As Congress has taken the first major step toward bringing school choice to every state, it is crucial we continue addressing persisting injustices in our own state’s education system as well.
Only one in three Georgia fourth graders are proficient in reading, according to the Nation’s Report Card. That number plummets further when we look at reading levels for Black students, where only 21% of fourth-grade students are proficient in reading.
These students don’t need more excuses. They need options. Unfortunately, school choice — whether at the federal or state level — is often framed as an attack on educators or traditional public education. As a teacher myself, I know just how wrong that is.
I didn’t know I was struggling until I transferred schools
Credit: hand
Credit: hand
Growing up in Augusta, my mother instilled the importance of a quality education in my sister and me. She worked extra jobs, including as a school bus driver to support our family. Unfortunately, the schools we were zoned to attend were underperforming.
My sister was able to escape our failing school through a magnet program, but I wasn’t so lucky. I spent five years on a waitlist for that school, years when I could have been learning so much more.
Despite being an honor roll student with excellent attendance, the true state of my education became clear only when I was finally accepted to the magnet school.
I was immediately struck by the major contrast between the learning environments. The rigor and discipline of my new school overwhelmed me; on my first day, I saw students silently reading, and the unfamiliarity of this scene brought me to tears.
The transition was tough. I struggled to grasp the lessons and adapt to the advanced curriculum. However, my mother, sister, and grandparents all joined together to support me.
My family’s determination and the opportunities afforded by school choice programs opened doors that might have otherwise remained closed. Still, I can’t help but think about the five years that were wasted waiting for that opportunity to materialize.
Georgian students would benefit from more school choices
Earlier this year, Georgia’s legislators did their part to address our state’s significant achievement gap by funding the Georgia Promise Scholarship Program.
Through this program, eligible families can receive up to $6,500 to attend a participating private school, meaning educational success stories can become the rule rather than the exception. With Promise Scholarships, low-income families in qualifying school zones won’t have to watch their children wither in schools that aren’t right for them.
School choice allowed me to follow my dream of becoming a coach and a classroom educator. I understand its transformative power because I personally experienced it when I was a student in Georgia. I have shared my voice in other states. Now, I must speak up in my home state.
As a teacher, it pains me to think about current students who might spend their entire K-12 career on waitlists. Those students are hoping for a better future, but they may never receive it.
School choice unlocked my journey to success and helped me help other young scholars. Now, I hope other Georgia families can follow that same path, and I applaud the legislators who helped forge it.
Let’s work together to ensure everyone has the freedom to thrive by delivering the diverse educational opportunities our youngest citizens deserve.
Allen D. Thompson grew up in Augusta and is an Arizona teacher, school choice alumnus and a Future Leaders Fellow with the American Federation for Children.
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