I think that confirming DeVos is a mistake that's unfortunately about to happen today, needing the VP to break a tie.
On Wednesday, Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski announced their opposition to President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. These senators are from predominantly rural states — Collins from Maine, Murkowski from Alaska — and both cited their states’ rural geography as a reason for their “no” votes. A DeVos appointment, they worried, would fundamentally undermine rural education. As a former rural teacher and a current rural researcher, I suggest other rural senators heed their warning.
DeVos is a strong proponent of school choice. She supports expanding charter schools and reducing their oversight. She is also a proponent of school vouchers, which puts public money toward private schools. Her family foundation has given millions to support programs and candidates that favor school choice, and she has used the bully pulpit of wealth to promote choice as a mechanism of radically reforming education.
But choice only works when you have options, and many rural communities don’t. With their small populations and vast geographies, most rural communities cannot sustain a variety of brick-and-mortar options, public or private. Online schooling is not a viable alternative. Many rural communities lack reliable internet access, and research shows many online schools are academically questionable or ineffective. Also, few parents are willing to enroll their first-grader in an online school.
DeVos has been vague about how she would fund a voucher program. It’s unlikely, though, a Trump administration would put more money toward public education, leading many to speculate she would appropriate federal Title I funding, which currently goes toward the education of poor children.
Thousands of poor rural schools would feel this loss acutely, with cuts to teachers, curriculum, and after-school programming. Rural schools in deeply impoverished areas, like the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, would likely not recover; Title I cuts could mean their closure. My research suggests closure can have dire consequences for rural communities. Public schools are the center of many of these communities. Families turn out for Friday night basketball. Grandparents volunteer in the school library. Recent immigrants attend Saturday English classes in the cafeteria. These schools employ people, and they support the town gas station, the diner and the bank. They offer school board seats and thus a measure of political power and local control. These rural schools keep rural communities on the map. It is ironic that the very voters who swung the election to Trump — voters in key rural areas — stand to lose the most under this Trump-appointed nominee.DeVos’ favored reforms won’t work for rural communities. An education system predicated on choice could create a second-tier education for rural children and shutter rural schools. I urge you to call your senators. Remind them how much your rural schools matter. Encourage them to join Collins and Murkowsi in opposing her confirmation. Mara Casey Tieken is assistant professor of education at Bates College in Maine and author of “Why Rural Schools Matter.”
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazett...devos-would-likely-doom-rural-schools-gazette
On Wednesday, Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski announced their opposition to President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. These senators are from predominantly rural states — Collins from Maine, Murkowski from Alaska — and both cited their states’ rural geography as a reason for their “no” votes. A DeVos appointment, they worried, would fundamentally undermine rural education. As a former rural teacher and a current rural researcher, I suggest other rural senators heed their warning.
DeVos is a strong proponent of school choice. She supports expanding charter schools and reducing their oversight. She is also a proponent of school vouchers, which puts public money toward private schools. Her family foundation has given millions to support programs and candidates that favor school choice, and she has used the bully pulpit of wealth to promote choice as a mechanism of radically reforming education.
But choice only works when you have options, and many rural communities don’t. With their small populations and vast geographies, most rural communities cannot sustain a variety of brick-and-mortar options, public or private. Online schooling is not a viable alternative. Many rural communities lack reliable internet access, and research shows many online schools are academically questionable or ineffective. Also, few parents are willing to enroll their first-grader in an online school.
DeVos has been vague about how she would fund a voucher program. It’s unlikely, though, a Trump administration would put more money toward public education, leading many to speculate she would appropriate federal Title I funding, which currently goes toward the education of poor children.
Thousands of poor rural schools would feel this loss acutely, with cuts to teachers, curriculum, and after-school programming. Rural schools in deeply impoverished areas, like the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, would likely not recover; Title I cuts could mean their closure. My research suggests closure can have dire consequences for rural communities. Public schools are the center of many of these communities. Families turn out for Friday night basketball. Grandparents volunteer in the school library. Recent immigrants attend Saturday English classes in the cafeteria. These schools employ people, and they support the town gas station, the diner and the bank. They offer school board seats and thus a measure of political power and local control. These rural schools keep rural communities on the map. It is ironic that the very voters who swung the election to Trump — voters in key rural areas — stand to lose the most under this Trump-appointed nominee.DeVos’ favored reforms won’t work for rural communities. An education system predicated on choice could create a second-tier education for rural children and shutter rural schools. I urge you to call your senators. Remind them how much your rural schools matter. Encourage them to join Collins and Murkowsi in opposing her confirmation. Mara Casey Tieken is assistant professor of education at Bates College in Maine and author of “Why Rural Schools Matter.”
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazett...devos-would-likely-doom-rural-schools-gazette
