Faith-based Education

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Komer saved the best for last

Matthew Ladner
Matthew Ladner

Dick Komer retired in May after a quarter-century at the Institute for Justice, helping countless families obtain greater choice to meet their educational needs. He is known throughout the educational choice movement as the consummate expert on crafting choice programs that can withstand lawsuits from choice opponents.

Bigots spent an enormous amount of effort in the late 19th century enshrining their hostility to Catholics and Jews into dozens of state constitutions in the form of Blaine Amendments. They quite nearly amended the federal Constitution as well.

It was never going to be easy to undo, but it has been done.

This Blaine Amendment movement supported by the likes of the Know-Nothing Party and the Ku Klux Klan reeked of illiberal intent. In the 1920s, the Know-Nothings and the Klan managed to make it illegal to send a child to a private school at all, making attendance at a public school with a Klan-approved curriculum mandatory so as to meld people into what the Klan considered “real Americans.”

While the U.S. Supreme Court struck this law down, Blaine Amendments remained in effect. It took multiple careers-worth of sustained effort to chip away at these relics, including that of the great Dick Komer, pictured above, who came out of retirement to argue the Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case.

Komer has long been one of the treasurers of the education choice movement. To meet him is to love him. Not even his consistent and hilariously expressive swearing can distract you from his warm heart and keen intellect.

Blaine, the Know-Nothings and the Klan met their match once Komer and the many other dedicated attorneys at the Institute for Justice put their mind to it across a string of cases stretching over decades. Komer not only won the big case; he served as an inspiration and example to the choice movement for how to be a happy warrior.

Enjoy your retirement Dick, and thank you for your service.

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Coronavirus / COVID-19Education ChoiceEducation EquityFaith-based EducationFeaturedNewsPrivate School ScholarshipsPrivate SchoolsSchool ChoiceSchool spotlightTechnology and InnovationVirtual Education

For this Christian school, pandemic is opportunity to shine

Ron Matus
Ron Matus

Jim McKenzie, headmaster at The Rock School in North Central Florida, communicates with families in a virtual town hall meeting via Zoom.

Last week, the headmaster at The Rock School, a Christian school in Gainesville, Florida, led a Zoom town hall with hundreds of parents. All of them had re-enrolled their children for the fall back in February, before COVID-19 upended everything. But Jim McKenzie told them during the meeting that if they wanted out of their contracts, the school understood. Just let the school know by June 1, he said.

The result? The parents of 26 students, 6 percent of the total, reluctantly opted out, with most of them saying they wanted to homeschool a year.

The impact? With waiting lists for every grade, The Rock School should be at or near capacity in the fall, no matter what the pandemic has in store.

Even in these trying times, McKenzie and his PreK-12 school are holding their own. They’ve found creative ways to relentlessly emphasize all the things, beyond academics, that make The Rock distinctive and desired. Faith. Family. Identity. Community. To date, that has made the difference.

Transitioning to a virtual education reality “wasn’t necessarily easy for parents, but what they appreciated was they stayed connected,” McKenzie said. “Whether we’re on campus or we’re online, we are The Rock. That’s been our motto.”

“No matter the circumstance, you’re still our community,” McKenzie continued. “That community can still exist, even in the middle of COVID-19.”

The hopeful situation at The Rock School may appear to be at odds with dire concerns about private schools across America. It would be tragic to see it that way. Private schools face real challenges in the months ahead. Many are worried about bleeding enrollment. Dozens have already closed. Their plight, the prospect of equitable relief, the negative repercussions for public schools – none of that has received the attention it deserves.

But The Rock School still offers lessons, both to private schools struggling to maintain enrollment and to other audiences who may better see the value that private schools bring to families and communities – and by extension, to all of us.

“A lot of times Christian schools get caught up in what I call me-too branding,” McKenzie said. “Oh, you know, the big public school’s doing this. Oh, me too. Oh, you’re teaching Latin. Oh, me too. Oh, you’re starting a lacrosse program. Oh, me too. Oh, you’re giving every kid an iPad. Oh, me too. We copy in an effort to keep up.”

“The problem is, I don’t have the resources to copy what the large public school systems in our area can do. So instead I have to look for ways to differentiate myself. I have to look for things … that would be hard for my competitors to copy but are a meaningful difference for the people that we serve.”

“There’s a lot of people that can deliver reading and math academic content in an online format, as good or better than I did, right?” McKenzie continued. “So, the piece that differentiates my school … is this idea of community.”

About a third of the 435 K-12 student at The Rock School use state choice scholarships, including 108 who use the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for lower-income students and 15 who use Gardiner Scholarships for students with special needs. (Both programs are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.) Having a high percentage of non-scholarship parents makes the school more vulnerable to economic turbulence. Being in Gainesville, a college town that is more recession-resistant than many places, makes it less so.

An example of a daily schedule to keep students at The Rock School connected with community activities

The Rock School had a good academic reputation long before the pandemic, and in the wake of school closures it quickly built a quality distance learning program. Its “TRS Online” was geared to flexibility with a personal touch. Core academic content was delivered via videos, so students and parents could work them into schedules that were best for them. Teachers could be reached by Zoom daily. Staff checked in with families at least once a week.

But that was just the basics.

What The Rock did beyond the basics endeared it even more to its students and parents. It didn’t shrink its events calendar. It expanded it. It made sure there was something to keep everyone in the school community engaged – and to pique the interest of prospective parents and others who might be on the outside looking in.

McKenzie joked that he felt like “the cruise director of the SS Rock School.”

On a field outside town, the school hosted a dance party for its high school students, complete with DJs and glow sticks to help make the social distancing tolerable. The school broadcast the event on facebook live. Ditto for chapel, book readings, lessons in art class. Ditto for a talent show, where McKenzie sported a red-and-black tux. Ditto for gym, where Coach Jones and Coach Ken became celebrities, with some of their classes getting 1,000 views. The Rock’s pet show reached 7,000 people. Its last-day-of-school parade made news.

An end-of-year parade kept members of The Rock School community connected.

“We felt like there was still a way to provide students this meaningful experience,” McKenzie said. “Where most people’s default was, ‘Well, because of Covid, I guess we’ll have to cancel everything,’ you know, we said, ‘Well, how can we do it differently? How can we translate what we have done to a virtual context that works in the midst of a pandemic?’ ”

McKenzie won’t fit snugly in anybody’s box. He started college as an engineering major, fell in love with teaching, ended up earning a master’s in education from the University of Florida. He’s partial to bow ties. He’s as comfortable quoting marketing gurus as he is as citing Bible scripture. Over the past 10 years, he helped triple The Rock’s enrollment and made it even more racially and economically diverse. (The school is 42 percent non-white.)

In a TEDx talk last year, he pitched a revolution for public education, suggesting lost relevance in an era where millions of current students will work in jobs that don’t yet exist. “Critics will say our education system needs to be reformed. No,” he said. “Our current educational system needs to be re-imagined. We need to stop doing things better. And start doing better things.”

It’s not hard to find folks who predict the pandemic will springboard big change. But in the meantime, thousands of little private schools need to survive it. McKenzie thinks they can better their odds by better telling their own stories, and better highlighting what makes them special. (Get McKenzie’s in-depth take on that subject in this webinar here.)

In that virtual town hall, McKenzie didn’t shy from telling The Rock’s parents about the uncertainty ahead. But he also asked them to compare their pandemic experience with the parents at other schools.

“I think we have proven to be a proven and trusted guide in the midst of a crisis,” McKenzie told them. “And so if the COVID-19 crisis isn’t going away any time soon … isn’t it worth knowing that if things escalate again in our community, that you have a school that you know can manage the crisis again?”

In front of hundreds of screens in the school’s orbit, heads nodded.

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Catholic SchoolsCoronavirus / COVID-19Education ChoiceFaith-based EducationFeaturedFlorida Tax Credit ScholarshipNewsSchool ChoiceVirtual Education

Catholic schools move gracefully into online learning

Lauren May
Lauren May

Diocese of St. Augustine superintendent Deacon Scott Conway helps load supplies in the carline at St. Joseph Catholic School as parents and students prepared to transition to an online learning environment from their homes.

Like all Florida public and private schools, Catholic schools, which educate about 1.8 million students nationwide and about 65,000 throughout the state, had mere days to move from in-person teaching to digital platforms once schools closed due to coronavirus.

As word of the closure came, National Catholic Education Association president Thomas Burnford offered encouraging words to Catholic school educators via a video on the NCEA website, acknowledging this would be a difficult time for them. But he also noted it would be an opportunity for Catholic schools to shine by connecting with students in creative ways.

Palmer Catholic Academy in Ponte Vedra Beach, about 22 miles southeast of Jacksonville, quickly rallied to the call. The school serves 449 children from PK4 through eighth grade, 22 of whom participate in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog. Five students participate in the Gardiner Scholarship program for children with unique abilities, also administered by Step Up For Students.

Notified by their superintendent on March 13 that they would be teaching remotely by March 19, administrators worked through the weekend to make sure they would be able to launch training for their teachers. They were ready March 17, two days ahead of schedule.

Each morning since then, teachers have been taking attendance and smoothly rolling into their online lessons. At the end of the day, they collect work online and grade it, entering the data in their gradebooks.

Kindergarteners through fifth-graders are using a platform called Class Dojo, an educational technology communication app and website that connects teachers, students and families and uses features such as a feed for photos and videos from the school day. Sixth- through eighth-graders are using Microsoft Teams, a communication and collaboration platform that combines chat and video meetings and file storage. Students who didn’t have access to an iPad at home were able to borrow one from the school.

“I’ve been brought to tears several times watching the teachers recite prayers while our children follow along, and watching as they virtually walk them through their math sheets,” said parent Kelly Nelson. “The passion these teachers have and their love for their students is just radiating through the computer screen.”

Monica Begeman, marketing, admissions and advancement director, said teachers are doing a great job adjusting to an online learning world.

“The implementation has been a huge team effort. All of our teachers are on board and excited to ensure their students can continue learning,” Begeman said. “Going distance is a huge on-taking for our teachers, it is exhausting. We are so thankful to them.”

While Palmer Catholic Academy was gearing up for online learning, St. Joseph Catholic School in Jacksonville was undergoing a similar process. St. Joseph serves 497 students, 109 of whom participate in the Tax Credit Scholarship program.

St. Joseph’s adventures with online learning began March 16 when parents came to the school in small groups to pick up their children’s books and supplies. Over three hours, school staff assisted 330 families and made arrangements for 15 that were unable to come by. Principal Robin Feccit reports that in a very short time, every family had the supplies it needed to facilitate learning from home.

Students in grades K-2 are completing worksheet packets, while teachers utilize Facebook and YouTube and email parents daily. Students in the higher grades are using Google Classroom, a free web service that allows for paperless lesson creation, distribution and grading. To make sure everyone stays connected, Feccit conducts a morning meeting on Facebook Live.

“Our faculty, staff, students, and families have handled this transition very well,” Feccit said. “The first day was a little challenging as we figured things out, but Day 2 started strong, and we have been doing great since. The teachers are working so hard to keep contact with their students and help support student learning as much as possible.”

Families have been pleased and impressed, writing to the school and posting comments on social media. Parent Joanne Berrios, who has been homeschooling several children over the past few weeks, raved about the one-page worksheet prepared by teacher kindergarten teacher Deanna Kersten.

“It was extremely easy to transition to the new environment,” Berrios said. “I have been so impressed with how much Michael has learned in the past 133 days of school.  Now I understand.”

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Coronavirus / COVID-19Education ChoiceFaith-based EducationFeaturedPrivate SchoolsSchool ChoiceVirtual Education

Broward County private school uses ingenuity, technology to keep learning on track

Lisa Buie
Lisa Buie

Patricia McNeil, a fifth-grade teacher at Abundant Life Christian Academy in Margate, engages her students in an online dialogue to make sure they’re paying attention.

Stacy Angier figured it was only a matter of time.

Three days before the announcement of a statewide school shutdown, the principal of Abundant Life Christian Academy had been privy to updates on how Covid-19 was ravaging Broward County through her volunteer position as a commissioner for the North Broward Hospital District.

Determined that no virus was going to stop learning at Abundant Life, Angier made a decision. At the next morning’s faculty meeting, she dropped the bombshell: Teachers would transition to virtual education and they had two days to learn how.

“I said, ‘It’s up to you to keep your job, and it’s your job to teach your kids,’ ” Angier recalled.

Fourth-grade teacher Jasmine White and third-grade teacher Sharon Nugent teamed up to learn how to deliver virtual instruction to their students at Abundant Life Christian Academy.

A couple of teachers were familiar with Google Classroom, a free service that allows educators to virtually create, distribute and grade assignments. The platform also streamlines file sharing between teachers and students. They helped train their colleagues at the school, which educates 462 students in preschool through 11th grade in Margate, a community about 15 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale.

“A lot of teachers were excited,” said Patricia McNeil, a fifth-grade teacher.  “We do have a few who were not as tech savvy, but we all came together. We discussed apps we had used and we started learning together.”

A father who worked at an online university provided additional training, and soon, Abundant Life faculty felt confident about making the transition. School officials let families know they could come by to pick up their child’s textbooks and supplies. They issued their supply of Google Chromebooks to those who lacked appropriate electronic devices and ordered 30 more.

One day later, students and teachers embarked on their virtual education journey.

“I love this!” parent Rachel Allen wrote on the school’s social media page. Just two hours into her daughter’s remote learning, Allen said she was amazed at how “awesome and organized” everything was.

Annick Joseph, whose kindergartener and third-grader attend Abundant Life, also offered rave reviews.

“It is moments like these that confirm I made the right decision to become part of the (Abundant Life) family,” Joseph posted.

Not that there weren’t a few hiccups. At first, teachers providing enrichment programs, such as art, were fully participating.  Some parents found that overwhelming, so the administration decided to limit online offerings to core subjects – math, English, history and science. For now, enrichment is optional, offered as a way for kids to have fun in an environment that could feel like quarantine.

Abundant Life teachers Sarah Hennebery and Carmen Mondesir conduct an end-of-week lesson in the new virtual format.

Some teachers who teach older students are using Google Zoom to conduct live lessons. All lessons are recorded for children who can’t make the scheduled time because they are sharing the device with siblings or who need to review the lesson.

“It allows the students to interact with their classmates and their teachers,” said McNeil, who engages her students in a dialogue to ensure they pay attention during her twice-weekly lessons.  She said the students are enjoying the interaction.

“Some are already logged on before I am,” she said.

Angier said one class sang “Happy Birthday” to a student whose party was canceled due to Covid-19.

“I think we made a mama cry,” she said.

Angier said she’s proud of her staff for adapting so quickly during stressful circumstances. Because of their hard work, student progress remains uninterrupted. She expects spring break, which begins today, will give everyone time to work through any additional challenges.

 “We have to learn how to live differently in the midst of what we’re going through,” Angier said. “It would be tragic if it were a wasted year.”

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Education ChoiceFaith-based EducationFeaturedFlorida Tax Credit ScholarshipParental ChoicePrivate School ScholarshipsSchool ChoiceSpotlightsStudent spotlightVouchers

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship eased journey for college-bound high school senior

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

Carlos Escobar noticed a difference in his attitude and academic performance almost as soon as he transferred to Classical Christian School for the Arts.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Carlos Escobar, a popular and successful senior at Classical Christian School For The Arts, will be graduating in May. But his walk across the stage won’t begin to describe the twisting road he traveled to get there.

Carlos was born in Puerto Rico and entered the U.S. as an infant in foster care. He was moved from home to home with his little brother and recalls feeling hopeless.

The two were finally adopted when Carlos was 4 years old and his brother just a year younger. But not long after, his parents dropped a bombshell on him: The family was moving to Florida, uprooting him from friends in Massachusetts. “I didn’t like it at all,” he says.

School didn’t help either. He entered a public middle school where he says the classes were too big and too rowdy. He was unable to focus and do his work. He felt like the teachers didn’t really care about him. The result was academic failure.

“It was horrible,” says Carlos. “I was failing every class. I didn’t want to be in Florida.”

Classical Christian School for the Arts provides instruction in all subjects from a Christian world-view.

When the time for high school came around, Carlos and his mother were afraid things were only going to get worse. They knew he needed something new and different. So the family took a chance and scheduled a tour of the school at Classical Christian School For The Arts in Pinellas Park.

Kim Merrigan is the school’s executive director and remembers the meeting well.

“They were concerned about the public school system and really wanted a private school education for their boys,” says Merrigan.

The family knew they would need some kind of financial aid to make attendance possible, so they were pleased to learn about Step Up For Students and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for families with limited financial means. They anxiously applied and learned that both of their boys were eligible.

Carlos noticed a difference immediately. Even as a freshman, he started to improve his grades and his outlook on the future. But he was way behind in his subjects, and his challenge was enormous.

School director Merrigan was impressed with Carlos’ ability to focus through his adversity, including some struggles at home.

“Because of the resources that were available to him here through the Step Up For Students program, he was able to reach out to the staff and his fellow students here at school, and get back on the right track,” she says.

Francesko Cekrezi, the school’s athletic director and Carlos’ soccer coach and geography teacher, agrees. He saw Carlos push himself in the classroom and become a leader on the basketball court and the soccer field.

“I have seen him grow so much,” says Cekrezi.

Slowly, after all the F’s in middle school, Carlos’ grades began turning to C’s and B’s. As a senior, he is tackling Algebra 2, English 4 and physics in the classroom, as well as pursuing online courses in economics and statistics.

Carlos gives credit to Classical Christian.

“Private school is different,” he says. “The classes are smaller. There’s not one teacher that doesn’t care here, and I’m proud to say I’ll be graduating in 2020.”

Carlos Escobar enjoys the combination of a brick-and-mortar curriculum and online classes.

In turn, Cekrezi gives credit to Carlos.

“His has been a wonderful journey. The journey has not been without road bumps, a lot of road bumps but a lot of joy, because when I see where he was and where he is right now, I feel pride on that because he worked so hard to achieve that.”

After graduation, Carlos plans to stay close to home and go to a local or community college for his first two years. He hopes to continue playing basketball but also plans to study in the one field that he feels helped him most along his way.

He wants to become a teacher.

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Advocate VoicesEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFaith-based EducationFeaturedFlorida Tax Credit ScholarshipSchool ChoiceVoices for Education Choice

Faith leaders speak out for tax credit scholarships at State Capitol

Lisa Buie
Lisa Buie

Hundreds of education choice supporters attended a news conference at the State Capitol Tuesday spearheaded by an alliance of Florida ministers to show support for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program.

TALLAHASSEE – More than 100 black and Hispanic pastors from across the state gathered this afternoon at the State Capitol for a news conference to denounce what they called attacks on the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program and the low-income minority families it serves.

Members of the Florida African American Ministers Alliance for Parental Choice said the attacks threaten to evict tens of thousands of low-income, mostly black and Hispanic students from the schools their parents chose for them. At issue, they said, are efforts by two state representatives, Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, and Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, to persuade corporate donors to end their contributions to the scholarship program that serves more than 100,000 lower-income students, three-quarters of whom are students of color.

Among the speakers was the Rev. Robert Ward, pastor of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg.

“These politicians are recklessly harming our innocent and vulnerable,” Ward said. “Instead of attacking our children, they should be reaching across the aisle searching for win-win solutions.  We will not sit idly by while politicians try to snuff out the dreams of tens of thousands of low-income black and Hispanic students.”

Civil rights icon H.K. Matthews, who was arrested nearly 40 times for his attempts to fight racial injustice, also spoke. He characterized the lawmakers’ attempts as “madness” and urged them to stop using minority children to pursue their agendas.

“I spent my entire life fighting for social justice,” Matthews said. “It’s not social justice to put thousands of low income black and Hispanic students under the bus.”

The pastors were joined in the Capitol Rotunda by scholarship students and parents from around the state, many holding signs with the message, “Don’t take my scholarship,” as well as several members of the Florida Democratic Caucus, including State Rep. James Bush III, D-Miami. 

“The efforts to pressure donors to stop contributing to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program could have a devastating effect on education opportunities for our most vulnerable students,” Bush said. “I should know. In my district, more than 2,300 low-income students use the scholarships to attend schools of their choice.”

Bush added that 54 percent of those students are Hispanic and 45 percent are black. The average household income of those families, Bush said, is just over $21,000.

“Every donor that leaves the program results in fewer scholarships for students,” he said. “I stand with my constituents and urge my colleagues not to treat these children as pawns.”

Elijah Robinson was one of several speakers at Tuesday’s news conference.

Elijah Robinson, a senior who attends The Foundation Academy in Jacksonville on a Tax Credit Scholarship, appeared with his principal, Nadia Hionides, to thank the donors who funded the scholarship that he said “saved my life.” Elijah, who is gay, was bullied because of his sexual identity at the public school he attended prior to transferring to his present school. 

Hionides echoed his sentiments.

“How can it be social justice to encourage lawmakers and corporations or anybody else to cast aside the students who benefit?” she said.

Today’s event was not the first time the ministers have rallied in support of education choice. The alliance played a key role in the successful fight against a lawsuit brought by the Florida Education Association and other groups in 2014 that challenged the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, arguing it steered money to private religious schools.

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Advocate VoicesEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFaith-based EducationFeaturedFlorida Tax Credit ScholarshipSchool ChoiceVoices for Education Choice

Faith leaders poised to champion scholarship program at State Capitol

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

About 80 students from Hart 2 Hart Academy traveled to Tallahassee from Lake City to support the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program.

TALLAHASSEE – More than 100 black and Hispanic pastors from throughout Florida are gathering at the State Capitol for a news conference set for 1:30 this afternoon to denounce what they are calling attacks on the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program.

The Florida African American Ministers Alliance for Parental Choice says these attacks threaten to evict tens of thousands of low-income, mostly black and Hispanic students from the schools their parents chose for them.

At issue, they say, are efforts by two state representatives, Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, and Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, to persuade corporate donors to end their contributions to the scholarship program that serves more than 100,000 lower-income students, three-quarters of whom are students of color.

Eskamani and Smith in recent weeks have sought changes in policies at some private schools they consider discriminatory to LGBTQ students. The ministers argue that their calls for a corporate boycott are resulting in fewer scholarships for all students, no matter which schools they attend.

Scheduled to speak at this afternoon’s event are Robert Ward, pastor of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg; Louis Vega, pastor and founder of The Way Christian Academy in Tampa; the Rev. H.K. Matthews, a civil rights icon from northwest Florida; Elijah Robinson, a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship student who was bullied over his sexual identity prior to transferring to The Foundation Academy, a faith-based private school in Jacksonville; and Nadia Hionides, principal of The Foundation Academy.

The ministers alliance played a key role in the successful fight against a lawsuit brought by the Florida Education Association and other groups in 2014 that challenged the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program and argued it steered money to private religious schools.

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Blog GuestCommentary and OpinionCourtsEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFaith-based EducationFeaturedJack CoonsParental ChoiceSchool Choice

The child’s right to the parent’s choice

John E. Coons
John E. Coons

Founders of the Oregon order Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, about 1859

Nearly a century ago, in 1925, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Pierce v. Society of Sisters. The state of Oregon had, by popular initiative, decided every child of school age would attend a “public” school to satisfy minimum educational requirements. Every family was to deliver its child to the state; St. Theresa and Johnson’s Private Academy could no longer satisfy the law of compulsory education.

Hence, the Sisters sued for their professional lives and the litigation rose to the federal judicial summit.

The Court in the 1920s was at the zenith of free market protectionism. Its holding in Pierce was technically a victory for those schools that were the initial plaintiffs, but the Court took the opportunity to broaden its message, stressing:

“[Oregon’s] act of 1922 unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians … the child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”

The state, of course, remained secure in its capacity to impose a set of reasonable rules binding upon the private sector of schooling. But the parents remained master of the rest of the content of the child’s formal education; their sovereignty remains solid to this day, including the authority to choose the child’s formal educator. What seems worth adding to our focus is the court’s brief and ambiguous reference to the child’s own separate interest in receiving the parents’ choice: “The child is not the mere creature of the state.”

Children, of course, enjoy a cluster of legal rights, all of them protected both by and against their parent.  The state has an obligation to interfere in case of serious abuse by parents. But the state itself also can become the abuser. A parent’s power to decide is of great value to the child, one that is protected by law as a personal right.

But compare, then, the status of the child of the poor with that of the well-off created by our systems of compulsory education. Given the protection of Pierce, the parent of the middle class on up is recognized both in law and fact as the one who nurtures and directs his destiny throughout childhood – that is, unless the parent is systematically and unnecessarily shorn of this authority and duty by the state itself. And so it is with the child of the poor in respect to school.

That boy or girl whose life experience is otherwise determined by adults who know and love him or her sadly has 13 years of early life determined by no human decision at all. “You live here; the law says that you go to school there.” The child is delivered to an institution that has never heard her name, to strangers who will have no reason to remember her, or her parent.

Worse, perhaps, little Jim or Susie is made witness to the near irrelevance of mother and father in the child’s own life story. The best they can do for the child is to play the sympathetic listener to sad stories about which they can do nothing. They “… have the right coupled with the high duty,” but they have been disabled by their own government.

Enter the Supreme Court – maybe.

The child’s own distinctive and separate constitutional right to the parents’ choice could well be considered by the justices as a core element of decision in the Montana school choice case, the latest chapter in the battle over the use of public funding for religious schools. Its emergence here as a clear element of our constitutional law would be a recognition of dignity for the low-income parent and a workable application of the 14th Amendment.

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