To the Editor:
School choice is a hot topic in Virginia, especially as our great commonwealth debates the merits of school choice policies. While the theme of school choice is most often discussed in terms of policies that provide students and families with options, we often overlook the fact that teachers are also given options for their profession via advances in choice.
The fact is every educational setting is a choice. In creating a profession to serve the students of the 21st century, teachers across the country, and here in Virginia, have begun to take advantage of the possibilities offered by new school environments like never before. Whether that is a traditional district public school, a public charter school, or virtual school, teachers are seeing an advancing profession.
I often think back to my own experiences in the public school system with limited options in high school for courses in advanced sciences or foreign languages. Having access to virtual courses, blended learning, and school choice, would have greatly impacted my education, and may have even led me down a different career path. I often believe that I may have chosen a career in computing, a STEM field, had those courses been available to me.
Generations later, too many children across this state are still affected by a rigid system based on zip codes. My experience in the classroom has taught me to appreciate a variety of learning styles. All students do learn differently. A one-size-fits-all learning environment does little to meet the needs of all stakeholders–teachers included.
While some try and promulgate a myth that teachers are not in favor of choice policies, there are thousands of teachers across states such as Virginia supportive of school choice. Many educators are reaping the benefits of choice every day, not only in advancing career options, but in experiencing the eager faces of parents and children who enter their classroom, by choice. According to the membership survey by the Association of American Educators (AAE), the largest national, nonunion teacher association, teachers agree with laws that are advancing parental and student choice.
During my career in education, I know how important school choice has been to me. Having worked in public and private schools, school choice meant that I was able to find an environment that matched my teaching style and that allowed me to flourish as a teacher. School choice, through vouchers, also meant that my students in Southeast D.C. had a choice to find a school where they could succeed academically and a chance to overcome the challenges of poverty that surrounded them.
This week is National School Choice Week and as an educators’ organization, the Association of American Educators is celebrating all teachers and their professional choices. As education reform advances, it’s easy for us to cautiously approach new policies. However, it’s also important to remember that change is ushering in exciting opportunities and endless possibilities that will benefit our communities and profession for years to come.
Melissa Pratt
Melissa Pratt is the professional programs manager for the Association of American Educator and a former middle school social studies teacher. She resides in Alexandria.