♦ Life Happens: A ChoiceWords series ♦ The state needs to add additional enrollment periods for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. The state should also end the program’s grade-level entry points, which can prevent families from accessing the program for years. This is the first in a periodic ChoiceWords series. Do you know in April what you’ll be doing in September? Do you have all the paperwork filed for those plans? Maybe. But we all know life happens and you don’t know what your situation may be six months from now. The reality that “life happens” bedevils parents in the…

As the school year starts, top of mind for many schools in Wisconsin is the current teacher shortage. The problem has garnered lots of nationwide coverage. Staff shortages plague both public and private schools in the state. In mid-July, School Choice Wisconsin did a survey on this topic. The 133 choice schools that responded reported 355 open positions at the K­–12 level. This is a much higher than usual rate, according to longtime education administrators at School Choice Wisconsin. Forty providers offer teacher preparation programs in the state. To become a licensed teacher, one must follow one of four pathways. The road can…

First-ever drop in math, biggest drop in reading in 30 years Fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic policies continues to manifest across the nation. The latest: Reading and math scores of 9-year-old students nationwide dropped between 2020 and 2022, according to results released today from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). A Wall Street Journal story on the scores cites experts who say it could take decades for the worst performers to rebound. “These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years of the NAEP program,” said Acting NCES…

Did you know that there’s an academic chair focused on school choice? ChoiceWords decided to look into this. We caught up with the man who occupies the chair, Patrick Wolf. Wolf, Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and 21st Century Endowed Chair in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, has kept one of the most trained eyes on school choice as it has experienced major growth across the country. Wolf got into school choice in part because his graduate school mentor was Harvard’s Paul Peterson, another well-known figure in the field. “Once I got…

Here at School Choice Wisconsin, we regularly get comments from schools and parents expressing the tremendous value of school choice to their families and communities. We’ll share these comments with you from time to time on the ChoiceWords blog. “School choice provides kids opportunities they would never have otherwise. A great school can change the life and direction of not just a student, but an entire family.” St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, Milwaukee “This program gives our school the ability to enroll students from 18 different cities. Without the school choice program, these kids might not have the opportunity to build…

Good news for educational freedom: School Choice Wisconsin is seeing an increase in entrepreneurial activity on the statewide school landscape. In the last two months, eight schools have reached out to SCW for onboarding assistance as they seek to participate in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program. The statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program provides students whose families meet income qualifications the ability to attend a participating private or religious school of their choice, tuition free. Of the eight schools who reached out to School Choice Wisconsin, five are new start-ups. The five are in various stages of planning and launching. The…

Last night Marquette University hosted a GOP primary debate featuring three Republican candidates. Two of the candidates, Rebecca Kleefisch and Tim Michels, voiced support for universal school choice during the debate. Candidate Tim Ramthun has expressed support for universal choice on his website but made no comment on the subject last night. School choice continues to be a major topic of discussion among all parties here in Wisconsin. A statewide primary is set for Aug. 9. — School Choice Wisconsin

The Wall Street Journal is among those noticing that school choice is garnering support around the country. Take a look at their recent editorial video on choice.    

Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to allow parents in Maine to use state funds to pay tuition for religious schools. This is an important case for the choice movement and a big win. The case was titled Carson v. Makin, No. 20-1088. See this story from The New York Times.

Some very nice news surrounding a choice school in Milwaukee this week. St. Augustine Preparatory Academy, a Milwaukee Parental Choice Program school, broke ground this week on a grade school facility on Milwaukee’s south side. The $49 million building will have room for 900 K4 to 5th grade students. The K4–12 school, expected to be completed in 2023, will be the biggest single-campus school in Milwaukee and will have space to serve 2,400 students, according to a press release, BizTimes reported. One of the most interesting facts to emerge: Since the school opened, crime in the area has fallen by…