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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects School Choice Case

December 13, 2023

December 13, 2023 The Wisconsin Supreme Court today unanimously denied a petition seeking to halt Wisconsin’s parental choice programs. “This news will come as a great relief to thousands of Wisconsin families and the schools that serve them. Parents across the state value a program that works for them,” said Nicholas Kelly, president of School Choice Wisconsin.  Kelly thanked the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty for seeking to intervene on behalf of School Choice Wisconsin Action and other parents and students in choice and charter schools and protecting parental choice. He noted that SCW had launched a significant ad…

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Department of Public Instruction Grades Choice Schools Higher Than Public

November 30, 2022

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (November 29, 2022) – A School Choice Wisconsin analysis of DPI Report Cards shows that schools in the state’s parental choice programs have earned higher grades than public schools. “Despite entry barriers, and funding at 60% of public school levels, DPI finds that schools in private school choice programs outperform public schools,” said Nic Kelly, President of School Choice Wisconsin. He added, “These results are consistent with previously released DPI data. That data showed choice students outscoring public school students on the college-readiness ACT test. It also ranked choice students higher on academic proficiency tests.” Students in…

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Special Needs Scholarship Program grows statewide and at Kettle Moraine Lutheran

November 16, 2022

Wisconsin’s choice enrollment is growing. This is no surprise to School Choice Wisconsin given the widespread embrace of educational freedom in Wisconsin and around the country. We are especially pleased to see the growth of the Special Needs Scholarship Program (SNSP), one of Wisconsin’s four choice programs. The program went from a headcount of 1,759 in 2021–22 to 2,217 in 22–23, growing more than 25 percent in one year. One school that’s embracing the program is Kettle Moraine Lutheran in Jackson. That school — with its beautiful facilities and setting — has seen its SNSP enrollment go from zero in…

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High schools in Milwaukee’s and Racine’s choice programs outperform publics

November 16, 2022

Check out our press release here.

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High schools in Milwaukee’s and Racine’s choice programs outperform publics

November 15, 2022

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (November 15, 2022) – High schools in Milwaukee’s and Racine’s parental choice programs outperform public high schools in those districts by a large margin, new data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction show. In the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), 82 percent of students attend high schools that meet, exceed or significantly exceed expectations. Conversely, nearly 80 percent of Milwaukee Public Schools high school students are in schools that meet few or fail to meet expectations. In the Racine Parental Choice Program (RPCP), all high schools meet or exceed expectations. In contrast, in the Racine Unified…

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Catholic schools outperform publics on the Nation’s Report Card

November 15, 2022

As School Choice Wisconsin took a look at recent data released on student achievement in the nation, we noted that Catholic schools outperformed public schools nationwide in math and reading in grades 4 and 8, the grades with data available for 2022. ChoiceWords focuses on Catholic schools here because it’s the only type of private school that gets a standalone data breakout from the NCES, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Department of Education entity that produces the Nation’s Report Card. Think tanks, journalists, educators and others use the Report Card data to gauge progress in the nation’s…

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School Choice Wisconsin moves to new office in West Allis

November 8, 2022

School Choice Wisconsin has moved into a new office. It’s a nice space at 10427 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite 1800, in West Allis. We have a new sign, a new rug and pumpkin-scented candles. Our contact info remains the same. Email us at [email protected] or call us at 414-319-9160.  

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If you see us, stop by and chat

November 7, 2022

If you see a School Choice Wisconsin table at a local event, stop by. We’d like to chat with you about the growing movement for educational empowerment. Here’s our table at the recent Wisconsin Lutheran State Teachers’ Conference at Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee.

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Educating parents about choice is essential

October 28, 2022

If you’re a parent out there benefitting from choice, spread the word! In ChoiceWords’ experience, parents like to hear about options for their kids. Also, please contact ChoiceWords at [email protected] to share your story. Educating parents on the fine points of Wisconsin’s four parental choice programs is key to making sure they get their kids into a school that fits their family. Many Wisconsin parents may know about choice but not know the particulars of how to get into the programs.   Principal Megan Sagat introduced school choice at St. Peter’s School, a Catholic school in East Troy, five years ago. Sagat…

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DPI data continue to show positive results for students in school choice programs

October 17, 2022

For Immediate Release October 17, 2022 Contact: Nicholas Kelly Newly released data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction show that students in Wisconsin’s school choice programs continue to outperform those in traditional schools. “These results explain year-after-year growth in the numbers of families enrolling their children in the state’s choice programs,” said Nic Kelly, School Choice Wisconsin president. As previously reported, students in Wisconsin’s school choice programs outperformed traditional public school students on the college-readiness ACT exam. See School Choice Wisconsin’s release here. DPI also has released data on the state’s Forward and ACT Aspire exams. The Forward Exam…

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