Would your kid be safer in the school choice program?
The Heritage Foundation took a look at the numbers for kids being pulled out of Washington D.C.’s choice program and being pushed into the existing public schools to see if parents’ concerns about safety were justified:
The Heritage Foundation obtained a list of the 70 public schools to which these students have been assigned since the Department of Education withdrew their Opportunity Scholarships. Overall, these 70 schools for the 2007-2008 school year had many reported incidents of violence and crime.
- The MPD received reports of 2,379 crime-related incidents from these schools, including 666 violent incidents (2.7 per 100 students), of which one was a homicide.
- Simple and aggravated assault was the most prevalent violent incident, consisting of 555 reported assaults (2.3 per 100 students).
I live in Sheboygan and utilized the school choice option. I am conveniently located one mile south of Sheboygan South High School and I drive a total of sixty miles a day to take my daughter to Howards Grove High School. Was safety a determining factor? You bet! Her emotional and academic safety was at risk. Not nearly as dramatic as physical safety, but you’ve only got once chance to get them through high school unscathed.
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