The Tennessean: As a Tennessee parent, school choice benefits my family. Many others agree. | Opinion
Gov. Bill Lee's proposal to allow charter operators to go directly to the state for approval would benefit more families like mine.
Read the full story from The Tennessean here.
Sending my first child off to kindergarten last fall is a milestone I won’t soon forget.
For my son, it was the start of his career at a public charter school that would support his love of learning, surround him with invested and exceptional educators, and place him in community with students who look like him and those who do not − all values important to our family.
For my husband, it was the end of listening to me list out the pros and cons of each public school option within our community.
I look back at the months spent considering our choices and I cannot help but be thankful that we had choice in the first place. I recognize there are neighborhoods across our city and state where access to a high-quality education is out of reach because of a lack of proximity or a lack of resources.
In the end, our family was able to choose a school − Nashville Classical Charter School − that we believe will best meet the needs of our child.
Expanded reading instruction a plus in choosing a school
Nashville Classical has not only delivered for our son but for all its students. Most recently, Nashville Classical was recognized as a reward school, a designation the state gives to schools that demonstrate high levels of performance and/or improvement in performance and one that only five other high poverty schools in this city earned.
And Nashville Classical is not the only charter school exceeding expectations for students. A recent Stanford University study found that students enrolled in Tennessee charter schools achieved an additional 34 days of reading instruction and 39 days of math instruction as compared to their traditional public school counterparts.
It will come as no surprise that charter schools have turned into a political issue with some elected officials arguing that increasing access to charter schools could negatively impact the traditional public school system. But waitlists across dozens of charter schools indicate that parents value having public school options.
A recent survey by Parents for Public School Options found that 83% of Tennessee parents support the freedom to customize their child’s education through public charters. This support is bipartisan too, with 85% of Republican parents and 76% of Democratic parents expressing support.
When it comes to school, every family deserves to have high-quality options just as we did. Sadly, some school districts still fight to limit or block new charters, ignoring families who want them. If districts systematically deny high-quality charters, there is broad parental support to hold them accountable. The same Parents for Public School Options poll found that 75% of parents of school-age children would support a bill to allow charter school operators to bypass local districts that continuously deny charter school applications.
New legislation would reform charter school application process
Fortunately, Gov. Bill Lee has proposed legislation (House Bill 1322/Senate Bill 1310) to address this important issue. It includes a policy which states that districts that have had three charter denials overturned by the State in a three-year period must allow future charter school operators to apply directly to the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.
These measures will hopefully provide our school board and other school boards across the state motivation to take their responsibility of ensuring all kids have great public schools to attend seriously and also provide greater accountability when they don’t. No amount of adult politics should stand in the way of parents getting access to the high-quality choices their children deserve.
In the end, a postcard from Principal Frederick is what sealed the deal on Nashville Classical for our first born. It was addressed to our son and landed in our mailbox on a hot summer day before school started. No other school wrote to him and said how excited they were to have him.
No other school invited him to a popsicle party to meet other incoming kindergartners. It was a tiny gesture, but our son felt seen and special. My hope is that every parent has the option to choose a school, just as we did, that sparks their child’s greatest potential.
Jayme Simmons is the executive director of the Bill and Crissy Haslam Foundation. Her oldest child is a kindergartner at Nashville Classical Charter School.
Read the full story from The Tennessean here.