This is an opinion piece by Nicholas J. Kelly posted to Wisconsin Right Now on January 16, 2024. There are two key takeaways from Wisconsin’s pioneering school choice programs. First, students in the programs outperform their public school peers.  Second, the taxpayer cost is sixty-nine percent of public school spending. As president of School Choice Wisconsin, these results spur my work every day.  At School Choice Wisconsin we connect with schools and families to imagine a better future — whether that means expanding a school, finding the right option for a particular student, or simply spreading the word about the…

This is an opinion piece by Nicholas J. Kelly posted to Wisconsin Right Now on August 14, 2024. Primary elections are over. A 12-week sprint to the general election is underway. A major shift in public opinion on school choice and K-12 education will be a factor in legislative races statewide. Given the general consensus that new legislative maps will produce closely contested November outcomes, the views of likely voters on school choice will be decisive. Wes Anderson, the most experienced pollster on Wisconsin education issues in the last two decades, says a tipping point has been reached. When Anderson…

This is an opinion piece by Nicholas J. Kelly posted to Wisconsin Right Now on June 18, 2024. No response to the regrettable MPS debacle will be adequate if it does not include expanded educational choice for all families. Every child deserves an exit pass. Educational choice is the single policy with demonstrable results in the decades of MPS “reform” efforts. Scores of choice students have gone up while those of MPS students have declined. More than half of the city’s parents now use options enacted in the 1990s under Governor Tommy Thompson. The latest data available show that in…

This is an opinion piece by Nicholas J. Kelly posted to Wisconsin Right Now on February 12, 2024. It’s a rare day when everyone is a winner from an education finance measure. New information from the non-partisan, authoritative Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) confirms that is the case for Assembly Bill 900. School boards, school district business managers, and parental choice advocates: Take note! Learn about this proposal and tell your legislators to support its change that treats Wisconsin taxpayers fairly. At issue is school choice decoupling, a topic I wrote about here last month. Briefly, the state currently uses two…

The Christmas spirit was alive and well into the New Year this weekend as Hispanics for School Choice partnered with generous sponsors to put on a Three Kings Day Celebration in the Madison area. Three Kings Day, or Dia de Los Reyes, is a holiday often celebrated in Hispanic communities to mark the arrival of the magi to Bethlehem to bring gifts to baby Jesus. HFSC’s Three Kings Day event brought together more than 200 people for a toy giveaway that also included traditional rosca de reyes, or kings’ bread, hot chocolate, and an opportunity for children to have their picture…

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School Choice Wisconsin is excited to announce our annual Hispanic Heritage Month K-12 Art Contest. This year’s theme — Prosperity, Power & Progress — recognizes the significant achievements of the Hispanic community in areas of economics, business and politics. Entries must be hand-created drawings or paintings and must be delivered to the Hispanics for School Choice office at 10427 W. Lincoln Ave. #1800, West Allis, WI 53214 by October 13, 2023. Winners will be announced on Facebook on Nov. 2, with winners taking home cash prizes of up to $200. Learn more here, and we look forward to seeing many…

The laws establishing school choice in Wisconsin outline who is eligible to participate in the state’s parental choice programs. To enter the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program or the Racine Parental Choice Program, families must live in the Milwaukee or Racine school districts and have an income that doesn’t exceed 330 percent of the federal poverty level. To be eligible for the statewide Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, families can’t have an income of more than 220 percent of the federal poverty level. An analysis of choice student demographics provide a more detailed picture of who is being served by private choice…

For 62 years, the school now known as Journeys Lutheran School in Hales Corners has been providing high-quality education for students with learning difficulties. Established by the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Journeys has had locations in Milwaukee, Mequon, Glendale, Greendale and Hales Corners over the years, with a number of different names to go along with the different addresses. But while the name, size and location of the school have changed over the years, what hasn’t changed is the school’s commitment to preparing students with unique learning challenges to realize their full educational, social and…