Today’s post #1001 is a bit anti-climatic after my 1000th post yesterday.

If a two years ago someone had told me I’d be sitting in the same room with someone from the Walton Family Foundation and working with them to create better educational options, I would have laughed.  I would have thought that our causes were so totally separate.  That sentiment would have been clouded by our vastly different political views.  I would not have not been able to see past our political differences to see that we want so many of the same things.

Before I started working with charter schools, I have to admit I was anti-charter school.  Part of that is that I didn’t know enough to form an informed opinion–but I did anyway.  As most of us do about things that we think we understand.  There are just somethings that you have to investigate and really examine before you can make a decision about the movement.  There is something we could all learn from this movement.  This is a movement that transcends political lines.  It transcends socioeconomic status, even though many of us working towards reform are middle and upper-middle class.  It is a movement that highlights the dissatisfaction with our current educational system.  It is not a movement that privatizes education.  Are there private donors in the game?  Yes.  Part of that is because charter schools are not given the same funds as traditional public schools.  In some state they are given about 50% as much money as the traditional public system.  The only way to make up that gap is to seek funding from these big philanthropic organizations.

Many of my ideas about education reform have changed.  Much of that once I had kids and that was even compounded by the fact that my kids are black kids.  I began looking at the disparities in our education system with a different lens–that of a parent.  I am fortunate that I can afford (with major scrimping and sacrifice) to send my kids to a great private school.  Would I like a great public option?  YES.  Would I like a tax credit to offset some of the cost because I live in a school district that doesn’t have high or even moderately performing public options?  YES.

What I really want is an educational system that serves everyone equally and provides choice.  Public school options should be similar to private school options. I should be able to pick the school that is best for my kid.  I should be able to pick the school that works best for our family and provides the education I want for my kids.  Each school should be different.  Each school should be able to define for itself and its community what type of school it is going to be.  This is why I have moved over to the pro-charter camp.  I want choice.  I believe all parents should have choice and not just parents who can afford private schools.  All parents should have choice.

So I will continue to sit in the room with those who I once thought couldn’t be more different than me.  But we are all working towards the same goal–what is best for kids.  Giving kids and parents the choice that is rightfully theirs.