Experts Weigh In

National Coalition of Public School Options
December 14, 2011

In response to yesterday's biased and unfounded attack on parent choice by the New York Times, the National Coalition of Public School Options amassed a collection of blogs and statements by actual education experts poking holes in the Times' "story."

Here is a glimpse at just some of the responses:

Tom Vander Ark

The former Executive Director of Education for the Gates Foundation and current Digital Luminary for Digital Learning Now offered his take on the Times' piece, or what he refers to as "a series of hit pieces targeting private companies supporting innovations in learning." Vander Ark calls out the Times' in regards to its claim that parent choice is a sham, online learning is brand new, state policy problems are the fault of education providers, and most online teachers don't enjoy their profession.

Jeanne Allen

Her moniker on Edspresso is "Coolreformchick" for a reason. As President of the Center for Education Reform, Allen is one of the premier voices on school reform and a strong advocate for parent choice. Making Swiss cheese out of the Times' argument, Allen lists 7 problems with the article, especially taking aim at the lack of credibility in its expert sources.

Andrew Rotherham

A former Clinton Administration education official, Rotherham takes a different approach in his response to the Times' piece. Focusing on the necessity for state policy fixes, he says, "Many of today's policies simply don't work in this environment."

Bryan Setser

The man behind the North Carolina Virtual School as a national model for online learning dismisses the Times' anti-corporation rhetoric used in the article. Setser says corporations have always played a role in public education and so the real focus should be on results.