Author: William G. Howell, Harvard University
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options. From the analysis, three basic findings emerge: First, while parents claim to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualify for NCLB’s choice provisions do not know that their child’s school is on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools are especially interested in pursuing alterna- tive schooling options; this interest, however, does not derive from pointed dissatisfac- tion with their current schools, and it is regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford—specifically, private schools. And third, in matters involving education, the personal sphere retains strong links to the political: parents who express interest in an alternative schooling option for their child are especially likely to endorse policy initiatives like school vouchers.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
Author: William G. Howell, Harvard University
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options. From the analysis, three basic findings emerge: First, while parents claim to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualify for NCLB’s choice provisions do not know that their child’s school is on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools are especially interested in pursuing alterna- tive schooling options; this interest, however, does not derive from pointed dissatisfac- tion with their current schools, and it is regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford—specifically, private schools. And third, in matters involving education, the personal sphere retains strong links to the political: parents who express interest in an alternative schooling option for their child are especially likely to endorse policy initiatives like school vouchers.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options.
Download Report: Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations for Education Reform in Massachusetts
“She’s a good girl. She helps me a lot. She has big, big dreams. I don’t have the money, but she has big dreams. I hope she’s going to get everything, but she works so hard. She works so hard in school.”
“Our family is needing to make some really big sacrifices because we believe this is important, and so, we’re basically going to do whatever it takes… Sometimes we look at each other and go ‘I don’t know if I can do it again another month…’”
“A lot of the families have to sacrifice and work multiple jobs… And just scraping together enough money to just make tuition, just the basics.”
“It is discriminatory, that parents who want to choose an alternative to public school for their children, would not in any way receive any compensation for that, whether it be tax credit, whether it be a voucher…”
In the 1840s, nativist movement leaders formed official political parties and local chapters of the national Native American Party (later the American Party), although they continued to be commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party. Politicians sought to insert provisions into state constitutions against Catholics who refused to renounce the pope. The Know-Nothing movement brought bigotry and hatred to a new level of violence and organization.
The party’s legacy endured in the post-Civil War era, with laws and constitutional amendments it supported, still today severely limiting parents’ educational choices. A federal constitutional amendment was proposed by Speaker of the House James Blaine prohibiting money raised by taxation in any State to be under the control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations. These were then named the Blaine Amendments of 1875.
in recent decades, often in response to challenges to school choice programs, the U.S. Supreme Court has demonstrated great interest in examining the issues of educational alternatives and attempts limit parental options. Massachusetts plays a key role in this debate. The Bay State was a key center of the Know-Nothing movement and has the oldest version of Anti-Aid Amendments in the nation, as well as a second such amendment approved in 1917. Two-fifths of Massachusetts residents are Catholic, and its Catholic schools outperform the state’s public schools, which are the best in the nation.
Author: William G. Howell, Harvard University
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options. From the analysis, three basic findings emerge: First, while parents claim to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualify for NCLB’s choice provisions do not know that their child’s school is on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools are especially interested in pursuing alterna- tive schooling options; this interest, however, does not derive from pointed dissatisfac- tion with their current schools, and it is regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford—specifically, private schools. And third, in matters involving education, the personal sphere retains strong links to the political: parents who express interest in an alternative schooling option for their child are especially likely to endorse policy initiatives like school vouchers.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
Author: William G. Howell, Harvard University
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options. From the analysis, three basic findings emerge: First, while parents claim to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualify for NCLB’s choice provisions do not know that their child’s school is on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools are especially interested in pursuing alterna- tive schooling options; this interest, however, does not derive from pointed dissatisfac- tion with their current schools, and it is regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford—specifically, private schools. And third, in matters involving education, the personal sphere retains strong links to the political: parents who express interest in an alternative schooling option for their child are especially likely to endorse policy initiatives like school vouchers.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options.
Download Report: Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations for Education Reform in Massachusetts
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
/0 Comments/in Press Releases, Press Releases: Education, Press Releases: Religious Education, Press Releases: School Choice, Related Education Blogs, School Choice /by Editorial StaffAuthor: William G. Howell, Harvard University
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options. From the analysis, three basic findings emerge: First, while parents claim to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualify for NCLB’s choice provisions do not know that their child’s school is on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools are especially interested in pursuing alterna- tive schooling options; this interest, however, does not derive from pointed dissatisfac- tion with their current schools, and it is regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford—specifically, private schools. And third, in matters involving education, the personal sphere retains strong links to the political: parents who express interest in an alternative schooling option for their child are especially likely to endorse policy initiatives like school vouchers.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations for Education Reform in Massachusetts
/0 Comments/in Press Releases, Press Releases: Education, Press Releases: School Choice, Related Education Blogs, School Choice /by Editorial StaffAuthor: William G. Howell, Harvard University
Drawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options. From the analysis, three basic findings emerge: First, while parents claim to be familiar with NCLB, the vast majority of those who in fact qualify for NCLB’s choice provisions do not know that their child’s school is on the state’s list of underperforming schools. Second, parents with children in underperforming schools are especially interested in pursuing alterna- tive schooling options; this interest, however, does not derive from pointed dissatisfac- tion with their current schools, and it is regularly directed toward options that NCLB does not afford—specifically, private schools. And third, in matters involving education, the personal sphere retains strong links to the political: parents who express interest in an alternative schooling option for their child are especially likely to endorse policy initiatives like school vouchers.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations For Education Reform in Massachusetts
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations for Education Reform in Massachusetts
/0 Comments/in Academic Standards, Education, School Choice /by William HowellDrawing from a telephone survey of 1,000 public school parents in the ten largest school districts in Massachusetts, this paper critically examines public school parents’ knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options.
Download Report: Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations for Education Reform in Massachusetts