This commentary is by state Reps. Seth Bongartz, D-Manchester, and Scott Beck, R-St. Johnsbury.
We are becoming a member of collectively to specific our assist for native schools — public and unbiased — and dispel misinformation that negatively portrays the best way our communities ship education.
This difficulty is nonpartisan. Our constituents from the communities we signify are not any totally different from the remainder of Vermont; they worth native schools, native management, and the education that’s supplied to all Vermont youngsters.
The unbiased faculty panorama additionally contains many smaller schools which can be essential to educating Vermont college students. Many, together with therapeutic unbiased schools and others, provide specialised companies and applications or smaller environments to meet the various and publicly unmet wants of Vermont’s youngsters.
No faculty — public or unbiased — can meet the wants of each baby. These specialised schools, which obtain referrals from each faculty district, save youngsters who would in any other case not get the companies they want.
In many instances, geography impacts Vermont’s public and unbiased faculty panorama. The “Vermont Only” perspective undermines native management and overlooks key details corresponding to 12 Vermont counties and 70 Vermont cities share a border with one other state or province. And roughly equal education {dollars} movement into Vermont as exit.
Some commentators use the time period “private schools,” fairly than the right terminology of unbiased schools, and equate Vermont’s historical past of paying tuition throughout three centuries to a “voucher system.” Their intent is to inflame the misinformed notion that our wealthy historical past suits into nationwide coverage debates round constitution schools and voucher fashions. In truth, unbiased schools have coexisted with public schools for the reason that public faculty system advanced round us.
In this case, Vermont is once more main the nation with an sincere, easy and wonderful education mosaic that serves our youngsters with love, empathy and care. Our public and unbiased faculty fashions could differ, however each produce high quality outcomes. They are all a part of our instructional success; let’s not undermine one on the expense of the opposite.
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