Louisiana's voucher program is barely out of the cradle, but the early responses from those directly involved are nothing short of glowing. That doesn't settle the matter, but it has to be taken as a huge point in favor of the scholarship program.
In a direct mail
survey of parents conducted by the Black Alliance for Educational Options and the Louisiana Federation for Children - pro-voucher groups both - the positive feedback was overwhelming.
In four key categories, more than 90 percent of the parents gave the scholarship program a ringing endorsement:
- 91.9 percent said they were satisfied with their child's current school.
- 91.6 percent said they were happy with their child's academic performance.
- 98.7 percent said their child feels safe at the scholarship school.
- 97.6 percent said they and their child feels welcome at the scholarship school.
The flip side of those responses was equally revealing. For the question about the scholarship school's welcoming spirit, only 31 parents said they didn't feel it. That compared to 1,532 who said they did. On feeling safer the numbers were even better: a grand total of 18 parents said "nope" there.
The survey wasn't some confined sample from a model school, either. The responses came from parents of kids in 112 of the 126 schools participating in Louisiana's program, and 35 separate school districts were represented, according to the BAEO and the Federation.
Former State. Sen. Ann Duplessis, who has become a leader in the education choice movement as president of the Louisiana Federation for Children, was in New Orleans Tuesday to note the good news.
"These results show parents are overwhelmingly happy with the Louisiana Scholarship Program, and they reinforce the strong demand for the program as a vital option for students who are trapped in failing and underperforming schools," she said. "The near-universal support from parents who recognize the life-changing academic benefits provided to their children serves as a compelling reminder about why educational choice must remain a viable option for our children."
That's exactly right. No one cares more about a child than its parents (we are omitting those alleged "men" who father a kid and then go AWOL). There's no possible negative spin to put on such lopsided support for the scholarships' tangible results.
After all, the whole point of choice is to give parents more options, to improve the setting and possibly the future of their children. Safer, welcoming environments go a long way to meeting that goal.
If, for the same amount of money, we could have a school system in which such parental satisfaction was widespread, why would one oppose it? Even if test scores remained the same, wouldn't the safer, by all accounts happier situation be the better one?
The concrete academic benefits of the program remain uncertain. That's primarily because of the program's short life. It bears mention, however, that 58 percent of the parents responding to the survey were those of children who have been in the state voucher program for both years of its existence.
In other words, we now have another positive sign regarding a big piece of the education reform Gov. Bobby Jindal fought so hard to put in place. The reasons to oppose it are dwindling.
