School choice gains steam

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

School choice encourages parental involvement, a crucial asset for the long-term mission of improving our state's education system. Parents of 289 students have proven that point anew by choosing to file applications for admission to the new Charleston Charter School for Math & Science. Though space limitations required school officials to admit only 180 of those students, the clear public yearning for more and better educational options re-confirms that school choice is an idea whose time has come.

Thirty of the nearly 300 parents who applied for their children's admission even got involved by showing up at the Charleston County Library's main branch last week for the lottery drawing that determined which students could attend the Math & Science charter school on the campus of the former Rivers Middle School downtown. The school will open in August for sixth- through ninth-graders, with additional grades through the 12th added annually.

While parents whose children weren't lucky enough to have their numbers drawn for admission were understandably disappointed, the lottery process assured a fair and equal chance for all applicants to the school, which has no entrance test. And the strong public demand for spots in the school assures strong parental involvement.

One of those disappointed parents, Louis Lawrence, told our reporter that he wants his son, who's entering the sixth grade in August, to have the best education possible. That's an admirable sentiment that can be fostered throughout our community and state by expanding school choice. As Mr. Lawrence put it: "We want change. We want something different. We want opportunity."

More educational opportunities also will be offered by the Charleston County School District's move to turn West Ashley Middle and St. Andrew's Middle into partial magnet schools. Those designations would allow a significant number of parents to choose which school best serves their children's needs — the St. Andrew's Academy of Single-Gender and Mathematics or West Ashley Middle, which is considering a focus on technology and creative writing.

That initiative reflects the push from both State Education Superintendent Jim Rex and Charleston County Superintendent Nancy McGinley for increasing educational choices with innovative approaches.

Gov. Mark Sanford also has repeatedly appealed for enhanced school choice. Fortunately, as Tom Davis, the governor's chief of staff, told us during a state-of-the-state briefing last week, many education officials who were once wary of school choice have come around to it. Mr. Davis hailed charter schools for strengthening independence and parental control, stressing: "The most critical component of public-school choice would be invigorating charter schools."

And one of the most critical benefits of charter schools is invigorating parental involvement in education.