Dear Editor:
Ordinarily we think of entrepreneurs as folks who take risks in quest of a big financial return. However, as Kevin Teasley’s thought-provoking Oct. 6 letter makes clear, there is a new entrepreneurial spirit at work in education that achieves more quality for less cost. (“Education entrepreneurs rise to charter challenge.”)
It entails forming mom-and-pop car pools to get kids to school without benefit of a yellow-bus fleet; finding surplus property to convert to classroom use rather than drawing on public capital; and coordinating with private groups for everything from nursing care to teacher training.
Education entrepreneurs are at the heart of the charter-school movement, which is leading to unprecedented levels of student accomplishment, as Teasley documents well. Given the need to get the greatest possible return from scarce dollars in the shaky economy, their leadership is becoming more critical to education than ever.
Robert Holland ([email protected]) is Senior Fellow for Education Policy 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.
