...A supporter of these types of ideas would say that the individual being able to choose will lead to competition and innovation amongst schools, but this becomes problematic when you start to factor in the idea of school closures mid-year, and students that have to be shuttled around when institutions become insolvent. There are other arguments about the policy of vouchers from people such as myself who believe in the separation of church and state. They do not like the idea of public funds going to religious schools. Betsy has been quoted in saying her desire to reform is to, “..advance God’s kingdom,” and that education has “displaced” the church as the center of...
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...Benefits and Disadvantages Charter Schools May 12, 2010 Yvette Johnson Recent trends toward privatizing schools and relieving them of state requirements wrongly imply that schools should mirror the desires of parents and ignore the public's interest in having citizens educated for democracy. Rob Reich, who recently earned his doctorate in philosophy of education at Stanford, is writing a book on school vouchers, charter schools and home schooling. Reich stated his view that the nation is slipping too far into deregulated schooling. "The guiding idea behind privatization, whether it is vouchers, charter schools or home schooling, is that parents should be the sole decision-making agents about the kind of education their children receive. But this eviscerates the public or civic purposes of schooling." Public schooling itself is not the goal, he said, and public schools don't necessarily do better than private schools in educating children to meet the state's interests, which he defined as preparing children for both workforce and democratic participation. Those who joined in the discussion pushed Reich to specify the content of an education for democratic participation. "Some would say reading and writing is enough," he responded. "Personally, I would go a few steps further to say that students should learn to come into dialogue with others on a public stage." Voluntary national standards for civic education suggest "a combination of making...
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...2, 2008 School Choice – An Educational Custom Fit Imagine if only one size of pants were sold in stores and government regulations wouldn’t allow any other size to be made available to consumers. This may sound crazy but it’s much like what’s happening with the education of our nation’s children. As Americans we enjoy a wide range of personal choice, and thankfully it includes our ability to select the pants that fit us best. But think for a moment about traditional public education. For decades the public school system has offered a one size fits all approach to educating our nation’s children. As we approached the 21st century, the public school system began to show its age. More and more children began to fall behind in a rapidly changing environment marked by the introduction of personal computers and later the internet. Sensing a need for change, many people began to push for new educational models that would keep up with the times. This marked the beginning of the school choice movement. Both charter schools and school voucher programs are collectively referred to as “school choice” initiatives, in that they allow parents freedom to choose individualized education options for their children that are outside of the traditional “one size fits all’ public school system. A school voucher program provides parents with certificates that are used to pay for education at a school of their choice, rather than the public school to which they are assigned. Charter schools on the other...
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...The Law and School Vouchers July 24, 2013 Grand Canyon University: EDA 555 The Law and School Vouchers School choice is a very controversial topic and aggressively disputed today. There are various types of choices which provide many educational opportunities. Can parents afford it? School vouchers are only one choice in this divisive topic. No matter which side of the issue regarding vouchers you agree with, people are very passionate about it. Texas has been trying for years to pass it in Congress; however, it has not passed. There are many pros and cons regarding this topic. First of all, there are many choices for parents today to provide educational opportunities for their children according Chen (2011). There are the public schools. These are schools which require no tuition and the students are zoned to that particular school in their district. Charter schools are another option. They are free, public schools established independently. They are not subject to the same state and federal requirements, but they are held to a high accountability. Parents can request this option. Magnet schools are also free, public schools. They have a specific focus such as science or art. In order to qualify to attend this school, the student may have to take a test and have satisfactory behavior. Another type of school is the virtual school. This is distance learning and learning at your own pace. It has strict government and district...
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...public school then we might approximate a choice-free system, but this type of thought experiment is absurdly detached from reality. The relevant question is not whether school choice is present in an area but which types of choice are available and their prevalence. The most widely available types of school choice relate to residential school choice and the availability of private schools. In terms of the former, families can sort them- selves into the communities that best satisfy their preferences (Tiebout, 1956). This sorting happens not only across cities and towns but also within them, as families choose to live within school zones linked to desirable neighborhood public schools. Private school choice is similar in some ways to residential school choice. For example, this type of choice typically requires some degree of expendable resources. For families to choose where to live, they must not be constrained by prohibitively high property values, rental prices, taxes, moving costs, or other costs associated with selecting an alternative location. For families to choose private schooling for their children, they typically must cover the tuition costs. The prevalence of residential school choice is difficult to quantify, though it is clear that finding suitable public schools is a common consideration in relocation. The U.S. Department of Education estimated that approxi- mately 10.5 percent of American students in grades PK–12 in the fall of 2010 attended a private school (National...
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...affect the future. Programs such as choice schooling and No Child Left Behind will impact school funding. Rulings such as the Lemon Test and separation of church and state will impact decisions that can potentially result in litigation and court rulings dictating educational decisions. In his work regarding educational trends, Kenneth Stevenson (2010) stated, “a continuing recession, escalating political polarization, rising racial/ethnic tensions, a growing national debt, and a widening divide between the haves and the have nots portend a future fraught with unprecedented challenges to and clashes over the form and substance of public education in America” (p.1). Analysis of the Lemon Test The Lemon Test was created by Chief Justice Warren Berger as a result of the court case Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) and is based on the principles stated in Everson v. Board of Education. The case of Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) centered on Rhode Island’s Salary Supplement Act. This act approved a salary supplement of up to fifteen percent for teachers who taught secular subjects in private religious schools or non-public elementary schools. The courts determined that approximately twenty-five percent of Rhode Island’s students attended non-public schools. Furthermore, ninety-five percent of the parochial schools were Roman Catholic. Pennsylvania offered a similar program that reimbursed non-public schools for expenses related to...
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...School vouchers can be described as financial funding given to students who elect not to attend public schools. Therefore the government would not be spending money educating that student in a public school. A school voucher is the allotment of money that the government would have used for that student to attend public school. This money is then given to the family of the student to help fund the education of that student. This money cannot be used for anything other than education. There are many sides to take and many opinions to be had. It is very clear that the prospect of school vouchers is an issue to be debated. Some people feel that if they are not using the government’s form of education then they should be paid for not using it, in order to help finance other forms of education. On the other side of the issue, some people feel that school vouchers would be used in many cases to subsidize religious schools. This becomes a hot topic due to the separation of church and state. In short, does money not being used by a student belong to that student, and can it be used for a private, and sometimes religious, school. There are only two logical options to solve this dilemma of school vouchers. The first is that the government provides school vouchers to students not enrolled in the public school system. The second is that the government does not provide school vouchers to students not enrolled in the public school system. There are many stipulation... ... middle of paper...
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...“The Context of the Problem” The History of Powerful Interests Groups and Their influence in Policy Implementation and why it’s Important. In order for the reader to gather a complete understanding of the actual role of powerful interests groups and their influence in policy implementation you first have to understand what and interest group does and how the group works internally. Interest groups are individuals who share the same common purpose and goal. These individuals share the same common interest for their causes; there are many examples present in society and your workplace many examples range from labor unions, religious groups and professional athletic associations. Many economists believe that the interest groups are motivated by two things political power and economic rent. In my opinion I believe that interest groups are formed from the people’s view of a major group representing an individual’s point of view of what’s right and what’s wrong; these organizations are made up of individuals who share the same interest and of individuals who wants to accomplish a political agenda, social agenda, or to celebrate a common heritage within the group. The history of interest groups and their roles in policy making stem back as far as President James Madison and the other framer’s of the Constitution when “they developed a constitutional system of republican government that takes organized interests as a given, and thus allows interests to weigh in on policy-making in...
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...providing tuition vouchers to the poor parents to enable them to pull their kids out of the worst of the city schools and thereby putting them in the private schools. All these efforts are due to the promotion of education in the region. The case has been divided into five parts. In the first part, the evolution of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Plan has been described; in the second part, the research on the Milwaukee voucher plan compared with the purposes of the public education, whether the voucher plan should be supported or opposed. The third section presents the empirical estimates of the impact of competition from voucher schools or student inter-cohort achievement...
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...at work. Do you want your money to go to fund private religious schools? Tax dollars should not fund religious education because it is a violation of the separation of church and state clause of the first amendment to the constitution. Lately we have seen proposals for vouchers. These vouchers are public money given to low income family so they may send their kids to private schools. Most of the schools who use this program are religious. In the Cleveland voucher program we see there were 3,761 children are enrolled and 96 percent of those children are attending religious schools. Also 82 percent of the participating schools were seReligious Education- Original Writing In my Religious Education lessons I have studied many different religons and managed to broaden my knowledge on different practices and life styles of people all over the world. Now my school term is ending I have been given the task to choose from different topics, I decided to choose the task of taking 3 religions and comparing their beliefes. I have chosen the religions Judaism, Islam and Rastafarianism. I am going to begin with Judaism- Judaism - Jews believe that actions are very important no matter how much you have studied about the Jewish religion and no matter how high your title may be, if your actions aren't pleasing to g-d, also known as Adonai in prayer (g-d will be explained later on).... [tags: Papers]ctarian. This voucher program was challenged in the 6th circuit court with the Simmons-Harris...
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...2500 students per day and the only thing they can come up with as a solution is a Charter School. It’s been ten years since President Bush signed into law “No Child Left Behind”, but the law has done nothing to bring our children up to par when it comes to academic excellence. When will we stop blaming the teachers and their unions for the problems that our children face on a daily basis? Our politicians need to stop blowing smoke and make it happen because our government spends about $200 billion dollars a year to rescue our poverty stricken communities to accommodate worthlessness in the individuals who dropped the education ball and have taken up other means of support. Education versus Charter Schools is a topic that many parents and grandparents hear on a daily basis if they follow the news or has children in the public school system. It’s becoming harder and harder to determine the effectiveness of our public schools systems, because so many youth dropout before they can become eligible to graduate and receive their diplomas. There is a real war going on and it starts with our kids, they are the real victims of our failing school system. Public education was born in America in 1840 and was created to keep American people literate so they could read the bible and stay Biblically Literate (C.Bonastia,2012). In the beginning public education was a good thing known as Common Schools that were supported by the community, thus giving them control over what was to be...
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...Companies should verify records periodically or on a surprise basis. * An employee who is independent of the personnel responsible for the information should make the verification. The company should also look at incorporating a Voucher Control System. Most medium and large companies use vouchers as part of their internal control over cash disbursements. A voucher system is a network of approvals by authorized individuals, acting independently, to ensure that all disbursements by check are proper. When looking to hire new employees, it is vital that the company utilize the extensive resources on the web in providing for complete background investigations. A lot of wasted time and energy could be recouped using effective human resource controls. Effective web access controls could likewise prevent embarrassing behavior and lost company time on the part of current employees (i.e. downloading porn, idle surfing/shopping, etc.). More oversight of the petty cash fund would also certainly be in order. “Internal control over a petty cash fund is strengthened by: (1) having a supervisor make surprise counts of the fund to confirm whether the paid vouchers and fund cash equal the imprest amount, and (2) canceling or mutilating the paid vouchers so they...
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...Grading 'Waiting for Superman' Dana Goldstein | September 23, 2010 Here's what you see in Waiting for Superman, the new documentary that celebrates the charter school movement while blaming teachers unions for much of what ails American education: working- and middle-class parents desperate to get their charming, healthy, well-behaved children into successful public charter schools. Here's what you don't see: the four out of five charters that are no better, on average, than traditional neighborhood public schools (and are sometimes much worse); charter school teachers, like those at the Green Dot schools in Los Angeles, who are unionized and like it that way; and noncharter neighborhood public schools, like PS 83 in East Harlem and the George Hall Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama, that are nationally recognized for successfully educating poor children. You don't see teen moms, households without an adult English speaker or headed by a drug addict, or any of the millions of children who never have a chance to enter a charter school lottery (or get help with their homework or a nice breakfast) because adults simply aren't engaged in their education. These children, of course, are often the ones who are most difficult to educate, and the ones neighborhood public schools can't turn away. You also don't learn that in the Finnish education system, much cited in the film as the best in the world, teachers are—gasp!—unionized and granted tenure, and families benefit from a...
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...A Case Study Comparison of Charter and Traditional Schools in New Orleans Recovery School District: Selection Criteria and Service Provision for Students with Disabilities By Copyright 2008 Nikki L. Wolf B.S., Northwest Missouri State University, 1985 Submitted to the Department of Special Education and the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Dissertation Committee: _____________________________ Chairperson _____________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Dissertation defended: April 28, 2008 3336479 Copyright 2008 by Wolf, Nikki L. All rights reserved 2008 3336479 The Dissertation Committee for Nikki L. Wolf certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: A Case Study Comparison of Charter and Traditional Schools in New Orleans Recovery School District: Selection Criteria and Service Provision for Students with Disabilities __________________________ Chairperson Date approved _________________ ii ABSTRACT In post-Katrina New Orleans, there is a growing concentration of charter schools. The Recovery School District (RSD) has oversight for the majority of these schools. To explore charges from community advocates that RSD charter schools restricted admission and provided inadequate services for students with disabilities...
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...5 Performance measurement Nonprofit organizations need to view revenue as a resource needed to achieve their missions. Obviously, revenues must exceed expenses over the long-term or an NPO will not survive. —Glenn Rowe Key Topics: balanced score card, customer feedback, competitive comparison, strategic objectives, blue ocean strategy W hat makes an organization “good” at what it does? Or, as Jim Collins (2001) would ask, “What makes an organization great?” Most would acknowledge that accountability, effectiveness, and achievement of desired performance outcomes are minimal requirements for any organization’s success. These requirements demand a measurement system relative to an organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategic plan. This chapter discusses methods for establishing such systems. In doing so, we echo Worth’s (2012) concern that “nonprofit managers must be committed to performance measurement but should not become overly focused on it to the detriment of delivering their mission’s programs” (p. 157). Performance measurement Process Before engaging in performance measurement, it is vital to understand the level and scope of the process. Measurement can be conducted for effectiveness or performance at the program/project or organizational level. Effectiveness relates to achieving the mission, while performance is a broader concept that considers financial results and other variables related to the overall organization. Once the scope and level of...
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