October 1, 2009

Dear Mayor Fenty,

We missed you at yesterday’s rally to celebrate the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. A cast of thousands was on hand to raise their many voices with one message to Congress and the Administration: that they reauthorize the program so that the children of our city may receive the very best education possible.

We’ve heard lately that you are leaning supportive.

If you had been there, you’d be a believer.

This is not a partisan or ideological issue. It is only political because we have allowed it to become a football between the nation’s leaders and special interests.

You can help fix this.

(Save Opportunity)

Senator Durbin used Wednesday’s hearing on Washington, DC public schools to broadcast what feels like a last ditch effort on his part to remove continuation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program from consideration, and frankly, making thinly veiled accusations of mismanagement and fraud when he himself admits to lacking all of the details speaks of desperation.

While there may be a legitimate question of the program’s transparency, if that truly is an obstacle to continuation, it is one that can easily be removed. What cannot be questioned is the fact that DC OSP families have seen the education and futures of their students dramatically changed for the better because of their participation.

Perhaps the most scrutinized and vetted federal education reform program in history, mountains of research and hours of testimony before Congress by experts, educators, parents and students should speak for itself, pointing to increased student achievement, safety and satisfaction.

This small $14 million program has proven itself to be effective on many levels, and yet billions upon billions are heaped into pork legislation, pet projects and favors without so much as a raised eyebrow? This year, public schools across the country have been the recipients of the largest influx of monies ever allotted to education. Rather than fighting what works, Senator Durbin and his teachers union supporters would better serve the kids he so strongly “defends” in his war on the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program by thoroughly following the $100 billion pledged to the country’s schools and ensuring that it not continue to fund failing and broken programs.

Save Opportunity

Like a C-SPAN junkie throwing a shoe at the TV to thwart a clueless Washington Journal guest, a supporter of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program can at times feel like a solitary soldier in the face of the bureaucratic juggernaut that is Capitol Hill.

There have been hearings, reports, letters, editorials, parent and student testimony, rallies…

And yet, Congress and the Administration continue to fret over the effectiveness of DC’s voucher program, laboring (or not) to find an answer even as it stares them right in the face.

Okay, perhaps not the President, but at least Members of Congress get out into the real world and rub shoulders with the residents of their transitory home.

Do they realize that 74% of the folks passing them in the street each day support a continuation of DC OSP?

A new report out today from the Friedman Foundation cuts past the politicos and gets right to the heart of the matter: how District residents - beneficiaries of this and other reforms - feel about their schools, their school leaders and the choices they have for their children.

Their desire to to see the program survive this prolonged vetting is reinforced by groups such as Save Opportunity and DC Children First that work one-on-one with DC families on a daily basis in an effort to enlighten elected officials to the reality of the program’s success.

This is a wake-up call that needs to be delivered to every elected representative with a vote to cast.

“I’m from the state of Ohio, so I think I look at things a little differently because most of our charter schools are not public charter schools. So, you may hear me coming from a very different vantage point.”

- Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio)

(Just one of the headscratchers from last week’s House Education and Labor Committee hearing on charters.)

Today, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on charter schools in order to look at “building on what works“, based on the success of schools such as Roxbury Prep in Boston, Green Dot in Los Angeles, and KIPP all over. Some highlights:

- Assistant Deputy Secretary Jim Shelton dispelling the myth that charters cream the best students from their conventional counterparts

- Rep. McKeon’s acknowledgment that charters are essential to turning around our nation’s failing school system

- Steve Barr’s discussion of Green Dots’ efforts to turnaround L.A.’s troubled Locke High School

- John King’s assertion that “our students look the same as conventional public school students, but are outperforming them”

- Jim Goenner’s description of his battle scars earned by closing schools because it was in the best interest of kids

The real takeaway was not replication, but responsibility:

- The responsibility of charters to continue to drive innovation in the education sector

- The primary responsibility states have for improving charter school laws

- The responsibility of authorizers to make certain schools are serving their students first and foremost

One big responsibility all charter advocates must continue to be mindful of is making sure lawmakers understand what charter schools actually are and how they serve their communities and the country at large.

This last point was made painfully clear in the waning minutes of questioning this morning as certain Congressmen and women illustrated their utter lack of knowledge, understanding and/or acceptance of these innovative schools, even after two hours of success stories.

The battle continues…

(For our live impressions straight from the hearing, please follow our Twitter stream.)