Letter: Parents doing right by the children

Over the past two weeks, the Louisiana Black Alliance for Educational Options has traveled the entire state sharing information on the newly expanded Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence program. With expos held in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Shreveport, Ruston and Monroe, we have had the opportunity to meet a wide range of parents facing a vast array of challenges regarding their children’s education. We assisted parents in completing scholarship applications and answered many questions and concerns they had.

We also educated parents on opportunities for parental choice in their local community, including those available via the No Child Left Behind Act.

What is extremely clear is that there is a high demand from parents, particularly those of modest means, to provide their children with a high-quality education. Despite the political battles that colored the recent legislative session and the ongoing battle that continues to be peppered with talks of lawsuits, parents in Louisiana want more for their children. Whether through the scholarship program, charter schools or through improved public schools, parents are tired of their children being trapped in learning environments that fail them.

Act 2 of the 2012 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session has given a number of parents hope. Parents came out, often in torrid weather conditions over the last two weeks to learn about parental choice. In Baton Rouge, for example, even when the lights went out, parents stayed to learn ways that they can make life better for their children. Parents are continuing to show that they want more for their children, and as a state, we must do everything within our power to meet this need.

We applaud parents who have taken this new opportunity to exercise parental choice by applying for the new scholarships or asking their local school boards about their rights under No Child Left Behind.

Eric Lewis, state director

Louisiana Black Alliance for Educational Opportunity

Baton Rouge

Comments

1) Comment by Get Real - 06/24/2012

I hate to say it but I agree with tradewinns on this one. You can improve the schools without giving vouchers to athletics simply by cutting off funding to parents receiving state assistance. If your child is fighting. disturbing school, making bad grades we just simply cut off assistance till the fighting stops, the behavior and grades get better. You will see a big turn around in the schools. Cut the money and see how things will change for the better.

2) Comment by tradewinns - 06/24/2012

"What is extremely clear is that there is a high demand from parents, particularly those of modest means, to provide their children with a high-quality education". bovine droppings! the only interest the vast majority of parents in our failing school system is to continue a flow of money from uncle sam to themselves. STOP THE MONEY! when hunger pains begin, working life will start.

3) Comment by timesright - 06/24/2012

@iluvbtr, your background information on BAEO is exactly correct. This is the PR that needs to circulate on this slick, well funded and backed astroturf organization. They are doing more harm than good and are players in the school privatization movement.

4) Comment by iluvbtr - 06/24/2012

Black Alliance for Educational Options: Community Voice or Captive of the Right? A Closer Look at the Black Alliance for Educational Options. BAEO's well-funded public relations campaign is the most recent tactic to emerge from the Right's strategic campaign to re- cast the image of the voucher movement and build broader political support for policies that would undermine the public education system. For years, the Right has tried to cultivate a small, but visible, base of African American support for its agenda on vouchers. Right-wing groups have also put a great deal of effort into cultivating African-American spokespeople, and working to counter the legacy of mistrust that communities of color have for a movement that has historically ranged from indifference to opposition toward racial justice efforts. Yet, at the same time, the right-wing political movement has continued to attack traditional civil rights leaders and initiatives. BAEO is the latest step in the Right's long effort to portray school vouchers as the new civil rights fight. The group does bring together many African-American voucher supporters and only a fraction of them are involved in right-wing politics in general. But BAEO takes its place among the other think tanks and local organizations that have been created with money from right-wing foundations as well as individuals and organizations hoping to profit from promoting increased privatization of public education. Four groups that BAEO originally listed as benefactors back in 2001 are major players in the right-wing voucher movement. In fact, the Walton Foundation and the Bradley Foundation have financed much of the movement. The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation and the American Education Reform Council are pro- voucher advocacy groups that while also receiving significant funding from the Walton and Bradley Foundations are lending their own significant support to BAEO, the relative newcomer.

5) Comment by redstickhornet - 06/23/2012

What Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence are offering seats? I'm not against vouchers. I am against those who have been looking for tax money to send their kids to private religious schools in La. for decades. Another free ride??? When does this one end? If school districts close all their D and F schools (something that should have happened long ago) will this entitlement program end? All these programs should have specific conditions prescribed to specify when they end! Mr. Lewis' organization and others are sending out slick advertising promising something in exchange for nothing;promising parents and students that they are entitled to private education for free.I know because I have received the advertising. I attended private religious school for 12 years. My parents worked to PAY for it. I can never repay my parents for all the hardships they endured to pay for my schooling. I am afraid we are setting up one more govt. program (perhaps with good intentions) that is making promises that cannot possibly be kept, with costs that never go away.

6) Comment by teacherguy - 06/23/2012

http://educatenow.net/wp- content/uploads/2011/07/2011_Voucher_vs_RSD_Performance_b y_School.pdf The link I posted was dead....you can google Diane Ravitch no miracle in new orleans if this link above doesn't work, either.

7) Comment by teacherguy - 06/23/2012

ScotB...I thought the tax credits were 95% for private and charter donations...the 75% number, I thought, was for a failed tax credit to failing public schools that was vetoed by the governor? What I would like for Mr. Lewis to demand next is that the scholarship schools be evaluated using the SAME accountability structure that public schools use to assure parents that their children really are getting a quality choice for their children's education. Oh wait, Chas Roemer, John White, and BJ all believe non- credentialed teachers in schools that teach with DVD's are better because of the "choice" they provide to parents and silly little things like test scores, drop out rates, teacher education levels, suspension/expulsion rates, attendance rates, special education services, and school rankings should only apply to public schools. I would think Mr. Eric here would be demanding assurance and confirmation that tax dollars are going to schools that PROVE they are a better choice than the public schools. And he should be pushing for these private/vouchers to admit the same proportion of special education students as public school proportions. ______________________for more information on how these "choices" have impacted New Orleans...click on the word "chart" in the following link and notice the overall dismal impact of the RSD about to become the state of LA....http://dianeravitch.net/2012/06/11/no-miracle-in-new- orleans/

8) Comment by timesright - 06/23/2012

BAEO should be encouraging and providing ways for parents to become more engaged in their child's traditional public school rather than encouraging them to leave with taxpayer dollars. Guide them to making their taxpayer dollars work in the schools they are attending not to charter schools that have no accountability.

9) Comment by ScotB - 06/23/2012

Way to go, Eric! For people not born with capital wealth, the only road to financial well being is to make themselves more valuable. Education is definitely the answer. And the 5.9 million young black workers between ages 16-24 just got 1.2 million young illegal hispanics as new competition for jobs! Almost half of young blacks between 20-24 do not have a job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They need to be as competitive as they can be! Unfortunately, as I know you are aware, too many are dropping out. Many times, because they are smart enough to know they are in a school that is failing to provide them with the tools to make them competitive. I applaud what you are doing! Also, do not forget that additional scholarships can be funded by tax credits to individuals who donate to private schools to open up opportunities to children attending failing schools. I am confident you are challenging business owners, especially black business owners, to take advantage of these tax credits (up to 75%) to give more kids in failing schools a chance to get a good education.

10) Comment by cbelse1 - 06/23/2012

Didn't the state just get a waiver from No Child Left Behind?? Also, I heard a report from another news outlet that only about 6,000 applications had been submitted with just a week left to go; approximately 2.5-3.0% isn't exactly "high demand."

11) Comment by spqr - 06/23/2012

What a joke of a letter and accusation against schools. I know many teachers who, on Parent-Teacher Night are lucky to see 100 parents visit a school to meet teachers and ask questions. This, in schools of over 1,000 students. Most parents don't care. Not a few. Not the disabled. Not about half. Most do not care. Besides Eric Lewis had better say what King Piyush wants or he'll be fired. Cannot really take his too seriously.

12) Comment by tradewinns - 06/23/2012

"........parents in Louisiana want more for their children". that's a misnomer. what they want is more for themselves. if 90% of parents of students in the failing schools truly cared about their kids education, they would have a turnaround, quick and sure. never forget the members of the school board are politicians first. reelection is their primary goal. the parents of kids in failing schools always want more for themselves AND someone else to blame for their failure. parents of successful school, whether here or anywhere, expect and demand their children perform their educational duties and will accept no less. in our upsidedown society, failure is rewarded with more and success is punished by not receiving funds to advance even more the productive members of society. reverse the flow and watch society advance faster and better.