President-Elect Obama and his wife, Michelle, have chosen Sidwell Friends School for their two daughters, reports the Associated Press (emphasis is mine):
Sidwell Friends beat out another elite school, Georgetown Day School. Michelle Obama and her daughters reportedly visited both schools on Tuesday. Sidwell, with campuses in Northwest Washington and Bethesda, Md., is home to nearly 1,100 students from pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. Tuition at the lower school is $28,442 and $29,442 at the middle and upper schools.
A spokeswoman for Michelle Obama was quoted by AP as saying the Obamas feel Sidwell provides “the best fit for what their daughters need now,†including being able to accommodate security and privacy concerns. The Obama girls have also become good friends with Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s grandchildren, who attend the school.
I fully support the President-Elect’s right to choose “the best fit” for his children. Problem is, the President-Elect, of course, opposes giving every American the same choice he enjoys for himself due to his personal wealth and status. From his campaign Web site:
Barack Obama believes free, quality public education is the heart of the American promise. He supports public charter schools, but not vouchers.
Obviously the Obamas have determined that “the heart of the American promise” for their daughters is to be found in private school, not public school.
Every American deserves the right to make that same individual choice. They won’t get it during an Obama administration. As is consistently the case when elected officials support the status quo public system that fails huge numbers of American children — including half of North Carolina’s African-American males — the big losers are the very kids those same politicians claim to be looking out for.
