Celebrating National School Choice Week 2015, here is Part 2 of Cascade’s “virtual” school choice film fest.
The 2010 documentary film Waiting for “Superman” ignited new interest in the desperate desire of low-income parents to get their kids out of failing, one-size-fits-all public schools into better-performing charter schools. The five children poignantly profiled in the film faced barriers to their dreams in the form of too few charter school seats and a lottery acceptance process that made their futures dependent on a roll of the dice.
Charter schools have become a vital education option for thousands of students throughout the U.S. Moviegoers previously unfamiliar with charter schools (public schools with more freedom to be innovative than traditional district public schools) began to understand why parents―especially lower-income parents―want their kids so much to have a chance to attend charters.
Demand for charter schools far outstrips available seats, as Cascade’s 2011 study of Oregon charter school waiting lists found. Opening more charter schools is an important piece of the education reform puzzle. However, immediate, viable, successful alternatives to failing public schools have existed, often right in parents’ own neighborhoods, for decades. In much of the U.S., those options pre-date the American public school system itself.
Private and parochial schools have been a lifeline for low-income kids for generations, and the school choice movement today looks to maximize parents’ options for choosing the public, private, online, public charter, or home school that is the best fit for their children. Dozens of states and the District of Columbia have pioneered voucher programs, education tax credit laws, and education savings accounts for parents. Private charity also plays a major role in helping children in need get a hand up early in life.
Reforming our public education system is necessary, but low-income kids can’t wait for Superman. This week, a national, nonpolitical, nonpartisan public awareness campaign called “National School Choice Week” will celebrate all the ways that children learn―and all the ways we can help them succeed in whatever education setting works for them.
And if you haven’t seen it yet, this is a great week to watch Waiting for “Superman.”
