School Choice 1993
In 1993, the idea of school choice was considered radical. CER compiled archive footage to document school choice coverage in the media as the movement received national attention. Here are clips of Rep. Polly Williams, John Chubb, and other influential voices of early education reform discussing school choice in Milwaukee, Harlem, and other major U.S. cities.
Video Quotables:
“The cornerstone of our effort is what we refer to as ‘empowerment’. Some folks refer to it as autonomy. “…In a nutshell, one word takes care of it, and that is ‘freedom’. It’s the freedom for teachers to figure out how to get the job done. It’s freedom for great leaders to be able to lead their schools based on a direction, based on a vision. It’s freedom for parents to choose a school that will best educate their children. It’s freedom.” – Lawrence Patrick, Jr., Detroit BOE, 1993
“…And it really doesn’t matter who’s in the White House, the statehouse, the court house, or city hall. It doesn’t matter who controls any of those houses. It matters who controls our house. Parents have got to be in control of their own home and their own children, and then parents make those decisions. All these other houses [should] respond and respect what parents want for their children.” -Rep. Polly Williams, Wisconsin General Assembly, 1993
