Saturday, November 5, 2011

What do voucher defections mean?

At this point, not much. Since this is the first year of the program, there is no precedent to gauge the significance of 400 departures. The number is roughly the same as Indianapolis and South Bend. About 85% of them were on free or reduced lunch, so they're probably not losing the better students. But those that left all had some experience in district schools which presumably factored into their decisions.

If I were running We Are Your Schools, I would try to talk to every parent who pulled their kids out and find out why they did that. Of course sharing what you hear with We Are Your Taxpayers is a different question.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

The parents whom I know that pulled their kids out for vouchers, generally seem to want the best for their children, and put them in an environment that allows their children to not only become better academics, but better a person, i.e. moral values, etc.

Two parents, specifically picked their children's new school out, due to the fact that the teachers at the school went over and beyond the call of duty, loved teaching and it really manifested in how they lived outside the school doors, and how those teachers genuinely cared for their students, and not about their union.

Free or reduced lunch means nothing, as their are bright kids on the program, and their bright parents who know they can mark anything down because no one checks the documents to see if they are truthful.

Code Blue Schools said...

Statistically kids from lower income families don't do as well in school. If they're not really low income the statistics don't apply.

I believe having the choice is the most important factor even if it's not exercised. Bad schools with no way to escape them are a major factor in housing choice. They will drive people to the suburbs. That's what will ultimately decide the fate of downtown, not ballparks etc.

Anonymous said...

1. Free and reduced lunch caps are quite too high in my opinion.
2. How many of these families have lost a decent job, which has prevented them moving to the suburbs?

Anonymous said...

If I Were You Schools, I would ask Catholic administration how they educate each child for $4,200.0O. And, how schools like St. John the Baptist and Precious Blood can educate students in old ancient buildings with old green chalkboards and wooden floors, and still achieve strong results.

Code Blue Schools said...

Exactly! St. John's is the biggest reason this part of town is still viable. Young families are actually moving into Southwood Park and Woodhurst to send their kids there for $4000 a year, now "free" with vouchers. St John's got about 25 voucher students. It's great. My donations to the Diocese (my upper management is Catholic) are actually going to pay off in preserving my home value.

And preserving the tax base that pays for Wendy's social engineering. So why would a St. John's and Luers graduate like GiaQuinta want to have anything to do with FWCS?

Anonymous said...

Alot of the St. John's students are from EACS, Village and Prince Chapman, as it is one of two (St. Joe Hessen Cassel being the other) Catholic schools near by.

The Catholic church has always has had some funding to improverished children to provide children with a great, private educatio.

siestagirl said...

Catholic administration does not have to, by law, provide special education services, provide ELL services or provide education to students in ACJC. Catholic admininstration does not have to educate severely handicapped students until they are 22 yrs. old.
And Code Blue provided the other part of the answer, that the schools are subsidized by parish monies.

Code Blue Schools said...

Siesta - According to our parish priest (a couple of years ago) the actual cost of educating a child
at St. John's was under $4000/yr. Subsidies don't figure into that. The tuition was around $2200/yr. The diocese subsidizes the cost of tuition. The cost number I've heard for Luers is under $8000/yr.

If St' John's closed my property value would drop and I would move. If Harrison Hill closed I don't think there would be any effect.

siestagirl said...

I think you're wrong about that last statement but we can agree to disagree.

Code Blue Schools said...

Siest-

Potential buyers with kids for houses in my neighborhood are looking for proximity to St. John's. I have never heard of anyone trying to buy around here so they could send their kids to Harrison Hill. I inherited this house. I would never have bought one in this district. If I had gone into SSHS before we decided to keep it, I would have dumped it for practically nothing.

Read the piece in the business section of Monday's Sentinel by Michael Hicks. "If the school does not improve in two or three years vote with your feet and move.(easier said than done) If you stay expect the value of your house to decline and the local economy to schrink."

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