School Choice is Good for Teachers, Too

As choices in education styles continue to expand, teachers will see more opportunities to create and/or work in educational models that hew to their vision and values, maximize their expertise and result in better outcomes for students.

Across the nation many states have already broadened their educational choices within the last year:

– Arkansas created its first voucher program.
– Indiana expanded its voucher and tax-credit-scholarship programs.
– Nevada implemented the nationꞌs most inclusive program by making education savings accounts (ESAs) available to more than 90% of students.

Florida is leading the way in expanding educational choice. In addition to having one of the highest numbers of charter schools and charter school students, Florida also:

– Tripled funding for its education savings accounts in 2015.
– Has the nation’s largest tax-credit-scholarship program.
– Employs 40,000 teachers who do not work for school districts, and 14,000 of them work in charter schools.
– Implemented the largest voucher program for students with disabilities.
– Has the second-largest pre-K voucher program.

Decentralization of education through expanded choice is the best remedy, for both students and teachers. Educational choices provide opportunities for teachers to find or create schools that play to their strengths and interests. New programs, such as Course Access, give teachers innovative platforms to think outside the box. Tools like ESAs give parents direct access to all the educational services their children may need, including teacher-run schools.

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