Public school choice

Regarding “School choice is necessary for real change” (Page A13, Tuesday), if we are to believe the slick pro-voucher media machine, we’re told that parents “want” to fund private schools rather than do the serious work of creating great public schools. Professional strategists, purporting to be the voice of parents, tell us that shifting taxpayer funds away from public schools to private schools is the most logical incentive to increase rigor and success in public schools. Think about that for a minute.

Do you want to know what parents — parents from every walk of life — really want? They want great schools. Period. They want their children to attend schools that work and provide a quality education that prepares them for the future. And if their neighborhood school isn’t providing the quality education they deserve, they want their local and state-level leaders to address the problem aggressively and consistently so either their school improves or they have fullyfunded options that create true public school choice.

Why aren’t we focused on demanding great public schools? Why aren’t we investing our energy in accurately identifying underperforming schools and quickly intervening to chart an immediate path to student growth and success? Why do we allow schools that shortchange our students to linger on for so long before granting parents access to nearby highperforming public schools?

Providing a quality education for every single child is the most important responsibility of our state and local leaders. Lisa Holbrook, president, Texas PTA