The event is said to be the largest rally for National School Choice week in the country. Ed Richardson, the charter commission chairman and former state schools superintendent, said earlier this month that four city school systems (Athens, Bessemer, Birmingham and Madison) have applied for authorization ability.
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The march and rally featured student and parent speakers representing public schools, magnet schools, public charter schools, virtual schools, independent, private and religious schools, and home schools. Alabama’s first school choice law was passed during the 2013 Legislative session, forming a scholarship program for low-income families and those who are stuck in underperforming schools.
While Tuesday’s rally for school choice on the south lawn of the Capitol grounds largely celebrated recent strides the Alabama education system has made for better options for students, attendees also acknowledged there is much work to do. Schools must meet strict performance and accountability standards.
When education is the single best chance a child has to climb out of poverty, it makes no sense to hold competitive, innovative schools-which often get better results with less money-just out of reach of those who need them most. Given that Colorado’s annual cost of incarceration is over $30,000 per inmate, increasing the number of well-educated citizens by any means can help alleviate these costs.
Trinity Lutheran is celebrating 100 days of school in conjunction with National School Choice Week. “So, we have to provide other opportunities and different choices for students to be able to succeed”, said Ibrahim Lee, Principal of Bellingrath Middle School in Montgomery.
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Tyler Massey is an education policy intern at the Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver.
