Exploring School Choice Options In North Carolina

I don't know how you can be against these programs is if you are your essentially benefit from this is family policy with NC family Pres. John Weston thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters. We are right in the middle of the back-to-school season for the traditional school calendar here in North Carolina and more families than ever are taking advantage of the variety of educational options that exist in our state. The general assembly continues to expand school choice opportunities, making North Carolina a national leader in the arena of school choice and also empowering parents to determine the educational environment that best suits their children. Our guest today is Brian Jonas, Executive Vice President of parents for educational freedom in North Carolina or PEF and see which is a statewide organization that seeks and supports greater educational opportunities for parents and students and we really look forward to talking with Brian today about school choice options in North Carolina are broad welcome to family policy matters is great to have you back on the show jumped. Always great to be here for strict opportunity. I know one of the big stories that we have seen recently is that in the end, considering the educational landscape here in North Carolina is a declining number of students who are actually attending traditional public schools and growing numbers who are attending other school choice options here in the state brought up why are we seeing this decline in traditional public school enrollment and do you consider that to be a good thing a bad thing, or perhaps kind of a mixed bag not to be on it.think of the bit of a mixed bag.

I look at it from a few different angles.

But there's a question would probably have to have to comply. The trends are happening it and it didn't point were looking at to three years in a row years really, but not much of a trend, but probably just the way it is.

I think the bigger thing is that families are just that, having choice. So think about both of us walk around the smart phone that basically a minicomputer in our pocket every single day and the average American is somewhere between 40 and 50 apps on their smart phone me. We make choices every single day. You make hundreds of choices. Basically, at that standpoint. Every day at our fingertips might think that families and in this generation of families adjusted to having more choices than I think were starting to shift out of this mindset that says because I live in because I'm in this address on the go to this school for elementary school. This group of middle school of the school by school just not that way anymore. Families are just looking to navigate what educational options are out there for them now.

I also think that we look at without interest in public schools in your down 30,000 students in enrollment and on the nontraditional methods public charter schools look 19,000 globe on that side of things your reason why so we can gloss over the fact that maybe it is an educational quality issue. Maybe it is a safety issue. Want to give him family to know why they're making these choices. That's what we try to do here. Families come to us on a daily basis and to help no one else is out there and we help navigate through that but we just want family to be empowered with my wife and I sat down as a family and we made a parental school choice options not so well. Our daughter in the traditional public school where we would love every moment that she gets right into the first great get ready go to school here just a week or two, excited for that. So that was the correct choice we make.

We swallowed our family to make this come choices and when the collector stucco system that's out looking for help and find might be a better fit. I know that this year marks the fifth year for North Carolina's opportunity scholarship programs so talk a little bit about the experiences you've had with that in the families who are benefiting from John.

Thank you and Emily anywhere you look at where we come from. It really is quite remarkable.

This program was established in 2013 what's really great talk about as well that is one of three incredible programs are helping families across our state to integrate point, I think North Carolina. I love that we have three state-sponsored programs that help families to which are designed to help families with special needs or disabilities. Grant, which was established in 2011 in our ESA program, which was just established a year ago opportunity scholarship looking at your number five and five years of this program.

Here's where we are right now this coming school year. Getting ready to start really your next few weeks will see about 10,700 students somewhere in that neighborhood enrolled in private school there parents choice with an opportunity scholarship and we had almost 11,000 new families apply for spot this fall so incredible growth on that front. This program will continue to grow in the coming years are general assembly. I think in a very wise move forward funded the program in 2028 2029 school year, and so will continue to grow from there. Just be seen incredible good man families and said again that were just looking for some other options for the 1.4 million students enrolled in traditional public school today for many, many of those students is a great option. But for some families feel like they're stuck or trapped in the system that doesn't work for them and quite frankly don't have the time to wait around for the system to improve everything we can to improve those traditional public schools but can't do is lose generation of kids while that's happening in introductory scholarship program helps in tolerating families continues to grow strong programs working well and is accountable back to those family.the beauty of your move elsewhere, but it's going well were excited about in those opportunity scholarships are made available to lower income families talk about the eligibility standards for those not really. Below is strictly defined and hopefully the folks that need it most always been school short light like family family with a little bit more money always been able to return to school choice, for that matter. I count myself very fortunate thank God every single day because we moved to North Carolina when I was going to the fourth grade, my parents exercising parental school choice and whereabouts at St. Mary's elementary school to the Goldsboro and that my wife and it is a big reason why I personally do the work I do today. Unfortunately, those options aren't available for every single family and so this program helps low income family. There are income those ability requirements based on the size of their household and mucosa eligibility requirements and they can apply for it and then get accepted for this $4200 scholarship hello by the way that oftentimes doesn't cover maybe half of what tuition is private school so the families are still stuck out skin in the game, schools and local communities are doing the same and now it's good right now.

10,000 a kid because of things I think you are listening to policy matters of resource from to listen to our radio show online resources have a place of persuasion in your community website see family collecting around earlier this summer. Researchers from NC State University released the first ever academic impact analysis evaluating the opportunity scholarship program. They found in the study, positive impact program and I always It was a small pool but they were able to pull from. But what they did was a comparative study so essentially that opportunity scholarship students in the research team did as close as they could to apples comparison.

They found students who met very similar socioeconomic background demographics in the traditional public schools, and they have those two sets of students take the same nationally known test and the results show that on that study, the opportunity scholarship students without performing their public school counterparts. Now, I don't believe this is the end all be and others.

No need for any major parades in the street. What I do think it shows that a qualitative study like this can be done and that if given the opportunity families with their demanding these programs are looking for better educational outcome for their students in the study show that those dudes are starting to get that. So I think it's a great first step, we applauded team for making it happen and we also support ongoing research evaluating academic outcomes, as well as more qualitative factors like rental center section of these programs stuck on one of the fastest-growing aspects of school choice here in Carolina is the number of students that are being homeschooled, how does homeschooling fit into the educational landscape I and what kinds of resources and policies. Does North Carolina have to support home school families just really pretty incredible. If you look at the trajectory of homeschool here in our state. Over the last year we've added nearly 8000 new students into a homeschool. So right now and a lot of this is based off of a very sound estimates because it's always hard to put an exact number on how many right now. We estimate just over 135,000 students being educated in homeschooled in our state that most of you look at the big three nontraditional methods futile between private school public charter and homeschool homeschooled uppermost with the bird.

But like the growing trend of parents desire to customize their children's education, we've created a climate that does that for them.

And as long as those homeschools meet some reporting requirements make up the autonomy to kind of do what they see best fit and that's about it is local education control (educating the child now brought. I know that some people respond to public charter schools in state-sponsored scholarship programs and homeschooling options and say that those types of programs really hurt traditional public schools by taking away students and related findings. How do you respond to those concerns you. John have to talk about this a lot and often times, he proposed that way. It's unfortunate that were in an environment where it have to be.

I feel like opposition to these programs to the parental school choice movement is very much a one or the other not hundred percent. The public schools are not with affection, crazy still one of the largest advocates for parental school choice in our state.

Yet I still choose to enroll my daughter Patricia public school because I believe in that system and applied it should.

It's the vast majority of kids are state, we should be able to have all of these options on the table so it seems a bit crazy to me that we have to just be so divisive in just one or the other. I think we can put all these options on the table. That's a good thing. Charter schools in our state is given the chance and the ability to be a little more flexible, and I will be more freedom, but those are public schools as a public school students. Those streams and their families pay taxes they ought to have the chance to educate a little bit of choice as to whether to go to school delectable good choice for me to say and so it is tricky and I always go back to this to. No one is forcing no one is forced are told they must enroll the public charter school or private school, homeschooled or making that choice and that ultimately empower your parent work will many times John this is the first ever had a seat at the educational table they've ever had someone hear their voice and so what were starting to see that there's a lot that we think works appear fancy. If you have a motivated and engaged teacher student who wants to learn and all kids in the DNA are wired to want to learn and you got a parent with a seat at the table. I don't care where I don't care that's in the public school, private school charter or the homeschool of that equation can be the leading factor to have better academic success for kids. TSMC has really focused on telling the individual stories of families who have been impacted by North Carolina's focus on empowering parents to make the best educational decisions for their own children. What is been say one of your favorite stories from the families that she is interacted with that have benefited from opportunity scholarships or other school choice program. There are so many are so many and not as I would ask if you were so inclined to direct people to parents educational freedom to our website and also PEF and see.org/video they go there. We held a lot of YouTube channel houses. Well, the PF and see.org/video the most up-to-date and if they go there. The top of that page story about a mom Charlotte. Her name is Janet non-entered debtor heard her name is Mariah. She was a victory Christian school which is in Charlotte and Janet really beginning to apply for scholarship obligate.

We had the injunction in the court battle of the constitutional ruling and jet with every step away and in that video. She shares her story naturally is a video with her back in 2015 until we took the chance this summer to sit down with her and look back at that watching the video she reactions very emotional, but she she has a daughter who was just behind and just struggling in the traditional public school that she was energy's collection wasn't getting a chance she could barely read.

She was behind grade level and she moved to this new school and this kid has just completely blossomed. When you get to hear and see the stories.

I don't know how you can be against these programs because if you are your essentially the families who benefit from them on Yahoo again done such a great job not only advocating for these opportunity scholarship and other educational programs in North Carolina, but also highlighting in and helping to tell the stories and enabling of the families that benefit from these programs to tell their story so others can understand them better learn from them and take advantage of them as well so were grateful for that and I do want to encourage our listeners to visit your website that PEF and see.org and without Ron Jonas were out of time, but I want to thank you so much for being with us on family policy matters and for your incredibly important work. Texting and expanding educational opportunities for parents and students in North Carolina.

You've been listening to family policy matters production of NZ family to listen to our radio show online, and for more resources and information about issues important to families in North Carolina go to my website and see family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook