It really sucks that where you live plays so much into what schools you have access to.
My kid has benefited from options. We had a short-lived virtual option (obviously due to the pandemic) that served him well.
When the virtual school was closed (for BS reasons), we were able to file for a change of school assignment to keep my son out of the crappy middle school his excellent elementary school would have fed him into.
The two magnet schools he would have wanted to attend (had there been no pandemic) have lottery admissions for anyone who doesn’t cone from a feeder school. So virtual school kept him out of the crappy school.
We were offered one of the other magnet schools, but that one was an hour and a half away.
My son is now in a decent middle school. He’s eligible to attend several different programs across five public high schools. We live in a decidedly middle class neighborhood. So it’s not like we’re super rich or anything.
Also, there are a couple of highly rated private schools in our area, if we wanted to go that route. One of them is literally within walking distance. So we have choices.
The fact that others do not is a policy failure. Vouchers and charter schools are highly flawed policy options. Vouchers in particular can exacerbate income-based inequality. I’m all for finding a new path. It’s not like what we have access to can be replicated everywhere. But creating options needs to be prioritized much more than it currently is. Particularly in red states.
Your personal experience makes the best case for School choice. I admire that you've shared it so openly.
It really sucks that where you live plays so much into what schools you have access to.
My kid has benefited from options. We had a short-lived virtual option (obviously due to the pandemic) that served him well.
When the virtual school was closed (for BS reasons), we were able to file for a change of school assignment to keep my son out of the crappy middle school his excellent elementary school would have fed him into.
The two magnet schools he would have wanted to attend (had there been no pandemic) have lottery admissions for anyone who doesn’t cone from a feeder school. So virtual school kept him out of the crappy school.
We were offered one of the other magnet schools, but that one was an hour and a half away.
My son is now in a decent middle school. He’s eligible to attend several different programs across five public high schools. We live in a decidedly middle class neighborhood. So it’s not like we’re super rich or anything.
Also, there are a couple of highly rated private schools in our area, if we wanted to go that route. One of them is literally within walking distance. So we have choices.
The fact that others do not is a policy failure. Vouchers and charter schools are highly flawed policy options. Vouchers in particular can exacerbate income-based inequality. I’m all for finding a new path. It’s not like what we have access to can be replicated everywhere. But creating options needs to be prioritized much more than it currently is. Particularly in red states.