Dear Editor:
Students in the high-achieving Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools endure a nine-hour school day and Saturday and summer classes. But the success of KIPP students and schools is more than just a testament to the value of hard work. It is proof of the power of choice. The students are there because their parents desperately wanted them to have that disciplined alternative to conventional public education.
It is great news that philanthropy will bring about a fivefold increase in these independent public schools in Houston, the city of KIPP’s founding, over the next decade. But the larger lesson is that every child in America ought to be able to benefit from the power of school choice.
Robert Holland ([email protected]) is senior fellow for education at The Heartland Institute.
Robert Holland, a journalist and author who has championed school choice throughout his career, is a Heartland Institute Senior Fellow addressing education policy.
