The Washington Post’s recent article on Arizona school closures offers a textbook example of how to tell a compelling story while omitting the most important — and inconvenient — facts. The piece focuses on the Roosevelt Elementary School District’s decision to close five schools, painting it as a cautionary tale about the dangers of school choice, particularly the expansion of eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to all children in 2022.
However, the article conveniently ignores details — which we documented months ago —t hat undermine this narrative, including that Roosevelt’s total budget and per-pupil spending have massively increased even as student enrollment has declined, that most of the students fleeing Roosevelt went to other public schools, and that the exodus began long before Arizona‘s ESA program
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!