Editor's note: Dr. Howard Fuller is board chair of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. This is the fourth post in our #schoolchoiceWISH series.

Dr. Fuller

My parental school choice wish this year is to see substantive and real improvements in the life chances of all of our children, particularly those who come from low-income and working-class Black families in America.

For them, the realization of the promise of the American dream remains largely elusive. The crushing impact of poverty with all of its manifestations is the primary reason they face huge odds in their quest for a better life. For them, the only chance they have to improve their individual lives is to have access to a quality education. Yet, in America today, 42 percent of black students attend schools that are under-resourced and performing poorly. Forty-three percent of African-American students will not graduate from high school on time with a regular diploma.

These horrific data will not get better without empowering parents to be able to choose better options for their children. Yet, opponents of parent choice and other transformational education reform initiatives continue to place one obstacle after another in the path of parents seeking the power to choose the best educational environment for their children and/or to fundamentally change some of the systems that purport to educate their children. While cloaking their arguments against these reform efforts in the rhetoric of protecting democracy, ensuring equity, and supporting social justice, they are in fact this generation’s protectors of the status quo. Many of them were at one time opponents of the bureaucracy that now stands in the way of fundamental change, and fighters to empower the people. Now, they ARE the bureaucracy and no longer interested in giving power to the people!!

Throughout history, black people have waged a continuing struggle to educate themselves and their children. Time and again, black people have been in a position where others have had the power to make fundamental decisions about the education of their children. While those in power have employed very different means, the net result has left low-income and working-class African-Americans with fewer high-quality educational options. (more…)

by Kenneth Campbell

Campbell

This week, NBC’s Education Nation is visiting New Orleans on its national tour to get a first-hand look at education challenges and opportunities being faced by local regions. On a national scale, Louisiana, more particularly New Orleans, has long been considered a hotbed for education reform. But this week’s visit is another chance to zero in on the many changes that have taken place and the progress that has been made as part of the massive reform movement  that  has  emerged. Long  before  the  state  took  on  a national profile, the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) was at the forefront of the education reform movement in Louisiana - advocating on behalf of parents and students and fighting for expanded educational options across the state.

It’s no secret that in the last few years, Louisiana has adopted a number of education reforms centered on school choice and teacher accountability, among other key issues. Just last year, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law one of the most advanced and comprehensive education reform bills in the nation. BAEO has been on the ground for more than a decade to help bring these reforms to life.

Early on, we waged a battle against the status quo and promoted the belief that students must come first in all efforts to improve education in Louisiana. We provided a voice for Black children from low-income and working-class families and demanded they have an equal opportunity to compete and succeed. We have seen parents asking for help to rescue their children from failing schools and we have seen the passage and implementation of a comprehensive scholarship “voucher” program that allowed thousands of Louisiana children to trade their destitute educational environments for private schools that gave them hope and a greater chance to achieve. Along the way, we’ve helped parents fight for “choice” and “options,” as well as navigate the system and better leverage the options that are available to them today.

And while there is much more work to be done, we are proud today to see Louisiana has come a long way because of education reform. Today, many of the parents we met early on are reaping the benefits of their hard work and commitment to advocating for their children. Even more, we see those parents feeling empowered, standing up and volunteering to be a voice, not only for their children, but for all of the children who deserve access to a high-quality education. (more…)