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U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) first rose to national prominence as mayor of Newark. Last month, he addressed the American Federation for Children during its annual gathering in Washington, where he described how an educational transformation is helping revitalize the city.

Here is an excerpt from his remarks, now available in full on YouTube, lightly edited for clarity and length.

I am so proud that by the time I left in 2013, Newark was not only experiencing its biggest economic development period in 60 years, its first new hotels in 40 years, its first office towers in decades; it was not only seeing drops in crime, it was not only experiencing the biggest refurbishing of its parks, but perhaps most significantly, it was the first time in Newark's history, 60 years at least, that the population was growing again. People were moving back.

There's an anecdote I have about what was making that happen. There was one time I was with my security detail, going to one of our innovative schools in Newark.

The police officer that was with me just looked sort of stunned. I was asking him, "What's wrong? Am I being threatened again? Is it an ex-girlfriend coming after me again?"

He said, "No, I just did not know there were schools like this that existed, not just in Newark, but anywhere." And before you knew it, he moved his family back to Newark, New Jersey. (more…)

Editor's note: This post originally appeared in recent days as an op-ed in Context Florida and the Gainesville Sun in response to this piece. Since the draft was submitted to both publications, a rare bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives voted 360-45, over the objections of teachers unions, to support a major bill expanding charter schools.

Joe Trippi, the legendary Democratic consultant, is not part of any right-wing cabal. So it’s noteworthy that when it comes to private school vouchers and charter schools and other forms of parental choice, he says, “We should try them all.”

Trippi told me this in a recent interview, after describing how he grew up on the wrong side of a school zone, on the side where too many kids joined gangs and dropped out of school. The school board made an exception for him, but only because his mom raised hell. Now he’s haunted by those left behind.

I relay Trippi’s story in response to Daniel Tilson’s column, “Fight public school privatization.” A dominant thread in the piece is a common myth: that parental choice is the brainchild of the radical right.

The truth is, practical concerns of parents are driving the movement, not ideology. But because ideology is warping so much of the debate, I want to address that first.

Tilson is right that many conservatives like parental choice. He references George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Neil Bush, “shadowy business interests” and the Republican Party of Florida. At least he didn’t throw in the Koch Brothers! But the inconvenient truth for this line of argument is growing numbers of progressives like parental choice, too.

President Obama loves charter schools. So does former President Clinton. A few weeks ago, Howard Dean told college students he was now a die-hard for charters because they’re “transforming inner city education.”

New Jersey’s new U.S. Senator, Democrat Cory Booker, unapologetically supports vouchers. So does Mike MCurry, Clinton’s former press secretary. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren may not, yet, but here is what she said about a universal system of public school choice: “An all-voucher system would be a shock to the educational system. But the shakeout might be just what the system needs.”

In these polarized times, it’s nice to see folks from across the political spectrum agreeing on anything. But contrary to Tilson’s characterization, progressives have long supported expansion of learning options.

During the civil rights movement, activists established alternatives to segregated, second-rate schools. In the 1960s, liberal intellectuals at Berkeley led the “voucher left.” The late Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan once crafted a tuition tax credit measure that garnered 50 co-sponsors, including Sen. George McGovern and 23 other Democrats. In a fortuitous twist, parental choice dovetails as much with progressive values of equal opportunity as with conservative values of limited government.

But again, it’s not ideology that’s changing the education landscape. It’s parents.

Over the past 15 years, arguably no state has made more academic progress than Florida. In 1998, Florida’s low-income fourth-graders ranked No. 35 among states in reading. In 2013, they ranked No. 1. Yet being No. 1 still means only 27 percent are proficient.

Studies show, again contrary to Tilson’s characterization, that the students who access tax credit scholarships in Florida are the ones who struggled the most in public schools. Their parents are desperate. That’s why they’re lining up in droves.

There are fair questions about school choice. But I hope people will take a clear-eyed view, and not make snap judgments based on political labels that aren’t accurate.

Before the scholarship bill passed last week, Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Broward, reminded fellow lawmakers that he once opposed the scholarships, but changed his mind after visiting schools that served children from “terribly impoverished backgrounds.” What he saw, he said, were kids thriving.

“So,” he continued, “I for one am going to ignore the politics of this.”

Alabama: More than 50 students take advantage of the new accountability law which allows students to access scholarships to attend private schools (WSFA).

Arizona: The BASIS Tucson North charter school is one of the best schools in the U.S. and the world (Education Next).

Colorado: Candidates for an open seat on the Denver school board debate last week, with one arguing that school choice harms public schools and the other saying public schools need to have the same freedoms as schools of choice (Ed News Colorado). More than 300 people protested against Douglas County school board policies including teacher evaluations and vouchers (Denver Post).

Florida: Gov. Rick Scott presents Shine Awards for excellent teaching to several private school teachers and principals, including individuals representing schools accepting Step Up For Students tax credit scholarships (Gov. Scott press release). (Step Up co-hosts this blog.)

Georgia: The Georgia Supreme Court rules charter schools do not have to help pay off district schools accumulated pension debt (Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Idaho: Terry Ryan, head of the Idaho Charter School Network, wants to make Idaho the leader of rural charter school education (Idaho Press).

Indiana: A new law prohibits school districts from turning away transfer students for any reason other than capacity. As a result of not being allowed to "cherry-pick" students, some school districts are halting their open enrollment policy (Associated Press). Indiana's voucher program received 20,000 applications from prospective students (Indiana Public Media). State Sen. Vaneta Becker blames school choice as one of the causes for rural county budget problems (Tri State Media). (more…)

Alabama: 29 private schools are now eligible to accept scholarships and transfer students under the state's new Alabama Accountability Act (AL.com). The Revenue Department proposed rules for the new tuition tax-credit law and it will prohibit tax-credits for students currently enrolled in private schools (Associated Press).

Arizona: School children in Phoenix have lots of educational options (East Valley Tribune).

Florida: Some private schools in Florida are signing on to the Common Core standards (Education Week). Florida Virtual School eliminated 177 full-time teaching and support staff positions due to budget cuts (redefinED). Parents are picking out clothes, backpacks and school supplies but the hardest choice is where to send their kids to school (The Tampa Tribune). Florida Urban League leaders and education advocates to talk about growing school choice options during series of town hall meetings (redefinED).

Illinois: Four new public schools outside Chicago will be required to offer public school choice to students under No Child Left Behind (Daily Herald). Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) is running for governor and he plans on pushing for a school voucher, worth up to $3,800 (Alton Daily News). Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke at a conference in Chicago calling for education reforms including expanding school choice programs nationwide (KWTX.com).

Louisiana: It's back to school time in Louisiana and parents are busy making their school choices (The Advocate). Rapid Parish school board just approved its public school transfer policy that allows students in lower-performing schools to transfer to better ones (Associated Press). A new CREDO study shows students in Louisiana charter schools average an extra 50 days of learning and reading and 65 days in math compared to their public school counterparts (CREDO Stanford).

Massachusetts: Pentucket Regional School committee is considering cutting back enrollment in its public school choice policy as it grows more popular than ever (Newbury Port News).

Missouri: A public school choice law that allows students to transfer out of poor performing school districts may leave one district bankrupt as more than 2,000 students apply to transfer (Education Week). Meanwhile, parents of children denied transfers to other public schools are looking to the ACLU and other civil-rights lawyers for advice (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). At least one parent is mad that the government will spend nearly $20,000 on their child's public education, but won't spend a penny for the child to attend a local, less expensive, private school (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). (more…)

Arizona: David Garcia, a Democrat and candidate for the open State Superintendent of Public Instruction seat, opposes private school choice so long as public schools are not "fully funded." Garcia says he is a supporter of public charter schools (Eastern Arizona Courier).

California: Rocketship charter schools expand and modify their blended learning model to empower teachers with more flexibility and control of their classroom (Education Next).

Florida: Step Up For Students will issue more than 60,000 scholarships to low-income students this school year, allowing many more parents to send their kids to private schools (Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald). Meanwhile, school choice champion and education commissioner Tony Bennett resigns amidst a school grading controversy in Indiana (Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald). Florida school choice supporters are disappointed to see him go ( redefinEd).

Kansas: Georgia State Rep. Alicia Morgan (D-Cobb County), a rising star in school choice and ed reform circles, visits Wichita, Kansas to discuss benefits of school choice (Kansas.com). A Kansas City charter school has been sued because it owes over $10.6 million to creditors, with much of the debt coming from buying, renovating and equipping the school building (Kansas City Star).

Louisiana: The state's new "Course Choice" online program now has more than 1,000 students on the wait list (Education Week). More than 3,000 students enrolled in it (Politico). The Louisiana Department of Education has received more than 8,000 applications to participate in the state school voucher program this fall, up from about 3,000 last year (WAFB 9).

Maine: Gov. Paul LePage says Maine needs more charter schools (Main Public Broadcasting Network) but the state senate president disagrees, saying traditional public schools are underfunded (Boston.com). The governor continues to defend charter schools from critics (Portland Press Herald). (more…)

National. A new study from CREDO shows charter schools improving nationally, compared to traditional public schools, but with results varying widely from state to state. National coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, Hechinger Report, Charters & Choice, Associated Press, Huffington Post. State-level coverage in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Salt Lake City Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Detroit News, Newark Star Ledger, The Morning Call, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New Orleans Times Picayune.

National. Charter school waiting list nears 1 million nationally, according to a new survey from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (The Charter Blog). More from the Los Angeles Daily News.

Ohio. Lawmakers move to expand vouchers statewide for low-income students, beginning this fall with 2,000 kindergartners and expanding one grade level each year. (Friedman Foundation)

Wisconsin: Lawmakers expand vouchers statewide but with an enrollment cap of 500 the first year (Education Week). State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers criticizes the proposal (Journal Sentinel). Democrats predict a backlash (Wisconsin State Journal). Private schools in Madison consider whether to participate (Wisconsin State Journal).  Same with schools in the Wausau area (Wausau Daily Herald). A key lawmaker leaves the door open for another stab at a voucher for special-needs students (Wisconsin Reporter).

Indiana. Voucher supporters are giving a thumbs up to the expansion that begins Monday (Evansville Courier & Press). The Louisville Courier Journal raises questions about whether private schools have the capacity to absorb additional students.

New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie plans to sign off on the state budget, saying he'll bring back the fight for school vouchers next year (Newark Star-Ledger). Newark Mayor Cory Booker reiterates his support for school choice in his bid for U.S. Senate (Associated Press). Teachers and parents criticize the decision by Education Commissioner Chris Cerf to put the kibosh on a virtual charter set to open this fall (Newark Star-Ledger). (more…)

Editor's note: This op-ed appeared over the weekend in the Huffington Post.

At least three more red states -- Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee -- will push for school vouchers in the coming months. But the familiar showdown between Republican lawmakers and teachers' unions masks a more intriguing political development on parental choice: Democrats are increasingly siding with parents.

Count me in the parent camp. I'm a lifelong progressive Democrat, former president of two local teacher unions, and current president of a Florida nonprofit that is the country's largest provider of tax credit scholarships for low-income students to attend qualified private schools. This year the Florida scholarship will serve more than 50,000 economically disadvantaged students who are mostly of color, and it aligns directly with the core Democratic Party values of social justice and equal opportunity.

For a host of complicated reasons, low-income kids are not generally doing well in traditional public schools. In 2011, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the reading gap nationally between low-income and higher-income fourth-graders was 22 percentage points. Florida has seen encouraging progress with its disadvantaged students, yet startling gaps persist. Last year, 45 percent of low-income third graders scored at grade level or above on the Florida reading test, compared to 77 percent of higher-income students.

One way to combat the challenges faced by students in poverty is to give their parents more options. Affluent parents can buy homes in neighborhoods with preferred school zones, navigate the other public school choices, home school or pay for a private school. But low-income parents don't have these opportunities. Expanding choice is a way to help level the playing field.

This expansion is not either/or, and it's not public versus private. Educators understand that different children learn in different ways, and to that end, education is increasingly becoming customized. In Florida, we now have 1.5 million students -- about 43 percent of the total -- enrolled in something other than traditional neighborhood schools. Last year, there were 341,000 who chose through "open enrollment," 227,000 who picked choice and magnet programs, 180,000 in charter schools, 203,000 in career academies and 8,000 in full-time virtual instruction. Vouchers and tax-credit scholarships are not an invasive species on this fast-changing landscape, where lines between public and private are blurring. They're simply two more peas in a public education pod.

That's one reason the politics are changing. (more…)

One of the national Democratic Party’s leading lights for expanding school choice, including private school vouchers and tax credit scholarships, will be the featured speaker Saturday at a local Democratic Party event in Tampa, Fla.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be the keynote speaker at the Kennedy King Dinner, an annual event sponsored by the Hillsborough County Democratic Party.

“Like the men for whom the event is named - President John Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King Jr – he (Booker) has shown great leadership in dealing with tough problems when others saw things as unchangeable,” county party chair Chris Mitchell said in a press release. “Mayor Cory Booker is a leader in our Party, mixing a pragmatic, 'get it done' approach with energy and a unique connection with voters."

Booker is fresh off a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention that included moving lines about education but did not specifically mention his support for charter schools and vouchers. The press release announcing his speech in Tampa also skips that topic, instead noting Booker has “significantly reduced crime in Newark, championed a $40 million transformation of the City’s parks and playgrounds through a ground-breaking public/private partnership and doubled affordable housing production.”

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a star in the Democratic Party, is already considered a future presidential candidate. But he is also an unflinching supporter of private school vouchers. In a rousing speech at the DNC tonight, he moved delegates with his lines on education: "You should be able to afford health care for your family. You should be able to retire with dignity and respect. And you should be able to give your children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger, go even farther and accomplish even more than you could ever imagine."

Booker didn't even hint at vouchers or private schools. The Democrats aren't ready. How long before they are?