Guest MINDSETTER™ Barden: My School Choice Story
Saturday, January 28, 2017
My story begins eight years ago, in a theatre in Cumberland. I sat amongst other parents and watched as small manila envelopes were dropped into a drum. My son’s name was in one of them. The anxiety and tension in the room was intense, but I had been through this before…kind of.
By this point in the game I had been contacted by three other charter schools to let me know my son was “number whatever” on their waiting list, and basically there was no chance of him starting there in September. I had also already committed and signed a contract with my parish school stating if I withdrew him before school started, I’d owe a quarter of the tuition; if I withdrew him after the first day of school, I’d owe the whole thing. And unfortunately, my designated town school -- based on my zip code-- was not meeting my expectation and was just not an option for him.
So, I sat. I sat and listened to the names being called out. I sat there hoping and wishing that he’d be lucky (like many did that night). And then it happened, with just three names left, his name was called. In that moment, I officially became the parent of a kindergartener and the parent of a charter school child.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTI realize I was lucky and that my family had the means to have more than one option. That is not the case with every family in Rhode Island, and that is why I speak up to enlighten those who question why we need school choice. I usually start with the fact that we are given choice with almost everything else, so why not in education? We have the right to choose a dentist, a doctor, even a drive- thru. But when it comes to our children’s opportunities, their future, we are told “This zip code means this school”.
One option. It’s hard to imagine anything less fair and less equitable than letting a child’s zip code or neighborhood determine the school they can attend. It brings to life the image of the round hole and square peg- we’ll just make it fit. But it really doesn’t fit. RI needs choice, our children deserve better than a single option. Our state’s future depends on it.
Finding the Best Fit
I searched very hard to find the best option for my son because I wanted him to flourish, to enjoy learning, and not to be teased or bullied. You see, my oldest son was born with a severe speech impediment that was only corrected with surgery. This disability lent itself to his struggles with communication and reading. The school provided him with an IEP until the situation was fixed. I tell people this because I need to dismiss the notion that every child who attends a school of choice is perfect. That’s simply not the case, he’s perfectly imperfect but he’s all mine. An FYI, in seventh grade he now reads and comprehends at a post-secondary level and hasn’t stopped talking since that surgery.
Our decision to look for alternatives to the traditional school lead us to his charter school. Like school choice has done for my son, it too will afford others an opportunity. When I look at our public schools of choice, our career and technical, our arts schools, home-schooling families and our charters, I see Rhode Island’s future. They are our performers and artists, environmentalists, religious and political leaders. They are our mechanics, our nurses, our engineers and our educators. Choice also allows for otherwise life altering situations not to be the moments that define some of our most vulnerable. School choice makes it far more likely for all our children, regardless of backgrounds and levels of need, to have access to their dreams.
Eight years ago, I did not realize the magnitude that tiny manila envelope would have on my life. I had hoped it would have a great impact on my son’s journey, but in turn, it has had an even greater impact on mine.
Let us not lose sight of the future, let us not lose sight of the right of ALL of Rhode Island’s children to attend the school that best meets their needs. Let us not lose sight of the need for choice.
Lori Barden is the mother of two boys who attend Blackstone Valley Prep.
Voice for change, choice and RI families
Related Slideshow: The Power List - Health and Education, 2016
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