I had the opportunity to attend private schools as a kid and later I graduated from one of the top public high schools in the country. Having had that experience, it pains me see the conditions, academic and otherwise in public schools in Southern CA when I go out and speak on various campuses. No matter how much bond money you throw at public education you will never fix the problems.
That is one reason I am such a big fan of Charter Schools.
Yesterday the CA Charter Schools Assoc. launched a public awareness campaign that they hope will double the number of parents who have access to charter schools for their kids. They call it My School (see www.myschool.org) and it offers resources to help parents take ownership of local schools and start new charter schools.
The web page has a cool tool that allows parents to find out where the closest charter school is (there are over 600 statewide).
The Association claims that a recent poll (which my firm curiously didn’t get the chance to do despite my personal support of charter schools) shows 78% of the public believe giving parents choices within the public schools system is beneficial.
The Charter School Association isn’t just doing a PR job, they are offering hands on support, money in the form of grants and even below market-rate loans to parent groups who want to start charter schools in their area.