School students in the state of Arkansas are now outperforming the national average, and it’s all due to a plan carried out by Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who expanded school choice and created rewards and incentives for teachers who do their jobs well.
Other states should follow her lead, because her plan is clearly working.
Teacher unions typically oppose the idea of school choice because they are looking out for the teachers instead of the students. Local governments need to find ways to work around them. The money should follow the student.
This news out of Arkansas is fantastic.
FOX News reports:
Arkansas students outperform national average after universal school choice expansion, governor says
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders pointed to emerging results as evidence that the state’s universal school choice program is bolstering student outcomes after a new report indicated students participating in the program scored above the national average in math and English following the overhaul.
“In every single subject, last year we saw a 20% increase for our student performance,” Sanders said Tuesday.
“Arkansas is investing in education where it matters, and it’s paying off, and we’re seeing a big difference.”
Discussing the initiative on “Fox & Friends,” the Republican governor credited Arkansas’ Education Freedom Account program with giving families more control over their children’s education while pairing universal school choice with increased investments in public schools, teacher pay and literacy programs.
Sanders said that under the program, eligible families receive roughly $8,000 per student each school year to help pay for private school tuition, charter schools or homeschooling, while the state simultaneously increased funding for public schools and salaries for more than 12,000 educators.
“We had about 50,000 kids that have participated in last year’s school year and that have signed up for the upcoming year,” she said.
“That means that the money is truly following the students. We are empowering parents to make the best decisions about where and how their kids can be educated.”
In addition to embracing school choice, Arkansas has abandoned the teaching of woke topics on race and gender in favor of the basic skills of reading and math. Those are the skills that children need in order to succeed, no matter where they live.
Governor Sanders deserves credit for putting the children of her state first, ahead of the lobbyists and unions.
Making sure kids know how to read and do basic math should be the most important mission of every school in the country.
All of the progressive nonsense about race and gender helps no one.
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