THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407150019
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
By at least one measure, the company that helps run some of the country's first privatized public schools - and which hopes to add the Portsmouth school system to its clients - is a failure. But by measures that may far outweigh a simple comparison of standarized-test scores, South Pointe Elementary School in Miami Beach demonstrates that private competition could help public education get back on track.
Results of a three-year study show that students in Education Alternatives Inc.'s showcase school for three full years scored no better on tests than students at a regular elementary school.
Attendance at South Pointe improved, however, more parents became involved in their children's education and parents reported surprising enthusiasm for learning among their children. With carefully-picked teachers trained by EAI in modern teaching methods, the school - which serves a predominantly poor, Hispanic, working-class neighborhood - has attracted students from nearby wealthy families who could easily afford private schools.
In a survey last year of one-third of the school district's parents, South Pointe topped 63 other elementary schools in helping students learn and achieve, and more than 70 percent said they regularly conferred with their children's teachers. That's certainly not ``failure,'' as some opponents have shouted.
EAI did promise dramatic gains in student achievement within three years, but achievement should be measured in many forms. School Superintendent Octavio Visideo understands that, and he knew at the outset that curing his district's educational ills would demand much more than hiring EAI.
But at least EAI is a company that is accountable for what it promises. If it does not deliver, then a different contractor can be brought in. Privatization offers that kind of flexibility. There is certainly no reason to hand control back to the public-school monopoly that failed in the first place.
Privatization is not a guaranteed cure, but it offers competition, and competition never hurts. It is still early in the experiment to call it a failure. by CNB