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Click for more articles by Angus McBeath
Parents, students and teachers who despair of bringing a focus on educational achievement and accountability back into the public schools should know that real reform is possible.
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How to have school choice and a happy teachers unionBy Angus McBeath
Increasing numbers of students and parents are abandoning the public schools whenever they have the chance.
Private-schools' market share is growing in most major urban markets, and voucher schemes are justified as a way to give poor and minority parents the type of educational choice that previously was only the privilege of the affluent.
The successful reforms accomplished by the public-education system in the Canadian city of Edmonton show that school choice can work for families from all backgrounds. The change has been so dramatic that even public schools in Edmonton (a city of nearly 1 million people in Alberta) are winning market share. In fact, several successful former private schools have even been welcomed into the public system.
The culture of Edmonton's schools focuses relentlessly on the educational achievement of its students, earning it recent recognition by UCLA Management Professor William Ouchi as one of North Americas top school districts. Even the powerful teachers union has become an advocate of Edmonton's model.
Three elements have been vital to Edmonton's success.
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