently take the word of anyone that is running a Choice Program school that it is top notch but the SAGE program is questionable.

It's great that the Milwaukee School Choice Program may have been given a long term reprieve with this deal. Opponents of School Choice complain about the lack of accountability in the program. But I have to wonder about the lack of accountability of the SAGE program.

This despite this and this and this. The SAGE program to reduce class sizes in Wisconsin has a record of improving student performance, unlike the Choice Program, and has been evaluated to show the difference. We have no idea if the School Choice Program is producing good results.

Smaller classes sizes is not some crazy experiment Wisconsin is undertaking on its own. Many states are doing it and seeing great results. The state of Tennessee has been doing it longer than Wisconsin and there have been studies tracking the kids through college. Here is what they found.

Those students have now entered college. Researchers have followed the students through the grades and have been able to document that their achievement gains in the primary grades continued throughout high school. Furthermore, they took the SAT and ACT tests at significantly higher rates than students who were in the larger classes.