Vouchers – as well as state-sponsored tax-credit programs that support private schools – are not the answer to ensuring America’s children have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn. These programs divert resources from public schools, affect a limited number of students and, most studies show, don’t improve children’s educational experiences.
It’s a simple fact that schools must be safe environments for teachers to teach and children to learn. But harsh discipline policies that are pushing out students for minor infractions defy common sense.
The achievement gap between White students and Black and Latino students correlates to the OPPORTUNITY GAP—disparity in access to quality schools and the resources needed for academic success, such as early childhood education, highly prepared and effective teachers, college preparatory curricula, and equitable instructional resources.
Worse than the dire academic and achievement statistics for our nation's male students of color is the notion that those dismal numbers (graduation rates, drop out rates, testing scores, etc.) are repeated so often that they may be losing their shock value and, consequently, their ability to inspire action. In the February issue of Phi Delta Kappa Magazine, Pedro Noguera, the Peter L.
Below are the organizations, studies and data you can consult for information on the opportunity gap and the negative impact it has on the ability of of every child to have access to a quality education.
Organizations
The opportunity gap takes a huge toll on students
47%
The percentage of black males who graduate from high school.
"The opportunity to learn - the necessary resources, the curriculum opportunities, the quality teachers - that affluent students have, is what determines what people can do in life."
- Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University
Below are the key organizations to watch and listen to in the fight against vouchers and state-funded tax-credit programs.
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
www.au.org/issues/religious-school-vouchers/
Below are organizations and studies documenting the harmful effects of vouchers on our nation's students and public school system:
