"Least influential of education's most influential information sources."
-- Education Week Research Center
"full of very lively short items and is always on top of the news...He gets extra points for skewering my high school rating system"
-- Jay Mathews, The Washington Post
"a daily dose of information from the education policy world, blended with a shot of attitude and a dash of humor"
-- Education Week
"unexpectedly entertaining"..."tackle[s] a potentially mindfogging subject with cutting clarity... they're reading those mushy, brain-numbing education stories so you don't have to!"
-- Mickey Kaus
"a very smart blog... this is the site to read"
-- Ryan Lizza
"everyone who's anyone reads Eduwonk"
-- Richard Colvin
"designed to cut through the fog and direct specialists and non-specialists alike to the center of the liveliest and most politically relevant debates on the future of our schools"
-- The New Dem Daily
"peppered with smart and witty comments on the education news of the day"
-- Education Gadfly
"don't hate Eduwonk cuz it's so good"
-- Alexander Russo, This Week In Education
"the morning's first stop for education bomb-throwers everywhere"
-- Mike Antonucci, Intercepts
"…the big dog on the ed policy blog-ck…"
-- Michele McLaughlin
"I check Eduwonk several times a day, especially since I cut back on caffeine"
-- Joe Williams
"...one of the few bloggers who isn't completely nuts"
-- Mike Petrilli, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
"I have just three 'go to' websites: The Texas Legislature, Texas Longhorn sports, and Eduwonk"
-- Sandy Kress
"penetrating analysis in a lively style on a wide range of issues"
-- Walt Gardner
"Fabulous"
-- Education Week's Alyson Klein
"thugs"
-- Susan Ohanian
Smart List: 60 People Shaping the Future of K-12 Education
“After all, she had many school-choice options available to her” is unconvicing when 4 paragarphs earlier the author acknowledges that there were barriers to these options, such as unavailability of secular schools, waiting lists, and the proximity of the schools to her father’s house. Despite there being a chance that some families can get the school options they want, many cannot, and are stuck hoping for some luck at the local charter lottery. I think this article incorrectly downplays these barriers to effective school choice, and does so while condescendingly wagging a finger at everyone else for bringing these issues up.
Yes, we need to educate parents better on their options, but hell no are school-choice options readily available for all. Both are important discussions to have.
Chris,
Williams-Bolar had at least four school choice options, which is far more than what many families have. This was a point we thought was missing from the debate. Ohio has open-enrollment, as well as a robust voucher program that she could have tapped into. Many – but certainly not all – voucher-receiving schools are non-secular. And there are at least three or four high-performing Akron schools she could have transferred her kids to (not all of which would have had waiting lists). The point we are making is that contrary to what most commentators are saying – she had several options. The larger issue is that she didn’t utilize them. That’s a question that the school choice community needs to confront. Why didn’t she use her options? And how can we make families and parents more aware when there are viable choices? Creating more pathways to school choice isn’t enough if well-intentioned families don’t use them! We don’t downplay the barriers at all and we never mentioned the issue about the father’s address (?). Paperwork and a possible waiting list are no worse a barrier than all of the paperwork she forged and the work that she went to to get her kids into the other school. Finally, we’re not arguing that there are “school choice options readily available for all.” Fordham is a choice advocate and is in full support of Ohio lifting moratoriums on e-schools, geographic restrictions on charter schools, and the cap on vouchers. The point was merely to point out this vital piece missing from the story.
As I said, I agree that there were options, but the existence of these options doesn’t suggest we should ignore the barriers in front of said options, or on how those barriers affect families along racial/socioeconomic lines. Waiting lists are more than just “paperwork”, the proximity to available schools is crucial (she felt her kids would be safer had they attended a school nearer their grandparents’ house), and no one should consider non-secular schools an example of the myriad choices available to families considering they’re supposed to have a choice of secular institutions.
I agree that parents should be better counseled on their choices in all cases, but branding those of us as disingenuous because we’ve chosen to discuss the real barriers to the existence of choice between good, safe schools/neighborhoods is a crock.