A couple of weeks ago I was asked why the cost per student at a local private school is less than it is at a public school. There are a myriad of reasons for this difference, most notable is that a public school has an open enrollment policy. As you know, our neighborhood public schools are required by law to pretty much enroll whoever shows up at the front door. Earlier this week I was reminded of how important open enrollment can be when I attended a talk on autism. The speakers, a father and a son, described the son’s autism journey and inadvertently made one of the more compelling cases for why our public schools are such a critical part of our society. While a large part of the talk was devoted to explaining the nuances of the disability; the takeaway for me, was that the son’s ability to overcome much of autism’s limitations would not have been possible without the option to attend a public school. The boy’s local elementary school, guided by federal law and solid personnel, did what it was supposed to do for the then young autistic student. The school undoubtedly devoted a disproportionate amount of its resources to the boy and from what I can tell, it worked. With the help of the school’s devoted staff, the boy emerged from the trappings of his autism to realize a fulfilling life that includes a college degree.
If public education is to be the great leveler of our society, then it is critical that we devote sufficient resources to public schools so that they can meet the needs of all of society’s students. Diverting state money from public schools with open enrollments to those with selective enrollments while appealing on the surface, may ultimately work against our neediest students. On the Kenai we have hundreds of special needs students who benefit from their interactions with the general education population. As the young man with autism can attest, a big part of his success later in life was due to the accepting and accommodating public school. Let’s make sure that we do not inadvertently undermine this positive piece of the fabric of our society.
Public Schools and Open Enrollment
A couple of weeks ago I was asked why the cost per student at a local private school is less than it is at a public school. There are a myriad of reasons for this difference, most notable is that a public school has an open enrollment policy. As you know, our neighborhood public schools are required by law to pretty much enroll whoever shows up at the front door. Earlier this week I was reminded of how important open enrollment can be when I attended a talk on autism. The speakers, a father and a son, described the son’s autism journey and inadvertently made one of the more compelling cases for why our public schools are such a critical part of our society. While a large part of the talk was devoted to explaining the nuances of the disability; the takeaway for me, was that the son’s ability to overcome much of autism’s limitations would not have been possible without the option to attend a public school. The boy’s local elementary school, guided by federal law and solid personnel, did what it was supposed to do for the then young autistic student. The school undoubtedly devoted a disproportionate amount of its resources to the boy and from what I can tell, it worked. With the help of the school’s devoted staff, the boy emerged from the trappings of his autism to realize a fulfilling life that includes a college degree.
If public education is to be the great leveler of our society, then it is critical that we devote sufficient resources to public schools so that they can meet the needs of all of society’s students. Diverting state money from public schools with open enrollments to those with selective enrollments while appealing on the surface, may ultimately work against our neediest students. On the Kenai we have hundreds of special needs students who benefit from their interactions with the general education population. As the young man with autism can attest, a big part of his success later in life was due to the accepting and accommodating public school. Let’s make sure that we do not inadvertently undermine this positive piece of the fabric of our society.