That quote comes from frustrated Wake County parent Chris Marsch in response to the Wake school system’s failure to notify in a timely manner the parents whose kids have the right to transfer out of failing schools. The transfer option is part of the No Child Left Behind law. In typical Big Education fashion, the bureaucrats circle the wagons. Also typical is that it takes no-nonsense Terry Stoops to cut through the spin. From the News & Observer:
However, Terry Stoops, an education policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh think tank, said the lack of enforcement of school choice options has weakened No Child Left Behind.
“It was a matter of time before school systems learned to game the system,” Stoops said. “There should be no surprise that the choice options have turned out to be so ineffective.”
While I understand the frustration of Wake parents who want to be the driving force in their children’s education, I wonder how many more times they have to be thwarted before they accept that Wake doesn’t share their goal. Frankly, that shouldn’t be a surprise. A public school system cannot possibly serve all students and parents. For many parents, that’s just fine. But for the rest, I suggest it’s time to realize that in North Carolina, real choice and real parent-driven education only exists outside the public system.
