Celebrating National School Choice Week
From January 23rd to January 29th, America celebrates the power of choice in education. Advocates all across the nation are emphasizing real ways to improve the education of America's children.
by Ashley Muchow
National School Choice Week is here! From January 23rd to 29th, school choice advocates are raising awareness of the important role choice plays in improving our nation’s schools.
Check out John Tillman this Thursday from 7:30PM – 9:30PM as he moderates the Education Revolution Tour Town Hall Event in Skokie, IL. The event will consist of a panel discussion on school choice made up of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, political author, Dick Morris, and talk show host and movie critic, Michael Medved. Register here.
The options available to parents and children are devastatingly inadequate and the fight for choice in America’s school system is
needed now more than ever. This past year, David Guggenheim created a documentary film that ignited much-needed debate on how we, as a nation, can improve our schools.
Guggenheim’s Waiting for Superman stressed the importance of choice and accountability in the U.S. public education system and brought to life the human impact of some devastating statistics:
Out of 28 developed reporting countries, the U.S. rank 20th in graduation rates. In America right now, a kid drops out of high school every 26 seconds. These drop-outs are 8 times more likely to go to prison, 50% less likely to vote, more likely to need social welfare assistance, not eligible for 90% of jobs, are being paid 40 cents to the dollar of earned by a college graduate, and continuing the cycle of poverty.
Illinois’s school system is no different.
- The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), in its 16th annual Report Card on American Education, ranked Illinois 38 out of 50 states in low-income student performance.
- Despite the $25 billion flowing into the state’s public school system annually, only 32 percent of Illinois public elementary school students are reading at grade level. That number slips to 30 percent by the end of middle school. By the time they reach the 12th grade, only 20 percent of public school students possess the requisite skills to succeed in college.
- At least 25 percent of students in Illinois’s public high schools drop out of school altogether.
In a report the Institute published early last year, we shared that a full 81 percent of people polled in Illinois would send their child to a school other than a traditional public school in order to receive the best possible education. Parents want to be able to send their children to charter schools, virtual schools and private schoolsnot just traditional public schools. Our current system does not provide nearly enough of those choices.
This week we celebrate and emphasize the power of choice. The Institute has shared the success of school choice programs in Illinois and continues to push for reform in Illinois. Revisit our work to see how school choice has worked in Illinois.
- Fact Finder: Charter Schools Retain Students Better than Nearby Public Schools:
Debunking the myth that Charter schools have a higher-than-usual rate
of students transferring out to other places of learning. - A League of Extraordinary High Schools: Chicagos charter schools show that a team of reform-minded schools can turn the tide.
- Strong and Growing: A Performance Review of Charter Schools: A review of the performance of downstate and suburban charter schools for the 2008-09 school year.
Visit the National School Choice Week website to find out more about how you can advocate for more choice and better schools. Participate and take action by attending local events and rallies, school choice documentary screenings, writing a letter to the editor, or following the work of partner organizations and grassroots networks.
Be a part of the solution. Celebrate National School Choice Week by advocating and building support for school choice reforms.