1. Please... Do NOT Eat Your Cookie Yet! You can keep your oatmeal cookie - or - You can exchange your oatmeal cookie for half of an organic chocolate cookie outside of the room - or - You can walk up to the third floor and exchange your oatmeal cookie for a whole organic chocolate chip cookie

2. Vouchers: an issue of school choice Jennifer Brown, Michael DePauw, Cassie Fredendall, Paeter Wait March 28, 2006

3. At the end of this seminar, you will... 1.Present an argument to support or reject the concept of vouchers. 2.Be exposed to several types of voucher systems in place and the differences among them. 3.Evaluate voucher systems by looking at positive and negative consequences and variables related to school choice. Objectives Image from http://www.uni-passau.dehttp://www.uni-passau.de

4. More than 1 million families home school. Families of over 624,000 students use vouchers, tax credits, or tax deductions to attend a school of choice. no one school, even a great school, can serve all students equally well. There is a growing recognition among parents that no one school, even a great school, can serve all students equally well. from Backgrounder (No. 1848 April 25, 2005) School choice is in high demand and growing...

5. Religious Schools New Taxes Existing Public Schools Private Donors Money for Vouchers Other Public Schools Private Schools Voucher : a publicly funded scholarship; a certificate with a designated dollar value that may be applied toward tuition or fees at a public or private educational institution of choice

6. existing voucher systems...

7. Universal School Voucher Programs public, private religious Allowing all parents, regardless of their income, where they live or any other criteria, to direct all or part of the funds set aside for education by the government to send their children to a school of choice, whether that school is public, private or religious. In effect, separating the government financing of education from the government operation of schools. Examples: Sweden, Belgium from http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.orghttp://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org

8. Means-Tested School Voucher Programs all or part Enabling poor families who meet specific income criteria, typically around 185% of the federal poverty limit, to direct funds set aside for education by the government to pay for all or part of tuition at the public, private or religious school of their choice. Examples: Milwaukee, Cleveland from http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.orghttp://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org

9. Failing Schools, Failing Students Voucher Programs better performing Allowing parents whose children are doing poorly in school or whose children attend failing public schools to direct the funds set aside for education by the government to send their child to a better performing public, private or religious school. Examples: Florida’s A+ Program, Colorado from http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.orghttp://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org

10. PBS Video on Vouchers5 min.PBS Video on Vouchers Small Group Discussion: Why/Why Not10 min. Large Group Discussion Schedule

11. V O U C H E R S Support Refute  Improve academic achievement  Increase financial efficiency  Promote accountability among teachers  Increase opportunity  Promote higher standards  Violate separation of church and state  Take funds away from public schools  Encourage economic, racial, ethnic, and religious stratification  What about the children left behind in failing public schools? Text from www.schoolchoices.org, http://www.nea.org/vouchers/index.htmlwww.schoolchoices.orghttp://www.nea.org/vouchers/index.html Image from www.tor-bay-harbour.co.uk/vi/index/learning.htmwww.tor-bay-harbour.co.uk/vi/index/learning.htm Through competition, vouchers...Vouchers...

13. Image from http://www.kent.eduhttp://www.kent.edu

14. Pre-Assessment Results D o y o u s u p p o r t t h e c o n c e p t o f v o u c h e r s ? Image from http://www.equaleducation.orghttp://www.equaleducation.org

15. More Pre-Assessment Results Image from http://www.equaleducation.orghttp://www.equaleducation.org