Corbet+Pushes+School+Vouchers+in+Washington

= Corbett pushes school vouchers in Washington = = = =By Daniel Malloy= =//Published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette//= =//5/9/11//=  = = =WASHINGTON -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett laid out his vision of education reform before a sympathetic audience of school choice supporters here today.= =As protesters chanted outside the Washington Marriott denouncing Pennsylvania's pending bill that would create a statewide school voucher program for low-income students, Mr. Corbett touted the proposal as a way to improve failing schools by making them compete for students.= ="We're all stronger by competition," he said. "Child-centered, values-centered education makes the difference."= =The program would give low-income parents vouchers equal to the amount of state per-student spending for use at private or parochial schools if they choose to remove their students from public schools. Foes say it will drain still more funding from already squeezed public schools.= =Speaking to the National Policy Summit of the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice, Mr. Corbett told of his own experience as a high school history and civics teacher, and was careful to say that the bill is not an attack on teachers --- though the teachers' unions vigorously oppose it.= =The unions, Mr. Corbett said, are among the main reasons public education has declined in quality. He said the rise in unions turned education into a "labor-management model."= ="School districts began to focus too much on contracts and too little in curriculum," he said.= =Outside the hotel, several dozen union-backed protesters marched and chanted: "Say no to vouchers; save our students." Organizers said about 50 of the protesters came from Pennsylvania, while others were from Wisconsin and the D.C. area to oppose the appearance of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee -- both of whom have staged high-profile battles with unions.= =About 10 counter-protesters from the conservative organization FreedomWorks held up signs in support of the Pennsylvania bill.= =As American Federation for Children chair Betsy DeVos was introducing Mr. Corbett, a protester briefly interrupted her with shouts before being escorted from the luncheon.= =Mr. Corbett said he understood that the proposals were "threatening" to some people, but the vocal foes of school choice simply need to learn more about it.= ="I think we're talking to the choir," Mr. Corbett said at the start of his speech. "I wish we could have the woman who was just in here to sit down and talk."= = = = Read more: [] = = =

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