Chicago Tribune calls for school choice in Illinois

It’s time to bring school choice to Illinois – so says the Chicago Tribune, in a convincing editorial published this weekend. Not only did the Tribune discuss the poor performance of Chicago’s persistently low-performing schools, it also talked about successful school choice programs in Wisconsin and Indiana – Illinois’ neighbors to the north and east....

It’s time to bring school choice to Illinois – so says the Chicago Tribune, in a convincing editorial published this weekend.

Not only did the Tribune discuss the poor performance of Chicago’s persistently low-performing schools, it also talked about successful school choice programs in Wisconsin and Indiana – Illinois’ neighbors to the north and east.

But the most moving part of the editorial talked about a parent whose child has benefited from a scholarship provided by Educational Choice Illinois – a nonprofit organization that advocates for school choice.

Willie Mae McGee – a day-care worker and mother of two from Chicago – was able to send her child to private school in Humboldt Park, thanks to a scholarship that organization provided. Her daughter is currently in first grade reading at a third-grade level.

But Chicago’s lowest-performing public schools are truly failing the city’s children.

Last year, 75 percent of elementary students at these schools failed to meet standards on the Illinois Standard Achievement Test meaning they are unable to read and do math at grade level.

More than 90 percent of high schools students failed to meet standards on the Prairie State Achievement Exam, meaning they can only draw simple conclusions from reading assignments and have trouble doing basic algebra.

It’s time for school choice in Illinois. Not only because it’s morally wrong to force children to attend failing schools, but also – as the Tribune says in its concluding paragraph: “Luck should not determine who gets the opportunity for a better education. Wealth should not determine who gets a choice. ZIP codes should not determine who gets a choice.”