Synopses & Reviews
The School Choice Journey provides a realistic look at how urban families experience parental school choice with an inside view of a highly controversial case of school vouchers, the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The authors draw upon focus groups and interviews to examine the impact of the OSP on the participating families, likening their experience to a journey. The challenges faced by OSP families are carefully documented, culminating in their surprising, courageous, and ultimately successful fight to renew the school choice program. The insights provided by these pioneering families, provided throughout the book in their own compelling words, shed important new light on the significance of parental school choice within the broader context of urban poverty and education reform in the United States.
Review
"
The School Choice Journey illuminates how well-crafted policies and practices can help urban families secure valuable education opportunities for their children. This is a must-read for anyone interested in improving the academic outcomes for urban children." - Rod Paige, Former US Secretary of Education
"Rarely have I read a book that provides scholarly insights into the reality low-income urban families face as they move from marginalized to empowered participants in their children's education. Stewart and Wolf have made a significant contribution to our understanding of urban education reform and parental school choice." - Howard Fuller, Distinguished Professor of Education and Director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning, Marquette University, USA
"The School Choice Journey offers important policy lessons from the DC voucher program. Perhaps most important, the authors dig deep into the challenges disadvantaged families face in navigating their choices and what help they need most to be more effective choosers and advocates in the growing landscape of public and private school choice." - Robin J. Lake, Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education and Affiliate Faculty, University of Washington, Bothell, USA
Synopsis
This in-depth chronicle of 110 families in Washington, DC's Opportunity Scholarship Program provides a realistic look at how urban families experience the process of using school choice vouchers and transform from government clients to consumers of education and active citizens.
About the Author
Thomas Stewart is President of Patten University, USA.
Patrick J. Wolf is Professor of Education Policy and Endowed 21st Century Chair in School Choice at the University of Arkansas, USA.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Former United States Senator Joe Lieberman1. What Is School Choice, And Why Did Some Parents Choose School Vouchers?
2. The History of Vouchers and Education Reform in Washington, DC
3. What Were Families Looking for in the Voucher Program?
4. What Major Challenges Did Families Experience Using Private School Vouchers?
5. How Do Families Measure Student Progress, Satisfaction and Success?
6. School Voucher and the Empowerment Of Urban Families
7. What Lessons Were Learned That May Help Future Travelers?