Most Neuqua students are unaware of the Race to the Top sweepstakes. It was a $3.3 billion jackpot offered to states by the federal government as an education reform initiative that occurred several months ago. However, Illinois failed to receive the grant, and instead the money went to nine other states that include Florida, Massachusetts, and Hawaii.
The reasons Illinois failed to secure this money were cited as its failure to push enough dramatic changes to convince the Department of Education that it was serious about swift, top-to-bottom reform.
Illinois education system is failing its students. We tend to forget that in such an impressive district as D204, but in regards o the rest of the state, Illinois recently received a gloomy, but generous grade of D from the advocacy group Advance Illinois. The flat-line test scores seem to suggest an even lesser grade. This dismal score is despite Illinois’s rank as 18th in the nation in per-pupil spending for elementary and secondary students.
Illinois Education has failed its students, but parents are taking action.
Their answer: Charter schools.
Last year, Lawmakers doubled the state’s cap on the number of charter schools to 120, but logically there should be no cap. There are 15,000 children on waiting lists to attend Illinois charter schools. Parents want a better education for their children, and charter schools.
Yet, in a such a high-quality district that encompasses many students don’t even know what a charter school is.
A charter school is a public school like Neuqua, with the exception that students must apply and be accepted to attend. According to the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, “In exchange for strict accountability to maintain high standards, charter schools are given freedom from many of the regulations that apply to other public schools; which allows for greater flexibility and innovation in the classroom.”
The startling trend of increase in number of students applying to these schools points to the frustration parents have with the Illinois school system. In the entire state there are only thirty-five charter schools, compared to the nearly 4,500 regular public schools. But as Pat Quinn, a proponent of expanding charter schools in the state, steps into the governor’s office, the number of charter schools is sure to increase.
Molly Leger, Editor-In-Chief
