You can't normally get to New York Times articles via the internet without going through a registration process but I thought you'd be interested in at least an excerpt of Diane Jean Schemo's story from last month, "Program on Vouchers Draws Minority Support." It suggests an important element of the conservative social agenda; specifically, breaking the patterns of racism, violence and poverty by making the best education opportunities available for all.
"...In the mostly minority Dayton, Ohio, school district, for example, 28 percent of schoolchildren have opted out of public schools in favor of charter schools, which are publicly financed but privately operated.
In Houston, 12 percent have done the same; in Oakland, Calif., 9 percent of public school children attend charter schools. In New York City, 12,000 children, 1.2 percent of the school population, attend charter schools, but the number of such schools is capped.
In Washington [DC], in addition to those children opting for private schools, many others are flocking to charter schools, which have siphoned off about 25 percent of children, and $37 million in revenue this year alone..."
