I'm not sure anyone needs to set up anything new. The Washington Scholarship Fund, which administers the doomed voucher program, also runs a private scholarship program that long predates vouchers. It's called the Signature Scholarship Program, and according to the WSF Web site, last year it helped put more than 320 students in 90 private schools. (The maximum is currently $3,000, but I'm guessing that's a function of WSF's limited resources.) If people want to set up new scholarships, that's great, but WSF is already on the case; people eager to do something for D.C. schoolkids should probably just donate to them.

(I'm not affiliated with WSF; I'm just a 15-year D.C. resident who began donating to WSF before the voucher program existed.)

Right. Excellent. A somewhat rare example of an ugly situation (Congress trying to crush the charter school movement to please teachers' unions) being met with a solution (private scholarships) rather than the usual response which is sharp condemnation followed by expressions of dismay, hand ringing, tsk-tsking and the occasional "that sucks" from Reynolds. Pointing out our country's problems is a great way for a blog to get hits, or for a think-tank to get contributions. But what good is writing about a problem, or decrying an ugly situation, if you have no solution to offer---that is, no specific course of action that addresses the problem or situation? At this point, most people who are right-of-center agree on what the problems are, as they're written about and commented-on, daily. But, so far, blog writers and their commenters (and law professors seem to be worst of all) almost never suggest specific courses of action; or, if they do, they make those suggestions far less often than they point out problems. Let 2010 be the year that we start developing specific strategies and tactics to address the problems and ugly situations that have been detailed for years by blogs and other media, and let private scholarships for DC charter schools be the first example of this.

BTW, I don't suggest any specific strategies or tactics myself, though I'm sure I could come up with some if I tried. What I think is needed is a forum, virtual or real, where several people could come together and offer a variety of strategies and tactics, which would then be discussed, with the best of them being adopted and implemented. Obama organized like-minded people living in poor neighborhoods, then developed strategies and tactics to address what these people saw as problems. The results are rather well known. Given the Internet, I see no reason why those on the right can't organize like-minded people to do the same on a national basis.

And finally, Happy New Year to Erin and CM! May 2010 be another banner year for both.

Jeff - Thanks for this. Worth noting: the Washington Scholarship Fund is struggling, too, as a result of the decision to kill the voucher program. See: http://www.examiner.com/x-2763-DC-Charter-Schools-Examiner~y2009m12d10-President-Obama-kills-DC-voucher-program-and-Washington-Scholarship-Fund

Still, as you say, it may be the only alternative right now. Readers who want to learn more and possibly make a contribution, can do so at www/washingtonscholarshipfund.org.

Thanks, David! Here's to constructive problem-solving in 2010. I count myself among those who find it easier to identify problems than solve them--and agree that the time has come for us all to take the next step toward real innovation and --dare I say it -- change we can believe in. May this blog be one place where, with the help of a smart and creative commentariate, that kind of thinking can happen! Cheers to you all!

It may be that private philanthropy, and parents tightening their belts and finding a way to get their kids in private schools is the best answer in areas like DC. But the reality is that most in the urban core do not have the means on any level to do that. I think a full-blown charter school program and the DCOSP are a better, more efficient way to help more kids from poor families get out of the dysfunctional public schools and to eventually improve those schools by making them compete. Isn't it better to save more kids in the short run, provide a better education at a lower cost than most public schools, and make the traditional publics better in the long run?

I know, it's a hard sell politically in that area. I know also that the idea of charters enrages some people, including some of passive-aggressive trolls who comment here at CM, but I don't care. It's tax money well spent in the long and short terms. Of course, private philanthropy is worth supporting as well.

BTW: We pinched pennies to send our kids to 6 and 7 years of private education to escape bad schools in the district we live in. One of those schools (K-8) is now a charter and free, and is still doing a great job of educating children from a wide range of economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds.