Ohio has long been a pioneer in school choices for students and families. It is home to one of the nation’s first private-school scholarship programs, focused on Cleveland. Ohio was also an early adopter of public charter schools, which today serve roughly 120,000 students. Just this year, lawmakers took historic steps forward by creating a universal private-school scholarship and increasing charter funding to more closely match local districts. But even with these measures in place, educational choice remains a contentious issue.
What’s next for the Buckeye State on education choice? How can state policymakers continue to empower parents and expand options for more children who need and seek them, while also promoting academic excellence and strong civic values in all schools? Is there a way forward in resolving the ongoing and sometimes acrimonious debates about choice?
The Buckeye Institute, School Choice Ohio, and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute are pleased to announce an in-person event featuring Ashley Berner of Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Berner is author of Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School. She draws on international research to illustrate “educational pluralism,” a structure for public education in which governments empower choice by design—and academic accountability by design.
Join us on October 17th at the Athletic Club of Columbus to learn more about this important concept used by most of the world’s democracies, and how it might be the way forward for Ohio.
The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Berner, followed by a conversation with Fordham’s President Emeritus and nationally-renowned education thought leader, Chester E. Finn, Jr. Audience engagement will be encouraged as the event explores where Ohio is on the path to educational pluralism and—perhaps more importantly—where it should be on the path.
Full video of the event is here:
