With all of the attention directed toward the DC voucher program, we could be misled into believing that this represents the current and future of the private school choice debate. Not so.
For my money, this story from Cleveland captures the logical--and exciting--next phase of not only choice but also urban education reform.
A few of the city's highest performing charter operators have teamed up with a high-performing Catholic school in an effort to create more great schools and collaboratively tackle issues like human capital. Their motivation? They don't care who runs excellent schools serving poor kids; they just want more of them.
This story is even more intriguing because the consortium is planning to apply for a slice of the $650 million "scale up what works" fund in the stimulus package.
While the ARRA's legislative language forbids using funding for private school vouchers, it doesn't prohibit innovative ideas like this one, where funds would be used to help a team of traditional public, charter public, and private schools create more high-quality seats. As a matter of fact, groups of schools are eligible applicants for this pot of money.
I hope this Cleveland group follows through and applies, and I hope they are joined by similar multi-sector groups from other cities. But how would the Department view such a proposal?
Yes it's innovative, aimed at disadvantaged communities, promises benefits for under-served kids, and seeks to scale up successful models. But it also engages a faith-based entity, which is still anathema to some.
I suspect that right now a team at ED is working on the application and guidance for this program. ????They'll need to address this matter: Can a religious school be a partner in a proposal?
Let's hope that their answer is a resounding, "Yes," and that they make clear that this program is designed to replicate what works and help America's low-income urban students, not favor one school sector over another.
That would not only look good in departmental guidance, it's a solid principle for urban education reform writ large.