Choosing Schools in a Competitive Market: Experiences and Responses From the Perspective of a Community

• In Event: Advocacy Groups and Policy Entrepreneurs in Education

Abstract

In the U.S., state and federal reforms encourage the expansion of school choice policies. Debates about school choice contrast various concepts of freedom and equality with concerns about equity, justice, achievement, democratic accountability, profiting management organizations, and racial and class segregation. Arizona’s “market”-based school choice programs include over 600 charter schools, and the state’s open enrollment practices, public and private school tax credit allowances, and “empowerment scholarships,” (closely related to vouchers), flourish. This qualitative analysis explores one district public school’s parent group and surrounding community in Arizona, and socio-political and cultural tensions existing from this perspective. The community experienced school changes, including demographic shifts, lowered test scores, failed overrides, and the opening of “high-profile” charter school organizations near their school.

Author

• Amanda U. Potterton, Arizona State University