{"id":1622838,"date":"2022-08-26T10:22:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T14:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1622838"},"modified":"2022-08-26T10:23:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T14:23:13","slug":"fetterman-opposes-school-vouchers-for-the-poor-he-sends-his-kids-to-one-of-pas-priciest-prep-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fetterman-opposes-school-vouchers-for-the-poor-he-sends-his-kids-to-one-of-pas-priciest-prep-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"Fetterman Opposes School Vouchers for the Poor. He Sends His Kids To One Of PA\u2019s Priciest Prep Schools."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffetterman-opposes-school-vouchers-for-the-poor-he-sends-his-kids-to-one-of-pas-priciest-prep-schools%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1622838&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman (D.) opposes vouchers that let children in failing public school districts attend private and charter schools. But the progressive champion, who lives in one of Pennsylvania\u2019s worst performing school districts, sends his kids to an elite prep school.<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman\u2019s kids attend the Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh, where parents pay up to $34,250 for a &#8220;dynamic&#8221; learning environment and an &#8220;innovative&#8221; approach to teaching. They would otherwise go to schools in Woodland Hills School District, where graduation rates are far below the state average. The local elementary school that serves Fetterman\u2019s town of Braddock is in the bottom 15 percent of the state in academic performance. Fetterman and his wife Gisele have sent at least one of their three kids to Winchester Thurston for the past seven years. A 2018 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ydr.com\/story\/news\/local\/pennsylvania\/2018\/05\/20\/what-happens-braddock-if-john-fetterman-york-county-becomes-pa-s-lieutentant-governor\/627505002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news article<\/a> mentioned that Fetterman sends his kids to a private school in Pittsburgh, though the school was not identified. Gisele Fetterman has been a &#8220;WT parent&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/winchesterthurston\/posts\/congrats-to-wt-parent-giselle-fetterman-and-wt-alumna-parent-majestic-lane-for-b\/10153197377183790\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">since at least 2015<\/a>. Last year, Winchester Thurston <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/winchesterthurston\/posts\/10158128499018790\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">praised<\/a> Gisele, a &#8220;WT Mom,&#8221; for her help on an art project.<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman\u2019s embrace of school choice for his own family opens him up to allegations of hypocrisy on several fronts. Fetterman, the lieutenant governor, has made his Republican opponent Mehmet Oz\u2019s wealth a centerpiece of his campaign. He has also <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnFetterman\/status\/1491542920616423433\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called for<\/a> increased funding for public schools, though by sending his kids to private school he is diverting funds from Woodland Hills under a state funding formula that awards money to districts based on enrollment.<\/p>\n<p>While sending his kids to Pennsylvania\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niche.com\/k12\/search\/best-private-high-schools\/s\/pennsylvania\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">11th best private school<\/a>, Fetterman has publicly opposed vouchers that parents in poor-performing districts like his own could use to send their kids to private and charter schools. In 2018, he <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@reclaimphiladelphia\/questionnaire-responses-by-john-fetterman-candidate-for-lt-governor-218abd7fd13a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> an organization founded by Bernie Sanders supporters he opposed vouchers for families in Philadelphia on the grounds that they &#8220;[take] money away from public schools&#8221; and give it to private and charter schools. Roughly one-third of Philadelphia school kids go to charter schools because of the city\u2019s dismal public school system.<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman\u2019s children will likely benefit academically from attending Winchester Thurston, though they will be deprived of the racial diversity Fetterman claims to embrace. Woodland Hills is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/education\/k12\/pennsylvania\/districts\/woodland-hills-sd-102373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">62 percent black<\/a> and 25 percent white. Just 36 percent of Winchester Thurston\u2019s students are minorities, though the school <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winchesterthurston.org\/aboutus\/equity-and-inclusion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has<\/a> a fully staffed &#8220;equity and inclusion&#8221; office.<\/p>\n<p>Winchester Thurston has a 100 percent college acceptance rate, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winchesterthurston.org\/uploaded\/College_Counseling\/Winchester_Thurston_Profile_18-19.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an average SAT score<\/a> of 1330, well above state averages. Woodland Hills, the district the Fetterman kids would otherwise attend, has just an 85 percent high school graduation rate, far below the state average. Woodland Hills has a 75 percent minority student body.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Shame on him,&#8221; said David P. Hardy, a distinguished senior fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation and co-founder of Boys\u2019 Latin of Philadelphia charter school.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fetterman could send his kids to [Woodland Hills], but he&#8217;s got money, so he can send them somewhere else,&#8221; Hardy told the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;But the poor people there are stuck going to those schools, and he doesn&#8217;t give them any way out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman\u2019s opposition to vouchers has won praise from teachers\u2019 unions and is in line with the Democratic party\u2019s national <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/campus\/amid-coronavirus-democratic-party-takes-aim-at-school-choice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">platform<\/a>. But it puts him in tension with a majority of Americans who support school choice. Fifty-eight percent of Americans\u2014and 69 percent of black voters\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/poll-58-americans-favor-vouchers-k-12-private-school\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">say<\/a> they support vouchers, which <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/issues\/school-voucher-kids-more-likely-to-graduate-from-college-study-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have been linked<\/a> to higher graduation rates. The Pennsylvania State Education Association <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psea.org\/release\/JohnFettermanSenate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">endorsed<\/a> Fetterman earlier this year, lauding him for &#8220;oppos[ing] tuition voucher programs.&#8221; Fetterman <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnFetterman\/status\/1539738373144940545\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">touted<\/a> the union\u2019s endorsement, saying he is &#8220;a proud product of Pennsylvania public schools.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The union in April <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psea.org\/news--events\/newsstand\/press-center\/news-release---april-27-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blasted<\/a> a Republican effort to provide vouchers for families in districts in the bottom 15 percent of the state. The voucher program would benefit students in districts like Woodland Hills, which has three elementary schools that fit that criteria. Wilkins Elementary STEAM Academy, the elementary school that serves Braddock, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whsd.k12.pa.us\/docs\/district\/forms\/ostc%20program%20wilkins%20letter%202020.pdf?id=204478\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">required<\/a> under a separate voucher-like program to offer scholarships to students to transfer to other public or nonpublic schools because its math and reading test scores are in the bottom 15 percent of the state.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear whether all three of Fetterman\u2019s kids\u2014who range in age from 7 to 12 years old\u2014attend Winchester Thurston. It is also unclear how Fetterman has covered tuition there. Winchester Thurston participates in the state program, the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program, that offers scholarships to students in poor-performing districts. Fetterman\u2019s father may also help with the tuition. Fetterman lived off his dad, an insurance executive, until he was in his late 40s. Fetterman&#8217;s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman has suggested that his kids go to public schools. &#8220;American history must be taught in America&#8217;s public schools\u2014the good, the bad, and the horrific,&#8221; he <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnFetterman\/status\/1521906892821442561\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> this year in an apparent reference to the debate over the teaching of critical race theory. &#8220;That&#8217;s what @giselefetterman and I want for our kids.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Fetterman joins a long list of Democrats who publicly criticize school vouchers while sending their kids to private schools. Rep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.) has spoken out against school vouchers and charter schools but sent her daughter to a private middle school and served on the board of a private high school, the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/elaine-luria-rails-against-school-choice-she-once-was-president-of-a-private-school\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>. House candidate Christina Bohannan (D., Iowa) has criticized school choice while <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/iowa-dem-wants-to-keep-kids-in-failing-public-schools-just-not-her-daughter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sending her daughter<\/a> to a private school so she could receive a &#8220;personalized education.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman (D.) opposes vouchers that let children in failing public school districts attend private and charter schools. But the progressive champion, who lives in one of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1622838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1622838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1622838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1622838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1622838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1622838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1622838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}