Wisconsin School Choice Group Sees More Growth Than Ever Before

This is instructive. Not to mention heartening. More and more parents are turning to school choice options for their kids, rather than simply relying on government-run public education – which doesn’t always lead to the highest quality education.

Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of public school teachers who are doing their absolute best to give their students the education they deserve. Heck, I’m related to some of them. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve talked to my teacher friends and relatives and they tell me how excited they are that this student is doing well, or the frustration they feel when that student struggles. But invariably, the conversation turns to some screwball thing that the state or school district is doing because of federal funding requirements – usually having to do with standardized testing and having to teach the test, rather than the subjects. Or maybe it’s yet-another-useless-training thing they’re being required to do that’s taking away from the time they use to prepare lessons that will actually be interesting and engaging for their students. If you’ve talked to teachers – or if you ARE a teacher – you probably know what I’m talking about. And you might have horror stories of your own where the government meddles in education because suddenly a bunch of politicians in Washington, DC decide that THEY know more about the students out in Small Town, USA than their parents and/or teachers do.

At one point in my life, I had serious designs on becoming a high school teacher. But when I got into all the bureaucratic bullcrap that teachers have to go through (and that’s even BEFORE you get into the potential disciplinary issues with students – which I probably could have dealt with just fine), I basically said “LOL, no!” and went off to do something else. Which is a shame – I LOVE working with teenagers (even the really grumpy ones). They’re a fun age group to be around and I’ve since found other ways to reach out and help these kids through my church and past jobs I’ve had. My hat goes off to the teachers who do manage to navigate all that nonsense and become a positive influence in their students’ lives because Lord knows I couldn’t do it.

Which is why when I get after public education in this country, I’m talking about the system that is failing students AND teachers. And when I see stories like this out of Wisconsin, I want to stand up and cheer.

According to that sourcelink, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program has recorded a record high number of enrollees. The program, which is the oldest private school voucher initiative in the country, provides state-funding tuition to low- and middle-income families so they can get their kids into better schools. Here are the statistics on the program, as well as numbers for a few other voucher programs from Wisconsin –

Over the years the state has been forced to lift previously established enrollment limits of 15,000 and 22,500, due to public demand.

 

The last 10 years have continued to bring steady growth to the program, with enrollment increases in all but one year.

 

That trend has continued in the 2015-16 school year, with an increase of 2.8 percent, bringing total enrollment to 27,619, according to a report published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, based on a release from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

 

In October, DPI also announced enrollment increases in the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and the separate Racine Parental Choice Program.

 

There are 2,514 students enrolled in the statewide program, an 18.8 percent increase over last year, when total enrollment was limited by law to 1,000 students. That cap has since been lifted.

I know there are going to be people howling about how this takes money away from public schools and that we shouldn’t give up on the public education system in this country – but what are public school advocates really doing to help improve public education? At least the voucher idea is, you know, an actual IDEA that can be implemented. At least school choice proponents are taking action when they see a problem, instead of just complaining that things aren’t good enough and they need to throw more taxpayer money at the problem. The problem isn’t money – the problem is a broken system that needs to be fixed. And whether or not vouchers are the answer, we have to at least try.

Thing is, if vouchers didn’t work, people wouldn’t sign up for it. Free market principles – if your product/service sucks, then people don’t buy into it. But if it works and does what it was advertised to do, then people want more of it. They put their time and money and effort into being part of it. Enrollment in the program in Wisconsin keeps going up. That’s a pretty good indicator of success, if you ask me.

And after 25 years in Wisconsin and no sign of the program enrollment slowing down, I’d say this is quite the success. It’s just one good idea in a field that is in desperate need of good ideas.