Critiques the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's 1990 report "Public Schools of Choice" for joining the chorus of skeptics. On three major counts (equity, the present evidence for choice, and its risks compared to present school organization failings), school choice offers a reasonable alternative. Includes 29…

In her zeal to advocate greater public school choice, Raywid criticizes the ASCD's "Public Schools of Choice" report unfairly. Raywid denigrates the importance of balancing public and private interests, claims that choice demands a form of rigorous social experimentation unsupported by research, and overlooks the report's positive guidance for…

An elementary school teacher in a K-8 Minneapolis public alternative school describes the benefits of choice for her own children and for those in her multiage classroom. Her school's whole-child approach allows students to structure their learning time and teachers to choose the most nurturing learning strategies to suit each child's needs. (MLH)

Gardendale (Florida) Elementary Magnet School is a single-track, year-round elementary school with a four-theme magnet program, actually four magnet schools under one roof. There are schools of performing arts, math and science, arts and cultures, and microsociety. Success hinges on team leadership, strategic planning, and an active governance…

Using educational vouchers for private schooling will aggravate the fragmented society that Jonathan Kozol visualizes in the November 1992 issue of "Educational Leadership." However, public schools of choice are desirable because they permit diverse teaching/learning styles, curricular emphases, or organizational structures to coexist…

Counters Jonathan Kozol's concerns about educational vouchers, insisting that $2,500 could buy a quality private school education in Montgomery, Alabama. Critiques other voucher articles in the November 1992 "Educational Leadership" issue by challenging Alex Molnar's common school system concept and Arnold Fege's substitution of societal…

Hoping to improve their schools and to integrate the area's Portuguese-speaking students, Fall River Public Schools (Massachusetts) embraced controlled choice. Parents can choose to enroll their children in any school in the system, but choices are subject to available space and the requirements of minority balance guidelines. Includes four…

Disagrees with John Chubb and Terry Moe's proposal to manage public education according to market principles. America's hope for education is in the hands of the people, through participatory, accountable, and representative governance, not in the vagaries and disorder of the economic marketplace. Public schools and the economic marketplace must…

American public schools have seldom treated spirituality or religion fairly. Horace Mann's common-schools philosophy was grounded in his fear of Catholicism. Today's schools are dominated by secular humanism. Only through state-supported school choice and released time for religious instruction can all students truly experience religious freedom.…

A conversation with Larry Cuban, Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University, about two contradictory trends in education: customization and standardization and their effect on the public schools' responsibilities to provide both individual and social benefits. (PKP)

Reviews several privatization strategies and their applications to public education, including load-shedding, asset sales, volunteerism, self-help, user fees, contracting, franchises, vouchers, subsidies, and deregulation. The major forces promoting privatization in education are those stemming from growing discontent with the public sector and…

Many dropouts or "pushouts" from Louisiana schools genuinely want to be educated, despite their occasional indifference, their seeming inability to conform to guidelines, and their often explosive tempers. Originally intended as an adult night school, the Caddo P.M. Senior High School in Shreveport helps dropouts stay in school and earn…

The Los Angeles County (California) High School for the Arts offers an arts-focused curriculum that also emphasizes academics. The school is truly public, with no tuition, an open admission policy, and a strong sense of community. The result is an integrated student body possessing considerable discretion in choosing programs and meeting…

The evidence does not support Chubb and Moe's conclusions that current methods of school governance are responsible for poor student achievement. Organization and other variables (such as family background and student ability) combined account for less than 5 percent of student achievement variations. Market principles applied to education could…

Freedom of educational choice has existed for over 85 years in the Netherlands. Despite the system's excellent quality, it is expensive and features a relatively uniform curriculum. The Dutch experience suggests that choice will not result in an open, competitive market in education, because professional, political, and public interests will…