Engaging the Public in Its Schools

Faced with overcrowded and decrepit school buildings, underfunded federal mandates, and state revenue shortfalls, districts across the United States
propose referenda to increase school budgets; more than two-thirds are voted down by the American public.

By Heather Voke ASCD.org

Thirty-eight states consider legislation
that would allow parents to opt out of their local public schools and send their children to charter or private schools with public funds. Parents of two
million children choose to teach them at home rather than to enroll them in their local public schools (Moffit, Garrett, & Smith, 2001).

What do these developments have in common? Some see them as troubling signs that the historic pact between the public and its schools is dissolving.
They worry that the public is becoming less engaged in and committed to the public schools, and they are concerned that this threatens the capacity of
the public schools to provide all children with access to a quality education. Believing that this dissolution threatens the healthy functioning of our
society and the democratic ideals upon which our nation is founded, some education reformers assert that educational leaders and policymakers must
focus their attention on re-engaging the public in the public schools.

For the full study: http://www.ascd.org/frameinfobrief.html