School Choice

This summer I am researching and analyzing the school choice issue. Many of my friends have asked what "school choice" means - either specifically or generally - what I'm working on and towards.

So I'm going to spend a few blogs explaining the basics of what school choice is - and then talk about the arguments for and against school choice.

Basically, the bottom line of school choice is giving parents options on where they send their children to school.

How would this look? Well, that's where the confusion of what "school choice" is typically comes in. To break it down simply there is: public school choice and private school choice.

Public school choice would mean parents get to choose which public school their children attend. Some districts allow parents to do that - it is fairly rare for parents to be able to choose without such type of restraining condition, like "space permitting."

Within public school choice is also the option of "charter schools." Charter schools are funded publicly (not to the same amount as public schools typically) but are operated by a private entrepreneur. The idea is the operator can make all the decisions -- to spend more money paying teacher salaries, buying Smart Boards, or funding the soccer team. Also ideally, they would make all curriculum decisions as well. State-to-state laws vary on the amount of regulation charter schools must abide by.

Private school choice would mean (essentially) the money follows the student - whether the student went to a public school or a private school. The US spends $10,770 per pupil (on average - in 2007), so full private school choice would mean that each parent could use that full amount (average being $10,770) and choose any school they wanted - private or public.

That could mean a charter school, a religious school, or a traditional public - there are many options.

So that's the introduction on school choice for now. If you're reading - please post comments and/or questions. I would love to hear from you and will do the best to answer any questions and down the line... field some debate.

Graduation, New Job, Atlanta Traffic, and a Good Run

In the last 5 days I've graduated from college, moved out of my Charleston home, visited with my family in Aiken, pack up the childhood room and organize the last 6 years of my clothes, binders, books and notes and move to Atlanta!

On the way out the door to Atlanta my mom informed me of some great news --- my parents were letting me use one of their vehicles for the summer (Thanks Mom and Dad!) which is a huge sacrifice for them because they're down to 2 cars for 3 drivers. So I packed up all my stuff for Atlanta, and drove myself!

The job's been great so far --- exactly in line with my school choice interests. I got to sit in on a 2 hour school choice coalition meeting this afternoon. I'm also working a lot with research.

Atlanta traffic is another story! My drive from home to work is 17 miles. It took me an hour today to get home (partly because of a couple wrong turns). It takes a long time to compensate for wrong turns in a place like this --- particularly when you don't know the area very well. Joey has been very patient in letting me call him if I need to re-route based on a turn I may have made. However, I'm pretty proud of myself thus far... I am learning!

By the time I got back tonight I started tearing up a bit because of all the driving frustrations I think. But I went for a good long run in the trails on the Emory campus... a complete detox. Gosh, it felt great. Now Joey is cooking dinner for night #2 -- he's so sweet. It smells good!

Finally, thanks to everyone who made graduation a very special time for me! Thank you profusely to all the family who came in to visit (one even took finals early to come), those who called and all the friends that I got to celebrate with! It really makes you realize how what the important things are in life.

Summer...and the rest of my life.

Well, 4 months of excitement has come and gone...and the last few days of college are upon all of us. I'm headed to law school in the fall.

All the seniors were invited to our first alumni event Saturday, the Charleston Affair, and it was quite fun!

And I've made a re-commitment to running and a heathlier lifestyle after such a high stress year. Tuesday marks my last exams...and the running, yoga, and swimming begins!!!

I'm going to start tracking me runs here to not only motivate myself, but hopefully share my adventure with others trying to get back into shape...perhaps they fell off the boat because of a stressful semester, a stressful job, or the addition or a little one to the family.

Here goes my next adventure!

It is beautiful when it rains.

Why is that we feel the most beautiful and the most empowered when our hair is drenched in sweat, our shirts hang loose off our tired bodies, and the make-up washed off miles ago?

Clinque can't sell us a beauty like this. Beauty is confidence. Beauty is empowerment. Beauty is genuine.

Today I went for a 4 miler in the near pouring rain. It was the perfect study break, and the rain was not a deterrent for the run --- actually, it made me want to run that much more. My body got looser much quicker, and the rain pushed my shoulders into a more relaxed mode. As I reached the Battery, the rain just poured onto the river. It was phenomenal. I stopped, put my hands on my hips and just stared at the beauty. With the Cooper Bridge to my left and the West Ashley bridge to my right, it was picturesque.

As I finished running the perimeter of the peninsula, I looked up to the skyline of the city.


And I knew, as I stopped to walk and feel the runner's high, I would never feel so beautiful as I did right in that moment.

It's a New Year

Sure. Most people's new year started 11 days ago. At midnight, right?

But, as a college senior, getting her books ready for the first day of classes of her last semester --- tomorrow embarks the New Year. What will my final days in Charleston bring?

While I have mixed emotions about embarking on our final semester in beloved Charleston, I feel pretty happy that running has re-entered my life. Running went on a brief hiatus last semester, when I was juggling 50 hours of work in addition to full-time course load... but it is back.

I'm not quite as fast. I stop to walk, often at the Battery and just think it out.

But it's back. And I feel centered now. So..chances are the new year will be just fine.