SCHOOL CHOICE OPPORTUNITY

Scarcely half of American children in our 50 largest cities will leave their public schools with a high-school diploma in hand. These children are disproportionately African-American, and their homes are disproportionately located in our largest public school districts. One of the few hopeful alternatives in these cities are Catholic schools, says the Wall Street Journal. [snip]

• Minority students at Catholic schools are 42 percent likelier to complete high school than their public school counterparts, according to a University of Chicago researcher.
• They are also 2 1/2 times more likely to earn a college degree.

The emphasis on faith-based schools is a reflection of practicality, because turning around a failing public school or starting up a new one is difficult - there are political problems when it comes to solving this crisis, says the Journal:

• Though polls show that African Americans generally favor school choice, they tend to vote for Democrats who don't due to huge teacher union 'contributions'.
• The teachers unions devote their considerable resources to fighting any measure that increases accountability or gives parents more options.

So when politicians have to choose between a teachers union and some African-American mom who would like to take her son out of a failing public school, guess who usually wins?

[you'll often hear an argument against vouchers along the 'state can't give money to religious institutions' line. Feel free to expose their subterfuge: vouchers would go to parents, who would award them as they see fit...]

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