🐴 March 2020: The Month That Changed Everything (#124)

It's National School Choice Week, which means a lot of people are arguing about education on X.

But education isn't an argument. It's millions of families trying to help their kids thrive.

Our stance? It's too nuanced for sound bites or bumper stickers.

That's why we’re releasing two podcast conversations this week - one with Grant Hewitt (our own VP of Partnerships), who helped design education savings accounts in multiple states, and one with Andrew Campanella, who runs the National School Choice Awareness Foundation and has spent 20 years helping families navigate their options (from public to private, charter to magnet, homeschool to microschool, and everything in between).

Here's what we know: The traditional system works great for some kids. For others, it's torture. Most fall somewhere in between.

The short version of this story? More options exist today than ever before, and parents are done apologizing for wanting choices.

If we had to put it on a bumper sticker: "Every kid deserves their best shot.”

But stick around. The full story is way more interesting.

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💡 THOUGHT

The Month That Changed Everything

Parent shaming used to be a national sport. Homeschoolers were viewed with suspicion. Alternative education was for "those people."

Then March 2020 happened.

Suddenly, every parent became a homeschooler.

Some for 2 weeks.
Some for 2 months.
Some forever.

But that shared experience changed education forever.

For the first time in American history, nearly every parent experienced the exact same pain point at the exact same time. As Grant Hewitt, VP of Partnerships at OpenEd, explains in our latest podcast:

"Even 9/11, while it sparked amazing patriotism across America, felt different if you were in New York versus watching it on Good Morning America. But with COVID and school closures, almost every parent in America experienced the exact same thing."

Whether you chose public school, private school, or kitchen table – parents started supporting each other's choices. Judgment of other parents melted away.

Watch/listen to the full conversation →

📊 TREND

School Choice or Student Choice?

For decades, parents were told they didn't know enough to make educational decisions.

"Trust the experts," they heard. "Follow the system.”

Then something changed. In our latest podcast, Andrew Campanella reveals a shocking stat: Interest in non-traditional education jumped 220% in one year.

Why? Parents stopped asking for permission.

The dominoes are falling fast:

• Texas just proposed a $10,000 per student freedom account →

• Wyoming's universal scholarship bill cleared committee 9-0 →

• Idaho legislature introduced a $50M tax credit program →

• Tennessee House just passed universal choice →

The old conversation was about ‘school choice.’ The new one is about family freedom and student choice - letting parents build custom paths that work for their kids.

Hear Andrew's full insights →

🛠️ TOOL

A Map for the Educational Maze

With 132,000 schools and 33 states offering various funding programs, how do you make sense of your options?

Here are two essential resources for navigating the landscape:

1. EdChoice: Clear, non-partisan breakdowns of every state's programs, from tax credits to ESAs.

2. MySchoolChoice.com

Remember: This isn't about public vs. private anymore. It's about finding the right fit for your child.

That’s all for today!

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)

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