(Handout)
Now that the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Douglas County School District's voucher program violates the Colorado Constitution, it is time to remove the facade on the voucher and choice policies of the district's board of education. We need to stop the political hyperbole and rely on research and facts.
The board's philosophy is simple: market-based ideas, choice and competition are always best. The board would like everyone to believe their "world-class" market strategies have never been tried. That is not the truth.
Market-based strategies have been in play in schools for decades, both in the United States and around the world.
Sweden's ongoing plunge from world education leader to one of the world's most ineffective school systems is a credible example of this failure. In 2000, Sweden had one of the top 10 performing school systems in the world. Today, Swedish schools rank almost last in the developed world, 12 places below the United States, because of the market-based reforms introduced in the early 21st century — reforms eerily similar to those unilaterally implemented or proposed by Douglas County's school board.
As for vouchers and "world-class outcomes," the Santiago, Chile, school system is a model for Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen and the board's dismantling of the Douglas County School District. Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet hired Milton Friedman from the University of Chicago decades ago to develop a system of education vouchers for the entire country. That system is still in place today, and the schools are considered to be chronically underperforming and are rated one of the most economically segregated in the world.
Interestingly enough, Douglas County School District's own superintendent is a speaker for the (Milton) Friedman Foundation.
Those dedicated to Douglas County stand ready to work with all stakeholders who are committed to creating a winning strategy for all students. However, the current climate in the Douglas County School District is one where educators and parents are being bulldozed by those in control.
Unfortunately, the losers in the Douglas County School District system of choice and competition will be our children.
Courtney K. Smith is a mother of two boys who attend Douglas County Schools. She is a former DCSD teacher and is the president of the Douglas County Federation of Teachers and Classified Employees. She is a resident of Parker.Choice, competition a losing strategy - The Denver Post: