PUBLIC OR PRIVATE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 21, 1993                   TAG: 9303220382
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALVIN M. PETTUS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
PUBLIC OR PRIVATE
PARENTS, politicians and educators need to quit comparing private and public schools, and start focusing their efforts on making sure all children start school ready to learn.
Most private schools were established for various socio-cultural, philosophical and educational reasons. Through their cost and screening procedures, these schools serve clients based on their ability to pay tuition, or their religious and ethnic background.
Public schools, on the other hand, exist to provide an opportunity for all young people to get an education. Public schools have an obligation to serve all, even those who don't wish to be served.
Private schools survive today because they fill niches in the system that serve educational and social preferences beyond those that can be accommodated in most public schools.
There is nothing inherently wrong with private schools' being able to fill those niches. Having private schools available is desirable, because public schools, without denying anybody access, can borrow practices that work from the private academies. Likewise, private schools can borrow practices from public schools that help accomplish their goals.
Those with the financial means, some argue, have an unfair choice of a private-school education over a public school. Realistically, people with large amounts of financial and other resources will always have more choices. There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of a private education, unless other citizens are burdened to support the choice while they are denied equal access.
A publicly supported system of education will never allow a wide range of choices for everyone. Including private schools in the system won't allow unlimited and affordable choices for most people. If private schools allowed unlimited access, they would become public schools. Private options for education, exclusive of any public support, are desirable for helping maintain vitality in the educational structure of the United States.
Instead of making general comparisons between public and private schools, we should put our energy into making certain that all children start school ready to learn, by providing the proper out-of-school support such as nutrition, health care and a consistently supportive and safe environment.
The fact that students start school ready to learn is far more important than where they learn. When we get close to realizing that goal, the debate over whether public or private school students achieve more or are better prepared for life will evaporate.

Alvin M. Pettus is director of the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB