The importance of parents having the option to choose which education would best fit their children is not a new topic.Private schools have been around for more than 150 years in Tennessee and the state’s first public charter school opened in 2003. Still, availability and financial resources remain barriers to many families looking for the best educational fit for their children and those challenges serve as the cornerstone of National School Choice Week (NSCW).NSCW is an annual awareness week held in January and led by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation (NSCAF) with the purpose of informing and showcasing the benefits of school choice. The program has been around since 2011 and has since partnered with various nonprofits across the country to plan and promote the different events held during the week.¶
On Tuesday the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the American Federation for Children (AFC) joined together to host Tennessee’s NSCW event on Capitol Hill. Education leaders like Senator Jack Johnson and Representative Mark White spoke about school choice. Memphis churches and organizations brought in a collection students and parents from to attend.Charlene Compton was among those making the trip from Memphis.Compton talked about the positive impact school choice has had for her youngest child’s education. Having put her oldest children through the public school system, she was dissatisfied with the education quality they received. She felt that they weren’t receiving the ideal fit for their academic needs.Through school choice, Compton was able to get connected with different charter schools to help her pick the best fit for her youngest child.“I brought four more—they’re grown—but I brought them through the public education system. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that I couldn’t pick a school for my child, just ‘your child gotta go through this school here’ but you know that school right over there is giving better education. But because of the boundaries set, my children can’t go to that school, they have to go to the school here because I’m not financially able to put them there,” said Compton. “School choice opens up that door for me to be able to say, ‘No. I don’t like the curriculum that’s offered at this school.’ I can take my child to this school, and it affords them to get a better education.”Compton’s youngest child was also present at the event, further emphasizing her mother’s words with her views as a student who has had the opportunities school choice brings.“I feel [school choice] is good because other kids get the same opportunities I get to and some kids don’t get to do that. So it gives them options, like, if they don’t fit in a public school, they can go to a private [school]. If they don’t fit in a private, they can go to a public. So I just feel that it gives them a choice and opportunity, but it’s a good decision.”National School Choice Week runs from January 22 to January 28.¶
