Voucher Left

This is the latest post in our series on the center-left roots of school choice. The crowd shots that illustrate the Democratic Party’s big split over school choice are, in one key respect, starkly black and white. Or, at least, black, brown and white. On one side: Thousands of teachers on strike, from West Virginia to Oklahoma to Arizona. Overwhelmingly white. On the other: Thousands of parents at school choice rallies, from Florida to New York to Illinois. Overwhelmingly black and Hispanic. None of these recent events happened at the same time. And to be clear, last spring’s strikes were primarily for better...

This is the latest post in our ongoing series on the center-left roots of school choice. Four years ago, Angela Kennedy, a teacher in Orlando, Fla., actualized an idea once prominently advanced by school choice supporters on the left. After 14 years of mounting frustration with public schools, she started her own private school. Today, thanks to more than 70 school choice scholarships, Kennedy’s faith-based Deeper Root Academy is a high-quality haven for low-income and predominantly black students. It’s also another concrete example of what’s possible, for teachers and principals, when school choice expands. What better time than now to remind people. This...

Forty years ago, school choice liberals started working with popular Democratic Congressman Leo Ryan to put school choice on the ballot in California. Then, tragedy struck.

The idea of accountability through school choice isn't new. School choice liberals strongly backed the idea a half century ago.

Mangrove School in Florida, where more than half the students use school choice scholarships, stresses environmental consciousness. It's yet another example of the endless varieties of schools that might be possible with expanded school choice.

“Alternative schools” like The Magnolia School are among those that benefit from school choice, and there’s no reason why, with expanded choice, an endless variety of related strains couldn’t bloom.

In the 1960s and '70s, the political left in America pushed for far-reaching school choice plans in a bid to help disadvantaged students. Today, some on the left are leading the opposition to such proposals.

Cesar Chavez, the iconic labor leader, would have been 90 today. But the progressives pausing to honor him may not realize his vision of social justice included fundamental principles of school choice.