Creating Great Schools: Ohio’s example
In recent years, Ohio has become another leader in the school choice movement, providing parents and students with more educational options.
According to the Alliance for School Choice:
Ohio is one of the most active states in the school choice movement. The state offers three distinct private school choice programs: the Educational Choice voucher program for students in failing schools, the Cleveland Scholarship and Tutoring Program, and the Autism Scholarship Program. Additionally, the state has a relatively strong charter school law.
Parents should visit the Web site of School Choice Ohio for detailed information on school choice in the state: www.scohio.org
This recent op-ed, “Lawmakers should support all schools that work well,” written by Terry Ryan, takes a closer look at how Ohio’s Ed Choice program benefits students in the state and urges lawmakers to continue to support these options as both a benefit to families and a benefit to taxpayers. It also underscores something we have talked about here before- this isn’t a matter of “public versus private,” but rather about creating great educational options for all students- whether those choices be public, private, charter, religious or home schooling.
What’s less known, however, is that many of the individuals and organizations that supported PACE also supported Dayton Public Schools’ reform efforts, as well as those of a handful of the city’s charter schools.
Frankly, these benefactors diversified their philanthropic investments across school sectors — district, charter and private — because what they wanted were great schools for all children. They saw competition and diverse reform efforts as the best hope for getting there, and were not doctrinaire about these sector distinctions.
Because Dayton has three great high schools (one district, one charter, and one private), we have evidence that the city can provide high-quality school options for its children. Lawmakers and others — no matter where they went to school themselves — should be encouraged to focus their support on those schools that work for children, regardless of label.
Dayton, like the state’s other cities, needs all hands on deck if we are serious about educating all children well.
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