Why school choice is succeeding

By Kevin P. Chavous

Michael Q. McShane wrote yesterday, “Why School Choice is Failing.” His thought provoking piece raised some very important points, but fails to illustrate how school choice is succeeding, the several solutions already in place to address his concerns, and how school choice advocates are laying the groundwork for even greater impact.

McShane’s issues boil down to three points: Filling excess capacity, encouraging high-quality schools to scale-up and creating new high-quality schools, the latter two McShane argues that school choice programs are “lousy at.”

The majority of us who are involved in the education reform movement are focused on advancing parental choice as central component of fundamental, meaningful, and impactful reform to provide children with better options that generate better educational outcomes. It’s both smart policy and a matter of social justice. However, when a child moves from a public school to a private school through an educational choice program, and receives the same failed outcome, that is not a success. And, this is where McShane has it right.

How do you like them apples? Matt Damon supports private education

Nearly two years ago to the date, Matt Damon flew into Washington, D.C. to speak at a “Save our Schools” rally. The groups who comprise “Save our Schools” are a who’s who of education organizations who have opposed every single reform over the past 30 years. The rally was against the education reforms underway in Washington, D.C. to help fix one of the nation’s most broken school districts. At the rally, Damon was the champion of public schools and skewered the “corporate reformer[s] who literally never taught anyone anything…” 

Louisiana Headmaster Stands Up to Bullying Tactics

The Headmaster of John Paul the Great Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana isn’t getting bullied by opponents to education reform.  In fact, he’s standing up to them.  Writing in The Advertiser yesterday, Kevin Roberts addressed the letter sent by counsel for the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) that tried to scare private schools from participating in the newly-expanded voucher program:

If teachers unions spent more time focused on ways to improve the deplorable quality of government-run schools, rather than intimidating anyone interested in the improvement of them, then there would be little need for innovative solutions like Louisiana's recently created Student Scholarship Program. But in typical union thuggery style, the Louisiana Association of Educators has acted like a schoolyard bully.

Roberts notes that time would be better spent if the LAE—and other status quo supporters—worked to improve our public schools:

More important than this schoolyard tiff is the real issue that the LAE purposefully obscures by its expensive, protracted legal shenanigans: the necessity of our public schools being reformed.

Let’s hope that education leaders of all stripes work to improve our public schools and provide more educational options to children.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG