FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE School Choice Wisconsin Welcomes Linda Appleby as Director of Development   WEST ALLIS, Wis. (January 10, 2023) – Linda Appleby will join School Choice Wisconsin as Director of Development effective January 16, 2023, according to Nicholas Kelly, SCW President. Appleby has extensive experience in complex fundraising environments, including healthcare, higher education, and religious organizations. She brings a deep commitment to parental choice and has worked actively to expand options and improve educational results in her hometown of Beloit. “Linda brings an entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative approach to fundraising that has produced remarkable results. We were struck…

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (January 4, 2023) – Former State Rep. Amy Loudenbeck will join School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) as Director of Policy and Government Affairs effective January 10, 2023, according to Nicholas Kelly, SCW President.  “Amy has a passion to serve Wisconsin children and families. Her commitment to parent choice, her legislative and management experience, and her proven capability to work with diverse constituencies make her a great addition to our team,” Kelly said. Loudenbeck was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2011; she served on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee for the past four sessions and as…

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (December 19, 2022) – School Choice Wisconsin will add two members to its staff, doubling the size of its outreach team, according to Nic Kelly, SCW president. Chris Lawrence and Ryan Huebsch will join SCW effective January 3, 2023. They will work with current staff to educate communities about the value of parental choice programs, develop grassroots support, and help families and students participate. “We are fortunate to welcome two very talented individuals who care deeply about parental freedom. Both bring excellent skills, high energy, and valuable statewide experience to our team,” Kelly said. Chris Lawrence will…

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (November 30, 2022) – After many years of frustration, today we fight back. Our mission at School Choice Wisconsin Action is to advocate for our member schools and families in the parental choice programs. On behalf of our member schools, School Choice Wisconsin Action (SCWA) and two Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) schools have filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) against the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for what we are calling the “perfection rule.” The case challenges DPI’s burdensome policies for the Choice application and verification process. As many…

For Immediate Release September 29, 2022 Contact: Nicholas Kelly On September 29, 2022, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released the state test scores via the Wisconsin Student Assessment System. As in prior years, students in Wisconsin’s school choice programs outperformed traditional public school students on the college-readiness ACT exam. “This continuing pattern is quite noteworthy,” said Nic Kelly, School Choice Wisconsin president. He added: “The fact that choice students from low-income and working-class families score higher on average than public school students is consistent with other data and research. Despite taxpayer funding at 60% of public school levels, choice…

For Immediate Release September 23, 2022 Contact: Nicholas J. Kelly Statement from School Choice Wisconsin and Bender Consulting LLC: School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) and Jim Bender, after more than a decade of success working together to advance educational options for parents, are moving forward on different paths but will remain allies in the fight for school choice. “SCW is grateful to Jim for his service. He has been an effective advocate for our mission of providing parental choice to all families,” said SCW Board Chair Bob DeKoch. “We continue to share a commitment to that goal.” As SCW President and…

For Immediate Release September 8, 2022 Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin’s leading education, policy, and advocacy organizations announced on Thursday the formation of an unprecedented coalition to empower parents and expand educational opportunities for students. The newly formed Wisconsin Coalition for Education Freedom includes seven leading groups that have a unified voice on educational reform. Coalition partners include: Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Wisconsin, American Federation for Children (AFC) – Wisconsin Chapter, the Badger Institute, K12/Stride, School Choice Wisconsin/School Choice Wisconsin Action, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC). “Never before has there been a…

For Immediate Release September 1, 2022   Polling released today by SCWA shows likely Wisconsin voters favor Wisconsin’s school choice programs by a 51-23 margin. The poll also shows that Tim Michels and Tony Evers are in a dead heat in the gubernatorial race. The poll of 600 likely voters was conducted on August 22-24 by On Message Inc. (OMI). Lead OMI pollster Wes Anderson was named “Pollster of the Year” in 2019 by the American Association of Political Consultants. OMI has extensive experience in Wisconsin and is a leading national firm in the area of education public opinion. A…

For Immediate Release April 28, 2022   Two polls, two positive results for school choice in Wisconsin. A Marquette Law School poll released on April 27 shows majority support for dropping family income limits on choice programs in the state. “Extending vouchers for students to attend private or religious schools statewide and without family income limits is supported by 58%,” says Marquette Law School’s news release on the poll. This aligns with a School Choice Wisconsin survey conducted in February 2022 by OnMessage Inc. In that survey, 65 percent agreed that income restrictions need to be dropped so that every…

Download the School Choice Wisconsin Focus Group Presentation 2022.