Across the country, many Catholic schools have been struggling or even forced to close. But there is a better way. In states with strong school choice programs, schools rebounded quickly after the pandemic. Families of modest means were able to send their children to the schools that worked for them. Schools kept operating.
Some exciting news out of Florida shows this real-world power of school choice.
In Key West, school choice expansion is helping a historic Catholic high school reopen.
Due to growing enrollment, the Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea has announced a historic re-opening of the parish’s Catholic high school, set for the 2023-2024 school year… [Principal] Wright said that an expansion of student choice legislation in Florida, along with limited private school options in the lower Florida Keys, has created strong demand for Catholic education in Key West. There are also options for special needs children at the school.
Scholarship programs, available through Step Up for Students, will keep costs affordable for all families… “Florida, right now, is so supportive an environment for school choice. We have a good product, great teachers and a governor and a legislature who are finding ways for more and more students to find a way to afford private education.”
It’s incredibly encouraging to see this good news. It proves that parent and advocate voices matter! But across the country, many other schools continue to struggle, and we know our work is not done.
We’re working toward a world in which every family that wants to choose Catholic schools is able to, and no school that is serving the community has to close.