Statement by NEA President Bob Chase on Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup Poll on Public's Attitudes Toward Public Schools

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 1998

The real message in this poll is that parents want their children learning in safe, modern schools, with small classes and excellent academic programs, and they want those things now.

Parents don't want to quit on our public schools; they want to improve them. Eighty-eight percent want to invest in smaller class sizes, and 89 percent want to modernize our public schools, so all children will have updated classrooms, small class sizes, and access to computers.

Rather than vouchers for a fraction of students, Americans prefer proven, successful programs that will benefit all students, like the innovative class size reduction program in Milwaukee, which has helped students outperform vouchers students in reading and math. For the same $7 million spent on 1,500 voucher students, Milwaukee could provide Success For All - a proven program emphasizing reading, writing, and language arts - to all 57,000 of its public school children, with $1 million to spare.

This poll also shows that Americans demand accountability for their public education dollars, and that's impossible if we give public tax dollars to private and religious schools.

I hope America's political and educational leaders are listening.