The following is a
letter to the editor that I wrote, which appeared in the December 11, 2016 edition
of The Philadelphia Inquirer, in which I discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s
choice for education secretary and the criticism she has engendered due to her
support for non-public schools:
School choice deserves backing
The opposition to President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for
education secretary because of her support for school choice is an affront to
children across the country whose educational opportunities are enhanced
because of their ability to attend schools that are best-suited to their
particular needs (“Education choice shows schooling split,” Tuesday).
For far too long, teachers’ unions have vehemently opposed
any constitutionally permissible aid to nonpublic schools, despite the critical
role they play for so many families. The more than five million pre-K to
12th-grade students in nearly 34,000 nonpublic schools do not deserve the
disparagement that some public school advocates espouse on a regular basis.
For our children’s sake, let us hope that Elisabeth DeVos
will propose new policies and ideas that will not only strengthen our
public-school system, which is vitally important, but that will also afford
nonpublic schools the assistance and recognition they so desperately need and deserve.
As DeVos aptly stated, “The status quo is not acceptable.”
N. Aaron Troodler, Bala Cynwyd
