Remarks at the 2019 Western Kentucky School Choice Rally

It's National School Choice Week, and today I was honored to be a speaker at the second annual Western Kentucky School Choice Rally held in Madisonville. While some of the schools we were expecting didn't make it due to snow closures, we still had over 250 students and faculty members from schools across the Western part of the state.

In my comments I tried to emphasize the fundamental unfairness that affluent families already exercise school choice every day, while low-income families often have far fewer, if any, options. The full text of my speech follows:

Good morning, everyone! I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here with all of you, especially you students. Just yesterday we celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man committed to equality of opportunity for every person, regardless of their income or skin color. And in celebrating school choice we extend Dr. King’s legacy of demanding for social justice by giving every family the right to choose a school that is the best fit for their family. It’s a great cause we celebrate today, and I thank you for being here.

I’m pleased to share this podium today with other great champions of school choice, including Rep. Melinda Prunty, who I am going to invite to the microphone momentarily.

First I want to say a few words about what brings ME here today. I have the good fortune to travel the state and visit schools and students and community members all over the Commonwealth in my role as a member of the Kentucky Board of Education and as a professor of education administration. But today I am not here in either of those roles. Today I’m speaking to you as a dad and as a lifelong educator and advocate for great schools.

First and most proudly, I’m a dad. My kids attend St. Joseph School in Bowling Green and I’m absolutely delighted to see a great delegation from St. Joe’s here at this rally today. Make some noise Saints!

My kids love attending St. Joseph School. But I want you to understand that my wife and I did not choose St. Joe’s for our children because we believe it’s BETTER than the other schools in our community. We are very blessed in Bowling Green to have outstanding public schools, private faith based schools, and even a private Montessori school.

We chose St. Joseph simply because it’s the best fit for OUR kids. And we deeply respect the right of other parents who have chosen other schools because that’s the best fit for THEIR kids.

The problem is that there are many children for which St. Joseph or some other school WOULD be the best fit but they can’t get access because their families can’t afford tuition, or because the scholarship funds to help lower income families are insufficient, or in the case of public schools, they often can’t get access to their best-fit school because of where they live.

Friends, that situation is wrong. EVERY family should have access to the school that best meets their child’s needs. EVERY family, regardless of their income or their ZIP code deserves the same opportunities that my family has enjoyed.

So as a DAD, that’s why I support school choice.

But I also support school choice as a public school educator. Some people mistakenly believe that when we call for school choice we are somehow undermining public education. But nothing could be further from the truth. Friends, this is my 22nd year working in education. I’ve worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and district administrator. Other than 3 precious years I spent in Catholic education, all of those years have been in the service of public schools. Today I train teachers who will someday be principals in public schools. I am absolutely committed to strong, well-funded public schools because I believe they are and always will be the first CHOICE of schools for most families.

But friends, I’ve worked in schools long enough to know that it’s impossible for any school, no matter how good, to be a perfect fit for EVERY child. We place an impossible burden on hard-working educators when we ask them to do what cannot be done. The needs and interests of children and their families are simply too diverse to expect a single school to be all things to all people.

We should have MANY different schooling models in every community with an interest level to support them: STEM-oriented academies, faith-based schools, project-based learning, classical education, Montessori - these are all education approaches that have their place and appeal - for SOME children and families.

Families with money can usually get access to these options. Why is it okay to deny low-income families a choice of schools? There are many children who would be here with you TODAY, except the system denies them a choice of schools because of where they live or how much money their parents make.

Friends, this is not okay. For me as a dad, I’m here to say it’s not okay. For me as an educator, I’m here to say it’s not okay. We are all here because we believe in public policies that EMPOWER families with the ability to do what’s best for their own children, just like I did for mine, just like EVERY affluent family in this state can do for theirs.

So we’re not here today to celebrate school choice for my children, or for any of the students who are here today. No, we’re here representing the voices of those students and families who CANNOT be here, whose voice cannot be heard, who is denied the same privilege the rest of us have enjoyed.

This dad and educator wants to thank you today for standing up for EVERY Kentucky family, every school, and every teacher who wants to do the best they can for the children they serve!

The statewide School Choice Week Rally will be held in Frankfort on Thursday, January 24. Will hope to update with more photos and comments then.

Usual disclaimer: Views expressed on this website are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of any affiliated with Western Kentucky University (where I am professor of educational administration, leadership, and research) or the Kentucky Board of Education (where I am a member and serve as chair of the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment committee).

Related posts:

• Why I support scholarship tax credits for Kentucky, and you should too
• Does giving parents education options "divert money" from public schools?
• Expand educational options for Kentucky families with scholarship tax credits
• Scholarship tax credits: Kentucky's best chance for school choice
• EdChoice Kentucky advocates more schooling options for all families
• A School Choice Primer, Parts I, II, and III