Apparently, we have people in our country who won’t be satisfied until community schools are being sold to the highest bidder.
They won’t rest until public school corporations become publicly traded corporations on Wall Street.
This is the only way I can explain how Betsy DeVos could become secretary of the United States Department of Education. Her supporters in Washington were able to overcome every reasonable argument and concern about her ability to fairly lead the agency that is charged with setting national education goals and standards.
Earlier this week, DeVos was confirmed as secretary of education by a razor-thin 51–50 vote in the Senate. Vice President Mike Pence, as presiding officer of the senate, cast the tie-breaking vote that got DeVos confirmed. It was the first time a vice president had to make a tie-breaking vote to confirm a cabinet nominee.
However, Pence’s support of DeVos comes as no surprise, given his staunch support of school vouchers in Indiana and the cold shoulder he has shown to policies that are helpful to public schools.
Supporters of DeVos say she would be a breath of fresh air for the DOE by implementing needed reforms and promoting opportunities for parents to choose where they want to send their children for schooling.
Opponents, however, point to DeVos’ lack of direct experience in educational governance at any level. They believe that DeVos will also push biased policies in favor of private schools at the expense of public schools.
The part of me that is a journalist wants to be fair and consider the arguments of both sides. DeVos seems like a nice lady, and I admire the devotion she has to her Christian faith.
However, anyone with a computer, a television and a few minutes can see that DeVos is bad news for public school systems around the country, including both traditional community schools and publicly funded charter schools. This concerns me as both the proud graduate of a public school and as a parent.
DeVos, who was raised in a billionaire family and married into another, is best known as a Republican activist, fundraiser and philanthropist in Michigan. She has been chairwoman of the Alliance for School Choice, and the charity she operates with her husband, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, has donated nearly $9 million to private schools.
President Donald Trump’s selection of DeVos doesn’t make sense from the standpoint that the Department of Education is a government agency that helps set educational goals, and she has clearly opposed virtually any government involvement in education.
Also, the Department of Education’s stated purpose is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.”
My concern is, how can DeVos help ensure equal access for all students when her involvement in education has been focused on private schools with hardly any involvement with public schools? According to the latest data from the Department of Education, about 91 percent of K-12 students will be attending public schools by 2021. Already, the vast majority of America’s students attend public schools. How will the Trump administration and DeVos offer “equal access” to those students if their focus is to use taxpayer money to beef up private schools at the expense of public schools?
What will Trump and DeVos have to say about school districts in Indiana (urban, rural and suburban) that are teaching with excellence but facing budget shortfalls? Will their administrators work with those districts to maintain stability, or will they allow them to struggle with closures and hiring freezes in an effort to hasten privatization?
It is important for us to consider this, because although the Department of Education does not set actual federal mandates for schools, it does play a key role in the direction of federal education funding.
However, since most curriculum and policy decisions are still made at the state and local levels, parents can still have a significant level of influence over their child’s education. They can still ensure that the best decisions possible are being made when it comes to the education of their children and other youth in their community, regardless of who is president or education secretary.
Parents can do this by being involved with the parent/teacher or organization at their son’s or daughter’s school, and attending meetings of the school board that represents the schools in their district. Parents can take an active interest in their child’s schoolwork and school activities, while also sharing any concerns or suggestions they may have with teachers, school administrations and individual board members. All of these people usually have their contact information posted on the school district’s website or the page of the school where student goes.
By taking these measures, parents can make sure that no matter who is in the driver’s seat of America’s discussion on education, they still hold the road map to success and a stable future for their child.
