“Public” Schools in Name Only?

Last but not least, the Fordham Institute just released a report showing how many "public" schools are essentially elite private schools for rich white folks only.  Checker Finn nails it when he says "Taxpayers willingly spend billions of dollars on these exclusive public schools though they are, in practical terms, off-limits to poor kids. And few if any elected officials raise any fuss. It's hypocritical if not discriminatory of them to turn around and oppose charters, vouchers and other school choice programs that would give truly needy children a shot at a comparable education."  Below is the press release; the entire 19-page report is at: www.edexcellence.net/doc/201002_PrivatePublicSchool_final.pdf

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"Public" Schools in Name Only?

2,800 U.S. Public Schools Serve Virtually No Poor Students, reports Fordham Institute

 

WASHINGTON - More than 1.7 million American children attend "private public schools" where low-income pupils make up less than 5 percent of the student body, a new analysis finds. In some metropolitan areas, as many as one in six public-school students—and one in four white youngsters—attends such schools. Nationwide, more children attend "private public schools" than attend charter schools. (Note: Among the 2,817 "private public schools" we identified nationwide we found 73 charter schools.)

 

"By serving only well-off children, these schools are arguably more private than many private schools," said Michael J. Petrilli, a co-author of the report and vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, the nonpartisan education policy think tank that published it. "Perhaps they should stop calling themselves 'public' schools, because they are hardly open to the public."

 

The analysis examined public elementary, middle, and high schools, using information from the federal government's Common Core of Data for 2007-2008. Among the national findings:

 

Ø  2,817 "private public schools" exist across the United States.

Ø  While 17 percent of public school students nationwide are African-American, that's true of just 3 percent of the pupils in "private public schools." Hispanic students account for 21 percent of the nationwide public school population, but 12 percent of the students in "private public schools."

Ø  On the other hand, Asian students comprise 5 percent of public school students nationwide but 10 percent of students in "private public schools." And white students account for 75 percent of the "private public school" population, compared to 56 percent of public school students nationwide.

 

Among states and major metropolitan areas, there's great variation:

 

Ø  More than one child in ten attends "private public schools" in Connecticut (18%), New Jersey (17%), South Dakota (16%), Arizona (14%), and Massachusetts (12%). 

Ø  In twenty-three other states, however, no more than 1 percent of the public school population is enrolled in "private public schools." These include Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Carolina.

Ø  The metro areas with the largest shares of students in "private public schools" include Boston (16%), New York (13%), Phoenix (11%), San Francisco (10%) and Denver (9%).

Ø  In some metro areas, a high percentage of white students in public schools attend "private public schools:" New York (27%), San Francisco (21%), Boston (20%), Philadelphia (14%), Denver (14%) and Los Angeles (13%). 

 

"Taxpayers willingly spend billions of dollars on these exclusive public schools," said Chester E. Finn, Jr., Fordham's president, "though they are, in practical terms, off-limits to poor kids. And few if any elected officials raise any fuss. It's hypocritical if not discriminatory of them to turn around and oppose charters, vouchers and other school choice programs that would give truly needy children a shot at a comparable education."