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AnalysisEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceFamily Empowerment ScholarshipFeaturedFlorida Tax Credit ScholarshipGardiner ScholarshipMcKay ScholarshipNewsParental ChoicePrivate School ScholarshipsSchool ChoiceTax Credit Scholarships

Florida K-12 scholarship programs earn top rankings in national guidebook

Lisa Buie
Lisa Buie

Five Florida K-12 scholarship programs have landed in the top tier of education choice programs ranked by a national school choice advocacy group.

The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and the McKay Scholarship programs each took top honors in their respective categories in rankings released today by the American Federation for Children.

The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship  program, which serves lower-income families, finished first out of 20 in rankings of tax credit scholarship programs across the United States, followed by Florida’s Hope Scholarship program, which allows students who have been bullied in public schools to transfer to participating private schools.

The McKay Scholarship program for students with disabilities, which is open to all students who are on individualized education plans or other plans approved by law, took the No. 1 spot out of 17 programs in the special education category. The Gardiner Scholarship, an educational savings account that serves students with unique abilities and certain special needs, ranked fifth.

The Family  Empowerment Scholarship  program, which was approved by the Florida Legislature in 2018 and began serving families during the 2019-20 school year, ranked fourth on the list of the nation’s scholarship programs. In its first year, scholarships were awarded to 17,802 students.

Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps manage all but the McKay Scholarship, which is administered by the Florida Department of Education. John F. Kirtley, the founder of Step Up For Students, is vice president of the organization’s 12-member board of directors.

“We were amazed to see that the Florida Family Empowerment program came so close to meeting its 18,000-student enrollment cap in 2019-20, the program’s first year of operation,” American Federation for Children officials said in a news release. “In response to the popularity of this program, Florida legislators raised the enrollment cap to 46,000 students; Florida is now reporting that over 32,000 students are enrolled in the program for the 2020-21 school year, all of whom meet the lower-income requirements for participating families.”

Each year, AFC compiles a guidebook of comprehensive information on private school choice programs in America. Today, those programs serve more than 575,000 children in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The organization’s leaders say the goal is for the guidebook is to serve as a resource for those looking to better understand educational choice and to advocate for new and improved private school choice policies in 2021.

AFC rankings were based on information primarily from the 2019-20 school year. The group singled out Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio for their impressive growth in education choice programs.

“One commonality across these three states … is a strong nonprofit organization on the ground that does both legislative advocacy and parent empowerment work,” the news release said. “Creating strong educational ecosystems takes coordinated work at all levels, starting with parents and going all the way to governors.

“In the midst of so much uncertainty about the future of our education system, we’re happy to see that some of these ecosystems seem to be working for the best interest of kids.”

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AnalysisCharter SchoolsCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityEducation SpendingFeaturedHomeschoolingMicroschoolsParental ChoicePrivate SchoolsSchool Choice

‘Emergency mindset’ needed to address education inequities

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

As the first full year of schooling during the coronavirus pandemic launches, a national education advocacy network is sounding the alarm in a research brief that America’s K-12 education system is in crisis.

To ensure a more flexible, equitable and student-centered system of education both now and post-pandemic, the independent non-profit organization 50CAN is calling for a national response to that crisis, starting with a greater level of federal support for new learning modes to extend greater choice for families, including distance learning, homeschooling, and micro-schools and learning pods.

While schooling traditionally has been funded through a mix of local property taxes and state revenue with the federal government paying only about 10% of total costs, 50CAN observes, a greater level of federal support across these three modes of learning is needed. 

Among 50CAN’s overall policy recommendations:

 ·       All district, charter and private schools should receive emergency funding to support safely running in-person schooling this school year if they are able to do so and to provide a flexible, high-quality online schooling option for all students.

 ·       Families should be able to easily move into or out of these in-person and online options as their health circumstances and risk factors change throughout the year.

 ·       Families should have the option to enroll their student in an online district school program outside of their neighborhood boundaries or in an online charter school or private school program anywhere in the country with no restrictions to these online transfers, such as state enrollment caps.

 ·       Families should receive funding to enroll their child in an in-person school in a neighboring district or in a charter school or private school if their district school does not offer an in-person option.

 ·       Families up to 200% of the poverty line should receive a direct payment of $2,000 per child to pay for supplemental educational materials, tutoring, technology and other learning expenses, building upon payments — $1,200 per adult and $500 per child – in the CARES Act.

 The independent non-profit organization, launched in 2011, has a presence in eight states with affiliates in additional cities including Miami.

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AnalysisCoronavirus / COVID-19Demographic ResearchEducation ChoiceEducation PollingFeaturedParental ChoiceSchool Choice

New poll: Support for school choice continues to grow

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

A survey of 2,020 registered voters conducted by RealClear Opinion Research indicates support for school choice is surging as families become increasingly frustrated with district schools’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since April, overall support for the concept of school choice among families with children in public schools has jumped 10 percentage points, from 67% to 77% according to poll results released today.

That support is relatively even across political lines, with 76% of Republicans, 73% of Independents and 72% of Democrats responding affirmatively that they would support giving parents a portion of the $15,424 per student the average American taxpayer spends on K-12 public education for home, virtual or private education if public schools do not reopen for in-person classes.

Additionally, 78% of public school parents and 79% of non-public school parents said they would support the governor of their state putting federal funding for the purchase of education technology and materials, private school tuition and home education directly in the hands of families and allowing them to choose how to use those funds to support their child’s education.

Support for this effort also was evenly distributed among party lines, with 68% of Republicans, 68% of Independents, and 66% of Democrats agreeing.

“The inflexibility of our K-12 system is on full display, leaving families to scramble as the special interests that have controlled our public education system for generations continue to oppose giving families and students greater educational choice,” said John Schilling, president of the American Federation for Children. “It could not be more clear that families are desperate for other options and will support governors and other policymakers as they pursue policies that let them control their child’s education funding.”

The RealClear poll was conducted Aug. 19-21 and carries a margin of error of +/1 2.4%.

More school choice polling can be found here.

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AnalysisCoronavirus / COVID-19Demographic ResearchEducation ResearchFeaturedNews

Florida Council of 100 releases study showing “rigor gap” in Florida classrooms

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

A detailed study released today by the Florida Council of 100 in cooperation with the Florida Department of Education includes data indicating the state can do more to align efforts on student growth by helping students and families in real time.

Coming on the heels of last year’s dismal National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, the study shows a substantial “rigor gap” between the grades Florida high school students receive and their mastery of content required to pass end-of-course exams in Algebra I and Grade 10 English Language Arts.

Among the findings:

·       Seventy-two percent of English 2 students and 55% of Algebra I students who did not pass the corresponding end-of-course exam received a course grade of C or higher.

·       Thirty-seven percent of 10th-grade English students and 12% of Algebra I students who did not pass the corresponding end-of-course exam received a course grade of B or higher.

While the study, which relied on three years of data from the Florida Department of Education, does not include student data from the COVID–19 pandemic, the researchers hypothesize that the pandemic has increased the identified rigor gap due in part to more lenient grading practices and issues related to delivering high-quality distance learning.  

“Our analysis concludes that if teachers, leaders, and administrators hold students accountable throughout the school year for the standards they’ll be evaluated on at the end of the year, their grades and test scores will be closely aligned,” said Chris Corr, Council of 100 chairperson. “The rigor gap we see instead indicates the contrary, the result being that students are less prepared for success at the postsecondary level or in the workplace.”

Corr noted that while the responsibility for closing the rigor gap falls upon the system as a whole, he referenced a 2010 study that indicated students tend to study 50% less when they expect teachers to award relatively higher grades, leaving them surprised by less favorable end-of-course exam scores.

Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran warned in comments included in a Council of 100 news release about the study that “we can love someone into mediocrity,” and observed that challenges brought about by the pandemic have made it more important than ever to deliver a quality education driven by high expectations.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has likely exacerbated gaps in student achievement, so it is imperative that all students, especially low-income students, students with special needs, English Language Learners, and other struggling students are given the supports and honest learning feedback to achieve their individualized educational dreams,” Corcoran wrote.

Among the tactics for implementing those supports, Corcoran said, are the “record investments” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made in teacher compensation, aligning education to curriculum tied to Florida’s new B.E.S.T. standards, and ensuring that parents have increasingly robust learning options from which to choose.

For more details, a question-and-answer document on the study can be accessed here. 

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AnalysisCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation ResearchFeaturedSchool Choice

UF Lastinger Center for Learning: Communication is key during pandemic

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

A Florida-based national education innovation hub’s analysis of approaches taken by public and private education programs throughout the state during COVID-19 reveals that open communication has played a critical role in the success and well-being of students, families and educators.

Several key themes emerged from the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning’s survey of more than 4,000 parents, teachers and school leaders in a project made possible with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Among the findings:

Most educators expressed an understanding of the significance of communication throughout the pandemic. Sixty percent of respondents said they communicated with their students and families once a day or more throughout distance learning, using multiple channels including online videos, apps, phone calls, emails and text messages. Social media, including Facebook and Twitter, helped them cultivate more family involvement and increased teachers’ understanding of unique student needs.

Educators reported that regular check-ins with each other provided their schools as well as district-level staff with valuable, real-time information to inform higher-level decision-making. More frequent communication among educators also facilitated idea exchange, collaboration, and sharing of best practices to overcome challenges and better support students and families.

Additionally, educators reported that connecting with certain student populations during distance learning, including those with exceptionalities, younger students, and English Language Learners, prompted many schools and districts to innovate. (See here and here.) A private school participating in a state scholarship program administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, hired Spanish translators to ensure it was effectively communicating with its large English Language Learner population.

And finally, the survey showed a streamlined, multi-level communication approach is effective and efficient for the entire school community to foster a successful teaching and learning environment. Use of a central hub that offers access to teachers, administrators and district staff as well as a student information system or centralized platform for all teachers proved beneficial strategies for educators as well as families, particularly those whose students had multiple teachers.

In addition to its study on communication practices, which can be seen in its entirety here, the Lastinger Center released two additional briefs related to education and COVID-19. Trauma-Informed Care: A Critical Component in Successfully Resuming School can be viewed here; and Best Practices in Preparing Educators and Families for Distance Learning can be viewed here.

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AnalysisBlog GuestCustomizationDemographic ResearchEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityEducation ResearchFeaturedParental ChoicePatrick J. WolfPrivate School ScholarshipsSchool Choice

Choosing the right path: evidence that Milwaukee’s school choice program excels beyond academics

Patrick J. Wolf
Patrick J. Wolf

One of the largest and oldest Lutheran high schools in the nation, Milwaukee Lutheran High School participates in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, allowing families who meet the household income requirements to attend at no charge or for significantly reduced tuition.

America’s oldest urban private school choice program has the vital effects of steering young adults away from both crime and out-of-wedlock births, thus laying a strong foundation for them to live more successful lives.

What predicts future life success for young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds? Two vital factors are avoiding a criminal record (see here and here) and an out-of-wedlock birth.

That reality might be one reason why private schools often describe their mission as educating the “whole child,” mind, body and soul. Education should shape the character of students in positive ways. Strong character traits, such as conscientiousness and self-restraint, are especially important for youth growing up in challenged family circumstances. They rarely get second chances.

Given that avoiding a criminal record and refraining from causing a non-marital birth are keys to life success, and private schools may have advantages over public schools in promoting the character traits of their charges, it is shocking that almost no research has been conducted on the effects of private school choice programs on rates of crime and out-of-wedlock births.

Corey A. DeAngelis, director of school choice at the Reason Foundation, and I have set out to fill that gaping hole in our understanding of the potential long-term, life-changing effects of school choice.

Our first foray examined the medium-term effects of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) on the likelihood of a person being charged with a crime by age 22-25. The MPCP is restricted to low-income families in Milwaukee. We matched more than 1,000 eighth- and ninth-grade students in the MPCP in 2006 with Milwaukee public schools (MPS) students in the same grade, with the same race, gender, English Language Learner status, and similar initial achievement test scores.

Importantly, we also matched the MPCP students with peers from their own neighborhood. Family values and behavioral expectations tend to be similar in urban neighborhoods, so matching students based on where they lived likely helped us control for vital unmeasured factors.

We then searched the public database of all criminal records for the state of Wisconsin as of fall 2015. The searchers were not aware if a given student was in the MPCP group or the MPS group when they looked to see if that study participant had committed a crime in the state. We found that MPCP students who remained in their private school of choice throughout their high school years were significantly less likely to have committed a crime during young adulthood, compared to their matched peers in MPS.

When MPCP students who switched from their private high school to a public school were included in the analysis, however, the effect of the MPCP on reducing crime became less clear. We concluded that students may need a steady “dose” of the character education treatment of private schooling for it to change their life trajectory.

Our initial study was published last year in the peer-reviewed journal Social Science Quarterly.

This year, we returned to the question with more and better data. We also employed more conservative analytic methods, to be even more confident that the selectivity of MPCP students was not biasing our results. In a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Private Enterprise, we revisited the same set of MPCP and matched MPS students three years later, when they were 25-28 years old. The additional three years gave the MPCP students more time to distinguish themselves from their MPS peers regarding avoiding criminal behavior.

We also found data on paternity suits in Wisconsin and added that key outcome variable to our study. Finally, we did not separate out students who stayed in the MPCP for their entire high school career from those who switched back to MPS. Thus, we conservatively tested to see if experiencing the private school choice program for any length of time from eighth to twelfth grade affected crime outcomes or non-marital birth rates. In these three ways, our recent study improved upon our original one.

We found that participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program reduced the likelihood of a young adult having a drug conviction by 53%. The MPCP also decreased the chances of a person having a conviction for a property damage crime by an astounding 86%. MPCP alums were 38% less likely than their matched MPS peers to have been named in a paternity suit by age 25-28.

The positive effects of the private school choice program on reducing criminality were larger for males, who commit most crimes, and for participants with lower initial achievement test scores. The benefit of the MPCP in reducing the likelihood of causing a non-marital birth was similar for both males and females, since it takes two to tango.

Our research was not designed to reveal what the private schools in the MPCP did to generate these reductions in crime and out-of-wedlock births. Religion, re-enforcing parental values, and the influence of better-behaved peers all may have played a role. Future research should continue to study those questions.

For now, we can say that America’s oldest urban private school choice program had the vital effects of steering young adults away from both crime and out-of-wedlock births, thus laying a strong foundation for them to live more successful lives.

That’s a big deal.

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AnalysisEducation ChoiceEducation Savings AccountsFeaturedGardiner ScholarshipNewsSchool ChoiceSpecial Needs Education

Popular scholarship program continues to serve more students

Patrick R. Gibbons
Patrick R. Gibbons

Growth in a Florida education savings account created for students with unique abilities continued its steady increase in 2018-19 according to figures released this week by the leading organization that administers the program.

A new report from Step Up For Students that includes information on enrollment, student eligibility and scholarship expenses shows that 12,245 students participated in the Gardiner Scholarship Program, a nearly 2,000 student increase from 2017-18.

For 2018-19, 11,393 students were enrolled in the program through Step Up for a total award of $117 million. Another 852 enrolled through the AAA Scholarship Foundation. A total of 71 percent of the students were renewing their scholarships, and 29 percent were receiving scholarships for the first time.

Funded by state legislative appropriations, the scholarships average $10,266 a year and increase in value, some exceeding $20,000, depending on the severity of a student’s medical diagnosis. Parents can spend the money on various educational expenses such as tuition, instructional material, therapies, tutoring and electronic devices.

Families of 6,648 students used the funds in 2018-19 for tuition at one of 1,130 participating private schools. Approximately 34 percent of students were enrolled in home education. The remaining students utilized a portion of their scholarship funding for private school tuition.

Nearly 58 percent of all funds, or $57.2 million, were spent on private school tuition and fees, while 22 percent, or $21.9 million, was spent on instructional materials. Families spent $8.9 million on therapies and specialized therapies and $4.7 million on part-time tutoring.

Students are eligible for the Gardiner Scholarship if they have one of several specific diagnoses including autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and spina bifida. The majority – 63 percent – have a diagnosis of autism.

The full report, including additional breakdowns on expenses and enrollment, is available here.

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AnalysisCoronavirus / COVID-19Demographic ResearchEducation PollingFeaturedNews

Survey: What American families experienced when COVID-19 closed schools

Patrick R. Gibbons
Patrick R. Gibbons

A new Education Next survey reveals 71% of parents perceived their children learned less during the pandemic than they would have had they remained in brick-and-mortar schools.

COVID-19 upended and changed the lives of millions of Americans this spring, forcing the nation’s schools to close and requiring a shift from in-person to virtual learning. In retrospect, what do parents think about the quality of instruction their children received?

Education Next surveyed them to find out. The results, released earlier this week, paint an interesting picture.

Among the 1,249 parents of 2,147 children surveyed, 71% said they thought their children learned less at home than they would have had they been in school. But surprisingly, 72% said they were satisfied with the attempt.

Black and Hispanic parents reported higher satisfaction with remote learning (30% and 32%, respectively), than white parents (26%). Charter school and private school parents (45% and 39%, respectively), reported higher satisfaction than parents whose children attended a public district school (29%).

According to their parents, larger shares of the children of white respondents and children in higher income households learned less than they would have if schools had remained open than children of Black and Hispanic students and those in lower-income households.

Not all schools prioritized learning new content according to the survey. Overall, 74% of parents said their child’s school introduced new content, while 24% said the school focused on reviewing content students had already learned.

A large gap in perception persisted between high- and low-income families. Among low-income families, 33% reported that schools reviewed content students had already learned, compared to 19% of high-income parents.

Parents overall reported that one-on-one meetings between students and teachers occurred rarely, with only 38% saying such meetings occurred at least once a week. About 40% said one-on-one meetings never occurred.

Parents reported that class-wide meetings occurred more frequently, with 69% reporting class-wide virtual meetings with teachers occurred at least once a week.

Black parents reported their children spent more time per day (4.3 hours) on schoolwork than white parents (3.1 hours). Black parents also said their students suffered less learning loss than the parents of white students.

The survey also included a sample of 490 K-12 teachers who work in schools that closed during the pandemic. Teachers’ responses generally mirrored how parents described their children’s experiences with several exceptions.

Thirty-six percent of teachers said they met individually with students multiple times a week, compared with 19% of parents. Teachers also reported providing grades or feedback more often than parents. Meanwhile, teachers reported providing fewer required assignments than parents said their children received.

Parents and teachers generally agreed on how much students learned during distance learning, with teachers more likely than parents to say children learned less than they would have if schools had remained open.

The survey was conducted from May 14 to May 20 by the polling firm Ipsos Public Affairs via its KnowledgePanel. Respondents could elect to complete the survey in English or Spanish.

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