What is this? Less blur, less educanto, less legalese and fewer excuses? It's as if the clouds above have lifted. Rather, this being July 14th in Arkansas, it's as if the clouds have gathered, and settled in above, cooling us off considerably.
No, we can't attribute this to Providence. Instead we can attribute the latest blessing to common sense and the Pulaski County School District. Not only is it allowing interdistrict transfers for the second year in a row, the district and its leaders are also providing a lesson for other districts. After watching the adults fail for so long, it's a pleasure to note otherwise:
Leaders of the PulCo Special School District are allowing student transfers into and out of their district again this year. For the record, those leaving outnumber those coming in. For now.
Cynthia Howell's story in Wednesday's paper said 197 students from around central Arkansas have asked to join Pulaski County's school district, and they have been approved. But another 256 have asked to get out, and were also approved. If our sketchy math is correct, that's a net loss. But things are trending in the right direction.
Why? Because only 49 kids asked to transfer in last year. This year, 197 represents a 300 percent increase. Which tells us something right is going on in Pulaski County's schools. And once word of that gets out, school districts will see these kinds of increases. Parents talk, they read, they know.
State law allows these transfers; it may even encourage them. But still there are a handful of school districts, mainly in southern Arkansas, that are doing all they can to keep all the kids from their jurisdictions inside their jurisdictions. No matter how awful the schools. These districts have gone as far as taking things to federal court. Imagine the lack of imagination in a school district that sues to keep kids in failing schools! As if the money coming from the state--per child--is the priority, and educating children is down the list. Maybe on the next page. How these "educators" sleep o' night is anybody's guess.
The number of transfers in all four of the school districts in Pulaski County number more than 100 each, as children and their families seek better schools. Or maybe just the school that's closer to home. Or closer to dad's work. Or maybe the school happens to be dad's work. There are any number of reasons a kid might not want to go to his assigned school.
Pulaski County's message to central Arkansas: If you can find better, have at it. But we're doing special things here. And for proof, see those kids lining up at our doors, knocking to get in.
It's so refreshing to see competition at work. And when all these school districts compete with one another, they have great incentives to improve. (It works both ways you know: Every student gained is money for the district.) The overall idea is that competition-and-improvement is a better solution to education's woes than monopolies are. Sadly, that's a lesson that still needs to be explained to some in the education establishment.
The phrase is suffer the little children. Not: little children, suffer.
Editorial on 07/14/2019