Op-ed: School choice a gateway of opportunity for children
Campuses like YES Prep, KIPP, along with vouchers, savings programs, create opportunities for students
February 18, 2015
| Sen. Ted Cruz
From the Houston Chronicle:
Across Texas, we are witnessing something remarkable: urban and small-town students, school administrators and home-school families, teachers and parents are standing together for the right of each child to have access to a quality education.
School choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. It's providing children in Texas and around the country opportunities to pursue their talents and ambitions.
Since 2000, the number of charter schools in Texas has more than tripled, and this has delivered hope and opportunity to thousands of our students.
Take, for example, the Cid family in an Austin suburb. Mr. and Mrs. Cid have five children, and when Founder's Classical Academy, a public charter school, opened this past August, they were excited to have a free option for their three eldest kids to receive a quality education. "The teachers and the curriculum make the difference," Mrs. Cid explains. "All of my kids have grown a lot and been challenged, and if we had to pay I wouldn't be able to send them there." Their fourth son is on the kindergarten waitlist, along with more than 700 applicants for roughly 50 spots.
