School Transitions - Non-normative School Transitions/transfers

Non-normative School Transitions/transfers

School transfers refer to any transition in schooling when a child is moved from one school to another between normative transfers. These transitions are less common than normative school transitions but still happen fairly often. Often people end up making non-normative school transitions by participating in what is called the school choice program. This is a policy used by some school systems that spend public funds to give parents and students more of a say in their education. School choice often gives participants a variety of different types of schools to choose from including different charter schools, magnet programs, and tax credits for private schools. While choice schooling has seemed to cause a large increase in scores for private schooling, its effects on public schools tends to show less improvement. Some believe that these problems in the public schools are actually a sign of increasing inequality. While choice schooling has made it both financially and institutionally easier for people to choose where they would like to attend school, many of the lower class families don’t have the resources to send their children to the farther away magnet schools or private schools. In most cases, the lower class parents send their children to the nearest school because there is a bus to pick them up. The wealthier families on the other hand tend to take advantage of the choice program and are able to attend the private schools and higher-rated public schools outside of the city.