School Performance - Tracking The Charter School Movement, Schools For Sale, Homeschooling, Which Type Of School Does The Best Job?

In this great country, children of every race, class, ethnic background, or handicap can get a primary and secondary education free of charge. It used to be that the overwhelming majority of parents considered our public schools quite good enough. This is not the case anymore. America's schools, especially those in our largest cities, are branded failures, and the public education system is undergoing revolutionary changes.

The perceived failure of America's schools used to be blamed on lack of funding. To this old theory has lately been added the belief that schools are organized according to a stifling bureaucratic model that does not allow for innovations. What can be done? The current buzzwords are schools of choice: charter schools and voucher schools.

Noam Chomsky says that charter schools and voucher schools undermine "the conception that I should care if the kid down the street has an education." George W. Bush says: "We must not trap students in low-performing schools. It is time to see if it works: Let's try a pilot voucher program." Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler calls school choice "the civil rights struggle of this generation."

Today, more parents are opting for chosen public and private schools over neighborhood schools. Vouchers for low-income children in failing public schools have been adopted in a handful of cities. These initiatives generate tremendous controversy and have created some unlikely bedfellows. Supporters include conservatives, who agree with economist Milton Friedman that a voucher system would improve the efficiency of schools and would increase parental liberty; the political left, who would like to see poor children get a fair shake; and the people who have the most at stake: inner-city parents whose children attend the poorest schools.

Supporters of charter schools see them as a breath of fresh air — innovative and full of opportunity. On the other hand are those who see the choice movement as an untried and unproven threat to longstanding, monopolistic ways of educating children. Some oppose the drain of public funds from already struggling public schools, and some object to teachers who work in alternative schools for less than union wage. Some call vouchers a thinly disguised form of "parochiad" and a gross violation of the principle of separation of church and state. Some wonder if vouchers are fair.

In the first panel that follows, we look at the rapid rise of alternative forms of education: charter schools, for-profit schools, and homeschooling. We also explore the question of which type of school educates our children better. Our second panel examines the question whether there really can be school choice. Finally, we will look at safety in our schools. Are they safe enough? We will look at the perennial problem of bullying and see how technology is putting new weapons into the hands of children.