President Obama is disappointing education reformers by failing to support school choice policies. Education reformer Steve Perry, the CEO and founder of Capitol Preparatory Schools, called Obama out on Monday at a school choice forum hosted by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
“With all due respect to our president, he wasn’t always our president,” Perry said. “He didn’t send his children to public schools at any point, nor did he attend himself. I’m not against him for that. I’m saying I want what he wants for his kids for all kids. I’m saying I respect and support this brother, but I want him to respect and support the other children in the same way that his own children had.”
Perry also criticized many members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus for sending their children to charter and magnet schools but not advocating school choice policies. “If we don’t call out the hypocrisy of individuals who themselves benefit from choice, but then pull the bridge of choice up behind them, then we’re not going to get to where we need to be,” Perry said to a room full of education reform advocates, charter school students, Catholic school students and others.
When the Washington Examiner asked Perry exactly how Obama has disappointed him, he replied, “[Obama] wasn’t a supporter of the local scholarship, which is bizarre,” referring to the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. “On the one hand, he touted what Michelle Rhee was doing, and on the other hand, comes back and doesn’t support one of her major programs.”
Perry is an advocate for federally-funded school choice vouchers. “Federal money should follow the child, the same exact way they do with student financial aid, Medicaid, Medicare, Section 8, the GI Bill. All those are vouchers,” he said.
Perry also said the education debate shouldn’t be about public versus private schools, calling it a “false argument.” “The only thing that’s important is ‘Do children go to good schools?’ That’s it. And [Obama] needs to clear the way to make sure.”
Perry added that repealing No Child Left Behind would be “absurd” but admitted the legislation wasn’t perfect. He said the legislation helped students get access to quality schools.
Capitol Prep is a magnet school in Hartford, Conn., where 100 percent of graduates go on to four-year colleges. The school has 700 students, according to Perry.
