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Renewing public education begins with choice

Bluegrass Institute

An increasing number of Kentucky parents apparently believe that attaining a high-quality public education for their children is no longer achievable. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that parents have been leaving Kentucky’s public-school system and opting for home schooling or private schools faster than any other state in the nation.

It’s just the opposite in Edmonton, Alberta, where private schools have nearly been put out of business by a Canadian public-education system that focuses on parental choice.

The district’s most passionate spokesman is former superintendent Angus McBeath, who says the key to Edmonton’s success begins with the commitment that parents, not their place of residence, should determine which school their children attend.

“Our parents, because they have so much choice in our system, really believe in public education,” he said.

Naysayers claim offering parents a choice of where to school their children will destroy public education. Instead, Edmonton’s entrepreneurial approach that centers on choice – which has been in effect for more than 30 years – has resulted in the closing of most private and charter schools. Only six private schools remain in Edmonton and several Christian schools have even asked to be included under the public-school system’s wing.

The Edmonton school system proves all critics of public-school choice wrong. Sixty-two percent of the district’s high-school students and 54 percent of junior high pupils attend classes outside of the district in which they live. Yet the system continues to be ranked near the top in academic performance worldwide.

Too many Kentuckians have been led to believe that little can be done to change a system that traps our children in failing schools across the commonwealth. But as Edmonton has proven, choice, accountability and competition are not incompatible with public education. Rather, these characteristics are necessary to its renewal and improvement.

Sources:

“Choice, accountability, and performance in the public schools: How Edmonton does it and why it works” by Angus McBeath, Atlantic Institute for Market Studies

“Ten great reasons why Kentucky children deserve school choice,” Bluegrass Institute

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