February 8, 2022 Contact: Nicholas Kelly, 414.319.9160 BROOKFIELD, WI – Three new board members with extensive backgrounds in school choice advocacy, community outreach, and business have joined the School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) board, said Nicholas Kelly, SCW president. The three are: Jason Fields, President and CEO of Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadRep); Jim Kitzinger, founding partner of KLCM Advisors, an investment management firm in Wisconsin, and an investor in Milwaukee Forge; and Tammy Olivas, Outreach Director for Hispanics for School Choice (HFSC) since October 2011. “We look forward to the positive impact that these very competent and passionate individuals will…

  Contact: Nicholas Kelly, 414.319.9160  January 31, 2022 BROOKFIELD, WI – Last Friday night, School Choice Wisconsin was proud to host one of the nation’s most significant National School Choice Week events at Lambeau Field. Keynote speaker Governor Tommy Thompson, founding member of the school choice movement, electrified the crowd with a speech about the history of school choice and what the future of the movement holds. He pushed for a path ahead where all families have access to all of our educational options. Wisconsin Right Now has written an account of Governor Thompson’s full speech, which you can read…

  Contact: Nicholas Kelly, 414.319.9160   BROOKFIELD, WI – This Friday, School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) will be hosting an event at Lambeau Field to celebrate National School Choice Week. We will host over 29 schools and school systems from around the state. SCW will have over 300 guests, including parents, state legislators, businesses, and other community leaders who support our mission. In addition, SCW will have an all-star lineup of guest speakers. Our keynote speaker is former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson. Leading up to this event, SCW founder and former SCW board chair Susan Mitchell has published an article here that provides…

Contact: Jim Bender, School Choice Wisconsin [email protected] 414.319.9160   Brookfield, WI – Upon the announcement that Representative Thiesfeldt will not run for reelection, School Choice Wisconsin thanks him for his years of public service and dedication to education in Wisconsin. As chairman of the Assembly Education Committee his guidance and assistance has been invaluable to lives of thousands of students across Wisconsin. In particular, his support for the Parental Choice Programs helped transform the landscape of education reform. When first elected, there was a single program in Milwaukee with roughly 100 schools and 21,000 students. Today, there are four programs,…

For Immediate Release October 15, 2021 Contact: Jim Bender, School Choice Wisconsin [email protected]  414.319.9160 Brookfield, WI – The Department of Public Instruction released enrollment numbers today for all education sectors in Wisconsin for this fall. Here is the data from their press release: The state’s four private school parental choice programs (4) reported a combined third Friday of September 2021 headcount of 48,919. This was an increase of 6.6 percent over 2020. 4K headcount in the private school parental choice programs increased by 10.7 percent, kindergarten increased by 5.1 percent, and grades 1-12 were up by 6.5 percent. Independent charter…

School Choice Wisconsin (SCW) has named Nicholas Kelly to the position of president, effective immediately, said Susan Mitchell, acting president and board chair. Kelly joined SCW in July.  He formerly was the principal of St. Thomas More High School, a private school in Milwaukee that participates in Wisconsin’s parental choice programs. As a principal Mr. Kelly took a special interest in making his students feel part of the school community. Under his leadership St. Thomas More implemented a four-year servant leadership program, an after-school mentoring/tutoring program, and a social and emotional wellness program through student services. He took a holistic approach…

For Immediate Release Contact: Jim Bender, Government Affairs and Public Policy Consultant School Choice Wisconsin Brookfield, WI – The following is a statement from School Choice Wisconsin’s Government Affairs and Public Policy Consultant, Jim Bender on Governor Evers’ budget provision calling for the freezing of enrollment in the Parental Choice Programs: “There is a clear divide in education in Wisconsin today – not between public and private, but between open and closed. One small, but very influential camp, is utilizing resources to force kids to stay home, the other is working night and day to provide in-person instruction in a…

For Immediate Release Contact: Jim Bender, School Choice Wisconsin [email protected] 414.319.9160 Brookfield, WI – In celebration of National School Choice Week, School Choice Wisconsin is releasing an OnMessage statewide education poll that shows Wisconsin parents have a strong desire for educational flexibility during the COVID pandemic. School Choice Wisconsin commissioned the poll of 800 Wisconsin likely voters in the late fall of 2020 to collect reactions to school closures, enrollment options and other aspects of parental empowerment in education. Major findings: 62% want schools to be open with some form of in-person education. (Yesterday, the CDC released a study supporting…