Opinion: Increase choice as public schools can’t meet all kids’ needs

Opinion: Increase choice as public schools can’t meet all kids’ needs

In The News

Opinion: Increase choice as public schools can’t meet all kids’ needs

OpEd Written by Corey Burres, VP of Communication

Unedited Title: Public Schools Are At the Heart of School Choice

As states like Utah and Iowa pass sweeping school choice legislation, it is important to understand no one is trying to defund public schools. The millions of American parents pleading with legislators across the country to open up educational options for their kids are not secretly hoping public schools go away. It’s a partisan myth that is dividing us on education and resulting in burnout and frustration for everyone.

I grew up riding the big yellow bus to my local public school. My kids spent most of their education in public schools. I’m thankful for public schools and the teachers who work so hard to educate and enlighten our children.

Public schools are immeasurably valuable.

It’s my respect for that value that makes me question why so many have politicized fear around educational concepts like school choice, charter schools and scholarship programs. We must face the fact that our education system is overwhelmed. There is no possible way an area public school can meet the diverse needs of every single student.

Yet that is exactly what many expect of them. We expect that public schools will be able to address the learning needs of kids with a wide array of abilities, physical and emotional needs and unique home and personal challenges. You can understand why teachers are leaving the profession in droves.

Imagine going to work with a lesson plan and knowing that five of your students will struggle because they have a diagnosed or undiagnosed learning disability, another five will have ADHD and struggle to focus and another five will be facing home issues and food insecurity. A teacher’s lesson plan is expected to get each of these different students to the same level of success. Add in that we are asking teachers to instruct or guide moral standards and you have a recipe for frustration and burnout.

But it’s not just about teachers. It’s about the kids getting a quality education. Let me be clear, quality education is not an input solely determined by great teaching but an output of what is learned. You can have the greatest teacher, but if the child isn’t learning, they aren’t receiving a quality education. Many years ago, I worked on filming a documentary on education called “Flunked.”

Then, like now, the United States was falling behind internationally, and we wanted to see if there were any schools doing something different. We traveled up and down the West Coast talking with schools that served low-income, inner-city students, schools in rural areas and others that focused on performing arts. As a young parent, it was fascinating and inspiring to see what was available.

Sadly, as I returned home, I faced a different reality for my family. The teacher assigned to my then-5-year-old daughter told my wife and I that our daughter was likely to be bored and not challenged. The local school simply couldn’t provide what she needed, and we were forced to find alternatives.

Thankfully, we had family and others who helped us collect the money necessary to get her into an option that would challenge her. Eventually, we moved and were able to get her back into a public school where she thrived.

But what about the many kids and parents who have no opportunity because they can’t afford it or live in the wrong district? Is quality education only promised to those who can pay up or live in the right ZIP code?

We are stressing public schools by expecting them to be all things to all kids and we are failing to deliver quality education. Even as school choice options become more mainstream across the country, we’re still clinging to the fear of public schools going away. Even the fear that public schools will suddenly be defunded is a myth with per-student funding actually going up over the last decade despite more options being available.

We need to look to innovation in education and stop fearing change. Keep public schools at the center while decreasing the stress on the system by creating alternatives. After all, what we all want is a great education for our kids.

Originally posted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New survey shows spike in misbehavior among K-12 students

New survey shows spike in misbehavior among K-12 students

survey

New survey shows spike in misbehavior among K-12 students

Key Points

  •  A new survey puts forward more evidence of increased social and behavioral problems among students in K-12 public schools arising from the pandemic.

  • Georgia parents need more education options for their children. 
  • GCO is working to bring a new curriculum, called Raising Highly Capable Kidz (RHCK), to schools, nonprofits, churches, and other outlets across the state.

We’ve paid a lot of attention to learning loss arising from school shutdowns during the pandemic, and rightly so. The results of the latest Nation’s Report Card from the U.S. Department of Education, for example, show test scores in reading and math in public schools at their lowest levels in decades.

But there is another side to the cost of school closures that doesn’t get as much attention — the social side. Now, a new survey puts forward more evidence of increased social and behavioral problems among students in K-12 public schools arising from the pandemic.

According to the annual School Pulse Panel published by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences, more than eight in 10 public schools “have seen stunted behavioral and socioemotional development in their students because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The survey went on to find that “minor offenses, such as tardiness and classroom disruptions, are the most frequently cited illicit behaviors that have increased in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Here are some notable excerpts from the survey:

  • 84% of surveyed public school leaders said the pandemic had “negatively impacted the behavioral development of students” in their schools
  • 30% reported an increase in bullying as a result of the pandemic
  • 33% reported physical attacks between students
  • 36% reported threats of physical attacks or fights between students
  • 49% reported a jump in student “rowdiness outside of the classroom (e.g., hallways, lunchroom)”
  • 56% reported “classroom disruptions from student misconduct”
  • 42% reported “use of cell phones, computers, other electronics when not permitted”
  • 24% reported vandalism
  • 11% of public schools reported an increase in physical attacks on teachers or staff members influenced by the pandemic
  • 13% reported threats to injure a teacher or staff member
  • 36% reported verbal abuse of teachers or staff members.

 

The Raising Highly Capable Kids model is built on an evidence-based program that teaches 40 developmental assets that reduce risky behavior in kids and teens. We are looking for partners to help bring this to our community.

The Raising Highly Capable Kids model is built on an evidence-based program that teaches 40 developmental assets that reduce risky behavior in kids and teens. We are looking for partners to help bring this to our community.

Where to go from here

So, what are we supposed to do with this information? Here are three takeaways.

  1. Learning loss is only part of the equation

We must remember that other factors are also at play beyond learning less when determining strategies to help students recover. Isolation, increased screen time, chance of physical or emotional abuse, substance abuse, and general anxiety over the direction of society are just some of the factors in play here. And the sad reality is that many of these negative trend lines were already in place for young people prior to the pandemic. The pandemic simply revealed and worsened them.

  1. Georgia needs more options

The struggles students are facing in public schools underscores the need for a diverse menu of educational options, open and available to all families regardless of income or zip code. Every student deserves an education customized to his or her individual needs and aptitudes. This is why tools like an Education Scholarship Account are so important. An ESA in Georgia would empower parents to pick the best educational option — or the best assortment of educational tools — for their unique student.

In the last session of the Georgia Legislature, lawmakers fell short of passing ESAs in the form of Promise Scholarships, which would have allotted $6,000 a year for families to choose alternative educational approaches. The Georgia Center for Opportunity team is hopeful things will be different this session and that ESAs will finally become a reality.

  1. Students in traditional public schools need help, too

Even as educational options expand in Georgia, the fact remains that most families will still choose their locally zoned public school. These students need help, too. That’s why GCO is working to bring a new curriculum, called Raising Highly Capable Kidz (RHCK), to schools, nonprofits, churches, and other outlets across the state. RHCK is a 13-week evidence-based parenting program developed to build stronger families by empowering parents with the confidence, tools, and skills they need to raise healthy, caring, and responsible children. The course works through 40 key development assets to help kids.

The GCO team will be working to roll out the RHCK curriculum across Georgia in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for more!

5 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Expand Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship

5 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Expand Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship

5 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Expand Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship

Key Points

  • Georgia lawmakers are considering an increase to the cap on Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program.
  • The communities’ positive response to the scholarship opportunity has created demand above and beyond what the program can currently handle. 
  • Raising the cap on Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program would allow the program to serve more families who otherwise may not be able to afford private school as an education option. 

In 2024, Georgia legislators are considering an expansion to Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program. Through this program, businesses and individuals can donate toward private school scholarships for K-12 students enrolled in public schools. In return, they receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit.

In 2022, the state Legislature raised the program cap by $20 million, bringing it up to $120 million from $100 million. But that increase hasn’t proven large enough to keep up with communities’ positive response. Lawmakers are now looking at a proposed 2024 bill that would raise the total program cap to $200 million, and expand the number of students the program can serve. 

“It’s clear that demand for the program is strong. The existing $120 million cap was met on the very first day of applications in 2023,” noted Buzz Brockway, Vice President of Public Policy at the Georgia Center for Opportunity. “Georgia families are demanding more options, and lawmakers would be wise to take notice.”

Here are a few reasons why raising the cap on Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program would help students, parents, and the state’s overall education system:

1. The Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship program makes private school access more equitable.

Private schools are often an education option available to families who can afford them. Through Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship, lower and middle-income families can get financial support to access private schools as a viable option when the local public school isn’t the best fit for their child.

But what about families in rural areas? According to a 2017 national study by The Brookings Institute, 69% of families living in rural areas have a private school within 10 miles. Increasing the program cap for Georgia’s tax credit scholarships would help rural Georgia families in this situation. For those that aren’t, there’s still a benefit: Growing the tax credit scholarship program is a way to encourage more private schools to launch and fill education gaps in areas where options are fewer and farther between. 

2. Raising the program cap makes it possible to serve more kids.

Currently 500,000 Georgia students are in schools that are underperforming or simply aren’t meeting their specific needs. Increasing the program cap means more families could enjoy the flexibility to consider one of Georgia’s 824 private schools when seeking out a school that matches their kid’s learning style, their personal values, or other preferences. In 2021, 17,440 scholarships were awarded to eligible students. Imagine how many more kids we could help if Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program expanded to $200 million. 

3. Expanding our tax credit scholarship program would bring Georgia up-to-date with other states.

Florida, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Iowa, and Nevada have all taken note of the growing popularity of tax credit scholarships and have responded by increasing caps on their various programs. Whether it’s tax credit scholarships or other options like Education Savings Accounts, the momentum to embrace more education choice programs is building across many states, raising the question of whether Georgia will keep up.

With Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship, kids in Atlanta’s crime-ridden neighborhoods have found a safe place to go to school, allowing them to improve academically and pursue their dreams.

With Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship, kids in Atlanta’s crime-ridden neighborhoods have found a safe place to go to school, allowing them to improve academically and pursue their dreams.

4. It’s one option to relieve parents’ frustration with one-size-fits-all education options.

A recent poll of 5,000 parents, conducted by the Harris Poll, revealed that 20% of parents switched schools for their kids during the pandemic. The pandemic itself is a tired topic, but the trend it introduced in education isn’t: Over the last two years, parents’ desire for more education options has skyrocketed as many of them realize that traditional public schools don’t work for every kid. 

By investing in educational choice programs, we can guarantee families access to a variety of stellar learning experiences that help their children reach great heights—academically, socially, vocationally…the list goes on. Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program makes private schools one of these meaningful options, regardless of where families live or how much they earn. 

5. Increasing education tax credits gets more businesses and individuals involved in our kids’ futures.

A quality education, tailored to a student’s unique needs, prepares kids for the workplace, for community involvement, and for life. That’s why education is more than a parental concern—it should be a community priority. We all benefit when kids have access to the education option that will help them become healthy, successful citizens, employees, relatives, and friends as they grow up. Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship gives our communities—both businesses and taxpayers—a way to directly invest in K-12 education and ensure bright futures for our students. By raising the program cap, we can expand the investment opportunities available to current donors and to new businesses and individuals who want to get involved.  

Related Reading: Georgia School Choice In the News

Georgia students need more schooling choices (GCO in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Renewed push to expand Georgia’s private school tuition subsidies (Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Proposed bill would increase Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program cap (The Center Square)

School choice in 2023: 10 states to watch (Washington Examiner)

Now is the time to expand educational freedom in Georgia

Now is the time to expand educational freedom in Georgia

kids hands raised.

Now is the time to expand educational freedom in Georgia

Key Points

  • Georgia’s recent growth could be halted because it’s falling behind other states who are increasingly offering families more and more choices in K-12 education.
  •  Georgia lawmakers have another chance this year at passing ESAs. 
  • Georgia’s public schools are serving most families well — and public schools are the best option for most families in our state. But for some families, traditional public schools aren’t the best fit for their child’s needs.

Georgia is one of the fastest growing states in the country, and for good reason. But we imperil our ongoing growth if we fail to offer families the opportunity to choose a world-class education for their children. That means giving all students access to the right school for them — whether that’s a traditional public school, a public charter school, a private school, or a homeschool.

By falling short on this goal, Georgia risks falling behind other states who are increasingly offering families more and more choices in K-12 education. Two of the latest examples are Iowa and Utah. 

In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed a bill into law that creates Education Scholarship Accounts (or ESAs) for lower income Iowa families, allowing the money to follow the child to the best school for his or her unique needs. The program will be phased in over three years until it’s available to all families regardless of income.

Meanwhile, the state House in Utah approved a bill last week that would create a similar ESA, with dollars available for families to use for expenses like private school tuition, therapies, tutors, or other curriculum. That bill next goes to the state Senate.

Many Georgia parents are likely looking at families in Iowa and Utah and wondering, “Why can’t we get the same level of educational opportunity here?” It’s a good question. Year after year, lawmakers in the Georgia General Assembly have considered passing our own version of an ESA, but each year the measure has fallen short.

In the current 2023 session, lawmakers have another shot at passing ESAs and it’s well past time to make them a reality. The biggest argument against ESAs is that they will hurt traditional public schools. This couldn’t be further from the truth. We believe that when families are well served by our K-12 education infrastructure, all schools will benefit. 

Georgia risks falling behind other fast-growing states unless we address the need to offer a truly diverse set of educational options.

Georgia risks falling behind other fast-growing states unless we address the need to offer a truly diverse set of educational options.

The bottom line is that Georgia’s public schools are serving most families well — and public schools are the best option for most families in our state. But for some families, traditional public schools aren’t the best fit for their child’s needs. And in many cases, those schools will never be the right fit due to challenges and needs that can’t be met at those schools.

That’s why more options are needed. Georgia risks falling behind other fast-growing states unless we address the need to offer a truly diverse set of educational options. Let’s make 2023 the year that progress happens.

 

Opinion: Increase choice as public schools can’t meet all kids’ needs

School choice in 2023: 10 states to watch

In The News

School choice in 2023: 10 states to watch

Millions of American children do not receive a quality education that sets them up for success. A good education leads to opportunity, but unfortunately, it’s out of reach for so many.

All Americans, regardless of political leanings, believe their children deserve an education that prepares them for college, a career, and life. How can we reach that goal? One way is through school choice policies, or state laws that give parents more choice when it comes to educating their children.

uzz Brockway, executive vice president of public policy for GCO, said “This legislative session, Georgia lawmakers must build on the progress we’ve made in recent years by approving Education Scholarship Accounts to ensure educational access for all.”

Why educational opportunity is good for rural areas, too

Why educational opportunity is good for rural areas, too

middle school charter school

Why educational opportunity is good for rural areas, too

  • ESAs could potentially open the doors to establishing more private schools in Georgia, in both rural and urban areas.
  • ESAs would allow parents to allocate funds to their children’s specific educational needs.
  • ESAs have a positive impact on families in rural communities.

This year, the Georgia Legislature is poised to once again consider creating Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for families statewide. These scholarships would allocate funds to allow parents to choose the best educational option for their child’s unique needs.

Expanding educational access should be a welcome development for lawmakers and citizens alike. After all, who could argue with the idea of making educational opportunities more accessible? Unfortunately, expanding access to a wider variety of schools and academic opportunities can be an issue that divides lawmakers not only along party lines, but along the lines of an urban-rural divide as well.

For instance, Georgia lawmakers who represent rural areas have raised concerns about the impact that expanded educational opportunities could have on their local school districts. The argument goes like this: Rural areas tend to lack access to private or charter schools compared to urban areas, so efforts to increase the diversity of educational options will end up siphoning money away from traditional public schools, the one and only option available in rural districts.

As the Georgia Legislature is set to take up a bill that would create ESAs, now is a great time to debunk the myth that educational opportunity simply doesn’t benefit rural areas.

Let’s jump right into it.

Myth 1: There aren’t enough private schools near rural areas to justify ESAs

In a December 2022 interview with Conduit News, Dr. Patrick Wolf busted the myth that families living in rural areas don’t have access to private schools. He cited a 2017 Brookings Institution survey that revealed 69% of rural families live within 10 miles’ driving distance of a private school. 

“Ten miles is easy commuting distance, especially when you live out in the sticks like I do,” said Wolf. “So, the overwhelming majority of families in rural areas do have access to private schools.”

Of course, when there is demand for any product, service, or offering, society finds ways to meet those demands. The same is true for educational opportunities. Wolf explains: “The other thing that happens when school choice programs are launched statewide is more private schools spring up because there’s a greater opportunity to serve students. When you increase the demand for school choice by making it more feasible to more families, supply emerges to meet that demand. It’s just straight economics.”

In other words, ESAs could potentially open the doors to establishing more private schools in Georgia, in both rural and urban areas. 

At the time of this writing, there are 824 private schools across the state of Georgia, with 152,851 students enrolled. During 2021-2022, there were 90 charter schools in the state as well. While that number is dwarfed by Georgia’s public schools (2,308, with 1,728,049 students enrolled), it’s still significant.

Broadening educational opportunity would effectively give parents in rural areas a reason to demand more options where they live. If Wolf’s assessment of supply and demand is correct (and we believe it is), then we can expect that more rural families will benefit from private schools in the coming years as a direct result of ESAs. 

Myth 2: Disadvantaged kids don’t benefit from private or charter schools

Opponents of expanded educational opportunity often argue that disadvantaged kids don’t benefit from it. The National Coalition for Public Education argues that vouchers hurt rural areas not only because fewer students attend public schools, but also because the students themselves have to take on heavier time and economic costs in order to attend private and charter schools. They also argue that public schools are the facilities best equipped to serve diverse student populations, including minorities, students with special needs, and students from low-income areas.

But the previously cited Brookings Institution survey revealed that the majority of rural families do have reasonable access to a private school. Research also shows that disadvantaged students do, indeed, benefit from expanded educational opportunity. Students in charter schools tend to perform better academically than their peers in public schools. What’s more, low-income and ethnic minority students showed the most significant academic gains when enrolled in charter schools.

Keep in mind, too, that ESAs would allow parents to allocate funds to their children’s specific educational needs. That means families can use those funds to choose a school that is the best fit for that child. While lobbying groups and district superintendents may argue that state-funded schools are the best equipped to handle those needs, parents are ultimately the primary authority on what their children need to be successful.

 

 

Ultimately, giving families more educational options has a positive impact on long-term results, academic achievement, and parental satisfaction.

Ultimately, giving families more educational options has a positive impact on long-term results, academic achievement, and parental satisfaction.

Myth 3: Educational opportunity could hurt — not help — rural communities

Yet another argument against opening up educational opportunity is that it could hurt rural communities. In reality, though, it’s rural districts that fear losing students to private or charter schools. This isn’t a partisan issue — in fact, legislators on both sides of the aisle have argued against educational opportunity in rural areas.

They often make these arguments on behalf of superintendents, who claim that educational opportunity will have irreversible economic consequences on their districts. For example, rural superintendents often argue that important public school jobs will be lost as a result of tools like ESAs. Cuts in state funding could lead to budget cuts, resulting in fewer public school resources and causing employees in the district to lose their jobs.

However, recent data out of Florida — a state with strong educational opportunity — shows that ESAs have a positive impact on families in rural communities. As of the 2021-2022 school year, there had been a 10.6% enrollment increase in rural charter, private, and homeschool students in comparison to the previous decade. Private school scholarships had boomed, coming in at 6,992 in 2021-2022 as opposed to 1,706 in 2011-2012.

On top of all that, the demand for private schools has resulted in the creation of more. Over the past two decades, Florida’s rural private schools have almost doubled, from 69 to 120. Arguably, any jobs lost in a public school district as a result of educational opportunity could be replaced by the expansion of private school availability in any given area.

Ultimately, giving families more educational options has a positive impact on long-term results, academic achievement, and parental satisfaction. As parents and students are a part of their rural communities, it’s difficult to argue that these outcomes are detrimental to the areas in which they live.