Teachers Deserve School Choice Too

Social media has changed the way we see and interact with the world. For many, friends and follower lists are filled by those with whom we share similar experiences, interests and beliefs. And the appeal of being liked, literally, can overcome the virtue of challenging other’s views. So, I can honestly say, I appreciate being connected to people who also oppose the work that I do—some strongly so. Many of these folks are people I don’t know well, but somewhere along the line our paths crossed. So we exchange shareable moments in our lives, though we may rarely—or never—catch up over coffee. Such was the case this weekend when I scrolled past the post of an educator who often criticizes reform, and the very concept of charter schools specifically. Despite our differences of opinion on this issue, I respect her advocacy for other controversial social issues and her passion for working with kids who’ve been labeled tough to teach. On this day she posted about accepting a new teaching position that would take her to a new city. The teacher described her new school as one with a unique and rigorous curriculum, an appealing philosophy about discipline and learning and diverse extracurricular offerings. My first thought: This does sound like an incredible school. My second thought: Good for her, it seems like a great fit. My final thought: I think it’s a charter school. Turns out, it is. As an advocate for school choice, [pullquote position="right"]I’m most driven by the need to empower families with school options.[/pullquote] A child has only one chance at a K-12 education and families want the best for their children. Educational choice creates a more even playing field for those families who cannot afford options beyond their assigned public school. And, for many children, the assigned public school is simply not the best option. I’ve also worked as an educator and with many teachers who work in traditional district schools. So I know that most are also driven to do what’s best for their students. I also know teaching is an incredibly demanding and often difficult job. I understand the complexity of non-educators criticizing and offering solutions for a system in which they’ve never worked. Perhaps the school choice movement, and the educators who oppose it, have veered so far off course that we no longer recognize all that we have in common. When I think about the teachers who really excel in their field, I wonder what they would do with the freedom to design and run schools that they would choose to work in. In other words, [pullquote]what if more educators could and did leverage school choice to improve their own options while at the same time meeting their desire to best serve students?[/pullquote] As advocates for expanding educational choice, we can do more to show that reform is pro-teacher, including by expanding the idea of who would benefit from more options. We can point to the many teachers who start their own charter schools. And we can prioritize the needs of children and families without overlooking the potential to forge meaningful partnerships with the individuals who work with them every day.

Photo by NOAH RIFFE, Twenty20-licensed.

Katie Linehan

Katie Linehan in the Deputy Communications Director for the American Federation for Children, an educational choice advocacy organization, and has been involved in multiple initiatives to expand school choice to her home state of Nebraska. She spent more than a decade working with underserved youth, primarily in North and South Omaha, and as a middle school teacher at Success Academy Charter School in Harlem, New York City. Katie has been an advocate for meaningful education reform in Nebraska since 2010, launching multiple initiatives with that aim. Her other experience includes politics, law, living and working on three different continents, and volunteering with the Benson Area Refugee Task Force, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Girls Inc. of Omaha, and the Lincoln Humane Society. Katie earned her bachelor’s degree from Loyola University New Orleans and her law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

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