Michael Bloomberg says America’s public school system is failing: ‘A Wake Up Call for Public Education’

Michael Bloomberg claims that America’s public schools are failing, and he blames teacher union leaders for opposing a return to in-classroom instruction “long after it was evident that classrooms were safe.”

In an op-ed titled “A Wake Up Call for Public Education,” the former New York City mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate labeled the public education system as “failed” after an investigation indicated that 1.3 million children have left public schools since the pandemic began.

‘Too many public schools are failing, parents are voting with their feet, and urgent and bold action is needed,’ Bloomberg said of the message to educators and government officials.

‘Until recently, the main government answer has been to spend more money — far too much of it has gone to everyone but our children,’ he concluded.

Bloomberg also chastised teachers’ unions for “refusing to return to in-classroom instruction even after it was evident that classrooms were safe.”

Bloomberg referenced a recent national study that “included a highly worrisome conclusion that has generated little public attention when it should be causing an outcry,” according to the op-ed.

‘A recent national analysis contained a deeply disturbing finding that has generated little public discussion when it should be causing an outcry: Nearly 1.3 million students have left public schools since the pandemic began,’ Bloomberg wrote.

‘Most states have seen enrollment declines for two straight years. In New York City, K-12 enrollment has dropped by an astounding 9%,’ he continued.

Bloomberg called remote instruction a ‘disaster’ and said that by one analysis, the ‘first year of the pandemic left students an average of five months behind in math and four months behind in reading, with much larger gaps for low-income schools.’

He noted that now students have ‘fled public schools in record numbers, states are paying more to educate fewer children.’

‘That might have been acceptable if students were showing great improvement. Instead, we are paying more for failure,’ he added.

The former mayor’s solution is the public charter school system, which he wrote has been moving in the opposite direction, ‘thanks to their success, even as their federal funding has not risen in the last four years.’

He pointed out that from 2020 to 2021, nearly 240,000 new students enrolled in charter schools, a 7% increase year over year.

‘Many charter schools around the country have long waitlists, and no wonder,’ he wrote. ‘In states and cities with strong accountability laws, charters have a proven academic track record of outperforming district schools.’

‘One recent nationwide analysis found that districts with a higher share of charters yield higher reading and math scores as well as higher graduation rates on average,’ he continued. ‘Other research has found that the benefits are especially pronounced for Black, Latino and low-income students.’

However, he claimed that charter schools are underfunded, forcing children to attend public schools, which he claims would continue to fail pupils and future generations until reform is implemented.

‘The idea that we would allow public charter-school students from disadvantaged backgrounds to be deprived of great teachers so that we can staff schools with declining enrollments as though they were full makes no sense whatsoever — until factoring in politics,’ Bloomberg wrote. ‘And then it makes perfect sense, because so many elected officials are beholden to union leaders who oppose charters.’