School Choice? A Question of Time and Money

Amy Stuart Wells:

In a New York Times op-ed article on Monday, Natalie Hopkinson writes that school choice in her neighborhood in Washington has destroyed community-based education for working-class families. With New York ranked No. 1 in the nation in giving parents and students choices, according to one study last week, Amy Stuart Wells, a parent of an eighth grader and a professor at Teachers College, has her own take on New York's system.

When my son's high school choice process began last spring, I already had a full-time job. I was not looking for a second one. But as the summer turned to fall, and the high school touring and test-taking kicked into full gear, I watched as many 8th grade parents (myself included) became increasingly bleary eyed and overwhelmed.

We sought each other's empathy and commented that orchestrating our children's school choices was like a full-time job -- a second one for many of us.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 6, 2011 1:48 AM
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