Dr. Shaunette Parker
From social distance in grocery stores to services at the drive-in church, the coronavirus pandemic has made us reimagine many elements of our daily lives, especially K-12 education. Now more than ever, parents need flexible and affordable learning options for their children. Choosing a school can be an effective solution to our state’s education struggles – if accompanied by community membership.
Before the coronavirus attack, South Carolina was already behind other states’ performance in test scores, with black students struggling especially with performance gaps. In this context, COVID-19 has increasingly fragmented what families look for in a learning environment. Some mothers and fathers have family members at risk at home; some have children who struggle with distance learning; some can stay at home; some cannot.
As COVID-19 forced families to face their unique priorities, there were major changes in the educational choices that families made this year. The number of enrollments in virtual charter schools has increased, for example, and some sectors of our state have seen the growth of private schools as parents struggled to meet their children’s learning needs in the classroom. But does our educational status quo support all types of families in choosing the best education for their children, or just those with resources?
Throughout the state, South Carolina offers free online virtual education, home education, magnet programs and charter schools. Some parents may also choose to use open enrollment, in which some districts allow students to attend public schools outside their neighborhood. And parents of children with special needs can choose to enroll in the SC Exceptional Program to help fund school fees regardless of their choice.
Although our state offers some valuable school options, these options are not uniformly accessible to all types of families. Especially after the disruption, we need more community support to make school choice meaningful and accessible to everyone.
The most vulnerable families often encounter the greatest obstacles in accessing school choice. In many cases, families do not receive clear information about public school options and whether there are different learning philosophies in schools that they can choose from. And last year, many families yearned for face-to-face learning and smaller classrooms than the private school represented – but costs forbade their access. Families are eager for support. When Governor McMaster proposed SAFE Grants to provide single scholarships to up to 5,000 families to help pay private school tuition, there was a rapid interest from 15,000 families.
Children have diverse needs and legislators must show that they value all types of families and all diverse needs in our state. But it doesn’t just depend on policymakers. Each member of our community has an interest in ensuring that our educational system reaches its full potential. Teachers, parents and even those who have no children should be concerned with investing in public and private learning opportunities so that all families have options that work for them and meet their needs.
While we do not have an easy solution to our education problems, the real solution will come from the collective work of all stakeholders – families, teachers, administrators and policy makers – within our community.
Dr. Shaunette Parker is the Outreach Director for My SC Education. For over 15 years, she has worked to support positive youth development and effective education in underserved communities.