Parents send their kids to them because they have no choice. That must end. Charter schools that are genuinely independent of heavy-handed bureaucratic and political influence can provide choice and competition within the public school system. They should be dramatically expanded. And it is time to try vouchers as well.
Private vouchers can help.
The rest of the American business community should get involved in educational reform, too. Publicly funded vouchers are the next step. Arthur Levine, president of Columbia University's Teachers College and a lifelong advocate of public education, believes the situation is so dire that a rescue operation is needed to reclaim the lives of America's most disadvantaged children. It's a good, limited proposal that bores in on the real problem in American education. Poor kids would get a way out of the worst inner-city schools.