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parental choice

Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19Course ChoiceCustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation Savings AccountsFeaturedSchool ChoiceUnionism

Commentary: 2021 is the year of school choice, education freedom

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

American Federation for Children director of research Corey DeAngelis in a Friday interview with Fox Business extended a “formal thank you” to the American Federation of Teachers for being the driving force in the upswing of parents who are investigating school choice options.

Union posturing, DeAngelis hypothesizes, can be credited with “pushing families down the path of school choice,” resulting in the exodus of 1.5 million students from the public school system this past year and sparking a three-fold increase in the number of families who are homeschooling their children.

Contributing to the surge, DeAngelis notes, 17 states either have expanded school choice programs or have enacted new school choice programs aimed at funding students and families rather than systems.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

School choice programs are an equalizer … We spend over $16,000 per student per year in the government school system. Why not give that money to the parents?

It’s time to free our children from the government school system and the teachers union. We should not have to rely on the decisions of the teacher union bosses … the decisions should be up to parents, and the best way to do that is to fund the student directly.

You can watch the interview here.

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Commentary and OpinionCustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation LegislationEducation Savings AccountsFeaturedParental ChoicePrivate School ScholarshipsSchool Choice

Indiana legislator: ‘When choice really works, it lifts up everyone’

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

Education Next senior editor Paul Peterson spoke recently with Robert Behning, a Republican member of the Indiana House or Representatives and chair of the house education committee, about new legislation in his state that expanded the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program.

A consistent message throughout the interview was Behning’s insistence that education choice benefits everyone, and that education choice programs must expand beyond urban centers and not be limited to children in poverty and failing schools.

One excerpt from the conversation:

I think that when choice really works, it lifts up everyone. And our data have demonstrated that. Indianapolis probably has the most choice options of all the communities in our state. They have the most charters per capita, and we’ve created other options for them.

We have traditional charter schools, or legacy charters, and we’ve created an option called innovation network charters, which are charters that are located within traditional school buildings. [Both the traditional and the charter schools] have embraced competition, and academic performance overall has actually increased. When you get robust competition, you’ll find that it has uplifted everyone’s performance.

Behning also discussed the long-range efficacy of more adaptable and personalized education options such as education savings accounts.

You can read the full interview here.

To listen to a podcast Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill conducted with Behning for redefinED, click here.

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Blog GuestCommentary and OpinionEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFeaturedJack CoonsParent EmpowermentParental ChoiceSchool Choice

A letter to President Joe Biden

John E. Coons
John E. Coons

Dear President Biden,

I am an ancient Berkeley law professor, long absent from the classroom but still scribbling, mostly about the schooling of children. My enduring hope for this country is the ever-delayed empowerment of not-so-rich parents to be trusted – like the rest of us – to choose the school for their own children.

This is, of course, the parents’ constitutional right. Curiously, it also is their legal duty; each must get his or her child properly taught, either at home, if the parent is prepared, or at some qualified school, public or private. My late wife, Marilyn, and I chose public school for roughly half of our five children’s years, the rest parochial.

The decision wasn’t always easy, but as parents, we felt the responsibility and never regretted it.

It is a curious political reality that so many of us Democrats have, for so long, favored the systematic frustration of those lower-income parents who wish to take responsibility for their own child. Those of us who have for so long called for their empowerment have somehow been imagined by colleagues and media as seriously “conservative” in our political souls.

Think of that: We want to treat the poor parent just as we demand to be treated ourselves, hence we are conservative.

But it’s true; in my experience, most of these “liberal” folk who flourish in our universities and legislatures consider subsidized school choice for the poor to be a conservative – even right wing – ambition. It is not surprising that they seem to have serious difficulty in describing their own authentically liberal position.

I appreciate the importance of any president’s keeping loyal constituents satisfied; but for the years ahead, I would respectfully note the growing political weight of these lower income who happen to be parents and who would be ever grateful for the practical restoration of that independence and responsibility guaranteed them by the Constitution.

Sincerely yours,

John E. Coons

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Catholic SchoolsEducation ChoiceFeaturedNewsParental ChoicePrivate School ScholarshipsPrivate SchoolsSchool Choice

South Florida town broadens scope of education task force with inclusion of private school

Lisa Buie
Lisa Buie

Sacred Heart Catholic School in Lake Worth, Florida, the second oldest Catholic school in the Diocese of Palm Beach, offers individualized learning for all students as well as a certified program in science, technology, engineering and math.

Lake Worth Beach city commissioners, when forming an education task force to connect with local schools and identify student and staff needs, did nothing unusual when they asked representatives from the city’s six district schools to serve. What was unusual was the members’ inclusion of the city’s private school, Sacred Heart Catholic School.

The decision drew praise from leadership at Sacred Heart, which will serve 250 children ages 3 through eighth grade for the 2021-22 academic year. Of those, 235 students receive state school choice scholarships, including Florida Tax Credit Scholarships and Family Empowerment Scholarships. Both programs are administered by Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.

“It is fantastic that the city of Lake Worth Beach is placing a high value on the education of our entire community,” principal Tricia Clarke said. “What’s even more impressive is that the city of Lake Worth Beach sees the value and importance of including a small school such as Sacred Heart in the conversation on the current state of education in Lake Worth Beach.”

Clarke said it is “atypical” that small parochial schools like Sacred Heart are included in government education initiatives. Yet the school has always maintained a positive relationship with city officials. This year, Sacred Heart’s middle schoolers closely followed local elections, and when the results were in, crafted welcome letters to newly elected officials.

“The students, families and teachers at our school are very passionate about community service, and we all make a concerted effort to participate in local community activities and affairs,” Clarke said. “I believe the passion and participation has encouraged the city of Lake Worth Beach to ensure that Sacred Heart School has a voice on the education task force.”

The volunteer task force includes 18 community members, with many being current or former teachers. The group’s purpose is to gather information on the challenges those schools face and report those issues to the city commission. The commission will then advocate on behalf of the schools to the Palm Beach County School Board or other groups that could provide support.

Commissioner Kim Stokes, a former math teacher at Lake Worth Beach High who won her seat in March, led the initiative, which she had tried to persuade commissioners to adopt several years ago. She said the city’s large immigrant population and low household incomes contributed to the issues the schools face.

Census figures show that 39% of the Lake Worth Beach population is foreign born. The city’s median household income in 2019 was $42,500, below the national average. The city’s poverty rate is 24.4%.

Clarke said the fact that so many of her students depend on state scholarships to attend Sacred Heart shows the need to assist families financially is just as great in private education as elsewhere. She hopes the task force will prioritize creating access for students with the greatest need of support services.

“In our community,” Clarke said, “I see a need for providing support, workshops and access to the materials for parents and guardians that are sometimes ill equipped to support their children.”

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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation ChoiceFeaturedMicroschoolsParental ChoiceSchool Choice

Commentary: Parents, civic entrepreneurs rebuild K-12 schooling from scratch in a way that’s student-focused, parent-directed, pluralistic

Special to redefinED
Special to redefinED

Editor’s note: This post from Bruno V. Manno, senior adviser to the Walton Family Foundation’s K-12 Program and a redefinED contributor, appeared Tuesday on The 74. Manno references Florida Virtual School, which saw a 57% increase in new course enrollments in its part-time Flex program, in his discussion of how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of K-12 education.

“Never in my lifetime have so many parents been so eager for so much education change.”

So said longtime pollster Frank Luntz after surveying 1,000 public and private school parents on how the pandemic affected their view of schools.

COVID-19 forced schools to change from being buildings where teaching, learning and programs were bundled together to serve students and families to a menu of services and choices that parents were forced to piece together — rebundle — to meet their needs.

The potential long-term result could be a more student-focused, parent-directed and pluralistic K-12 school system.

The consulting firm Tyton Partners estimates COVID-19 shock produced a 2.6 million-student decrease in district and private schools, with charter schools, homeschooling, micro-schools and other alternatives gaining enrollment. The U.S. Census reports homeschooling enrollment increased from 5.4 to 11.1 percent of households. African Americans registered a fivefold increase, from 3.3 to 16.1 percent.

What other alternatives did parents choose as they worked to rebuild their child’s schooling?

One was family-organized discovery sites, aka pods — gathering small groups of students, in person or virtually, with added services like tutoring, childcare or afterschool programs. San Francisco Mayor London Breed opened 84 pods serving around 2,400 children, about 96 percent racial minorities.

The Columbus, Ohio, YMCA offered pods for students aged 5 to 16 attending schools virtually, with arrival as early as 6 a.m. JPMorgan Chase offered discounts on virtual tutors and pods for eligible employees using Bright Horizons, its employer provider, and opened its 14 childcare centers for employees’ children’s remote learning at no cost. Organizations like SchoolHouse, LearningPodsHub and Selected for Families helped parents start pods, organizing teachers and tutors.

To continue reading, click here.

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Commentary and OpinionEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation LegislationEducation PoliticsFeaturedParental ChoicePrivate School ScholarshipsSchool Choice

Kentucky lawmaker discusses legal challenges to state’s new education law

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

Earlier this year, Kentucky State Rep. Chad McCoy carried a landmark education choice bill creating a new tax credit funded program to passage and then participated in an override of a gubernatorial veto. The education choice win for McCoy’s state came at the end of a multi-year political struggle to create the Education Opportunity Scholarship program.

The legislation, HB 563, created a $25 million tax credit scholarship fund giving eligible families the ability to pay for private school tuition, tutoring and other educational expenses. The bill also gave families the option to chooses a different public school district.

Now, the new education bill is facing a court challenge from the Council for Better Education. The case is due back in court for a motions hearing in the coming weeks.

McCoy discussed the legal challenges of this legislation in an In Focus Kentucky segment. Here is an excerpt of his remarks:

Unfortunately, we’ve hit a point in our state’s history where almost every law that we pass, especially when it’s a law that has the opportunity to change the status quo, every one of them seems to end up in court … and it’s kind of interesting, because you know, people want change.

Kentucky ranks, pick the number, pick the category, we’re always at the bottom of every category. And yet we continue to only want to do what we’ve been doing, and that, you know, that’s the definition of insanity … We’ve got to attempt to make the changes I think our constituents want.

This is something that when you talk to parents across the state, it doesn’t matter if they’ve got an R or D behind their name, parents support school choice, and we’ve just got to keep pushing it, and the courts will do what the courts are going to do.

You can watch the full interview here.

You can watch a podcast of Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill’s interview with McCoy here.

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Advocate VoicesCommentary and OpinionEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation LegislationFeaturedParent VoicesParental ChoicePodcastPrivate School ScholarshipsSchool Choice

podcastED: redefinED interview with district schoolteacher, private school mom Marie Echevarria

Lisa Buie
Lisa Buie

On this episode, redefinED senior writer Lisa Buie speaks with the single mother of a 9-year-old and teacher of English language learners at an Orlando district high school. Echevarria, who cares for her parents in her home, earns a salary that, though modest, put her just over the income threshold for eligibility for an income-based school choice scholarship.

Echevarria talks about the reasons for sending her son, Eddie Joe, to a Catholic school, about her employer’s response to that decision, and the financial sacrifices she’s had to make to afford her son’s education without a scholarship. She also shares Eddie Joe’s reaction when he learned of the passage of HB 7045, which expanded eligibility to families at higher income levels.

Echevarria and Eddie Joe were invited to speak at one of two bill signing ceremonies where they met Gov. Ron DeSantis as well as the lawmakers who supported the bill. You can watch a video of Echevarria expressing her gratitude here.

“He started crying for joy, he started jumping. He said, ‘Mama, you can buy me ice cream with sprinkles!’ He was ecstatic.”

 EPISODE DETAILS:

  • Why Echevarria decided to send her son to private school
  • How their Catholic school provided her with support as a single mom
  • Personal sacrifices Echevarria had to make to afford her son’s tuition
  • How a change in the law governing state scholarships will benefit her family and others across Florida
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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19Course ChoiceCustomizationDemographic ResearchEducation ChoiceEducation PollingFeaturedHomeschoolingMicroschoolsParental ChoiceSchool Choice

I’m all in!

Matthew Ladner
Matthew Ladner

The advisory firm Tyton Partners has released the second installment of its “school disrupted” study, which takes a deeper look at the drivers and barriers parents experienced when making educational decisions for their children in the face of COVID-19 challenges, as well as how their experiences will continue to shape the way they approach their children’s education after the pandemic subsides.

Part 2 of the study includes estimated enrollment by school sector for this fall. Among families who have made decisions for their children, approximately 72% chose a district school, with 28% choosing something different. If the 5.9 million families who are still undecided break in similar fashion, district enrollment could dip to levels not experienced in this millennium.

The survey also measured parental satisfaction by school sector from the previous school year. Satisfaction with supplemental pods, in which students remain enrolled in the distance learning program of a school but gather in groups with adult guidance, posted at 78%, tied with private school satisfaction. Parents whose students participated in pods full time followed with 72% satisfaction. Satisfaction with charter and traditional public schools was least favorable, at 61% and 60%, respectively.

Additionally, the survey queried families who were unaware of learning pods and micro-schools on their potential interest. A majority across all income levels expressed interest in utilizing pods and micro-schools for either supplemental or full-time attendance.

The study is well worth reading in full. The results show robust growth in alternative schooling and home-schooling during the pandemic among those who have participated as well as from those who did not. It also shows a great deal of dissatisfaction with traditional schooling.

Put all this together with a baby-bust that began in the Great Recession period and I’m willing to go all in on the following bet: Peak district school attendance lies at some point in the past for anyone old enough to read this post.

Ironically, it was the very groups that accused their opponents of attempting to “destroy public education” that have inflicted this exodus upon the system they claim to support.

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