Congratulations to the winners of the 2017 Nebraska School Choice Week Essay Contest!

Abby Herrick - "School with a Purpose"
Sophie Timmerman - "Nebraska School Choice Week 2017"
Stella Criswell - "A Student's School Choice"

The following are excerpts from some of the many insightful essays contributed to the contest:

"Living Word focuses us on understanding what we learn and enjoying it instead of reading study guides and not knowing how to apply it to real life. I feel that I am mastering mathematics for the first time. Although having a purpose to learn is important, being motivated to be inspired is also important."
-Abby H.

"I believe my school, Lincoln Christian, is the best choice for me for four reasons. First of all, the curriculum is based on Christian values. This affirms my faith as I grow older and instills values in me that my family and I want in my life. I feel strongly that every single family who wants this kind of education for their child should be able to attain it."
-Stella C.

"All kids should have the freedom to choose their school according to their needs and rate of learning. A child should never be forced to go to a school they feel uncomfortable going to, especially if the school doesn't fit the necessities the child has. All kids should be able to learn at their own rate so they understand what they learn and so they can have a better, brighter future."
-Sophie T.

"I am thankful that my family made the best choice for me. I am in the best place I can be and I have developed my strengths, improved my weaknesses, and gained a well-rounded life style. This is the greatest place for me to learn and I am thankful that I got the choice to come to this school. I think that everyone should have the choice to decide where to get an education that best fits them."
-Grace S.

"My school only has thirty-two pupils and two teachers including the preschoolers who have their own teacher. Other schools have about twenty to thirty kids per teacher. Also at my school we have five hours a day so the teachers can spend about 10 minutes per child depending on the day or absences so that we can learn at our own pace. Since we do not have seven hours a day like most schools we get to spend more time with family which is very important."
-Isabelle M.

"Our principal, Sister Anne Joelle, said our buddy project, which pairs older grades with younger grades to promote school unity, is a great community builder for our school. Sister Anne Joelle said that the thing she loves most about her job is working with the kids and helpful staff, loving teachers, and supportive parents. When I ask around the school who the kids like the best for teachers, the answers are completely mixed. They are given so much support by the school family. We love them very much."
-Connor T.

"It is important for everyone to have the ability to choose their own school because if you are at a school you prefer, you are more likely to enjoy school. Having multiple options available for schools will also make those schools better. 'Choice creates the conditions necessary to spur schools to implement reforms and strategies that work--or risk losing students and their money.'"
-Clare B.

"My final reason this school benefits me is that it gives me opportunities to experience the world first hand outside the classroom. We have given back to our community by donating our time at the local food bank, visited a working farm, and recently toured a new building being constructed. This has definitely opened my eyes to different way to choose life paths. By learning to give of myself, I have gained the tools to move forward with my educational path."
-Abby H.

"As students and teachers we work hard to fix a problem. We once spent a whole class period making a way to do better at listening. I know I can count on them whenever I need their help."
-Jared C.

"Without school choice, many students would be forced to go to school in a learning environment that does not suit them and that does not make them learn to the best of their abilities, but with the freedom of school choice, so much more is possible, and so many more kids can get the education that they want. So, as Malala Yousafzai said, 'Let us pick up our books and our pencils. They are our most powerful weapon.'"
-Lucia R.

"...I get the opportunity to work with students of all ages. Using this technique helps the oldest students build leadership skills when helping the younger students. I specifically have grown in problem solving, and while the older students are learning, the younger students can learn too. When the older students are teaching, the younger students pick up on facts at the older students' level. So it's a win win for everyone!"
-Autumn B.

"Our school family is the best because we love each other and see Christ in everyone. One example is that when our band teacher, Mrs. Karen Murphy, died on January 13, 2017, our school family responded with love and sympathy. For instance, special prayers were said for her the morning of her death. Each class has started a journal of memories that will be compiled and given to the family."
-Connor T.

"Some kids need more one-on-one time. I'm good at reading because I have had a lot of one-on-one time with my teacher. She has explained language in a way I can understand well and it has improved my skills a lot. Since there are less kids, we each have more teacher time. She has the time to get to all of us."
-Olivia L.

"Sometimes people don't want the kind of school their taxes pay for. If you're paying taxes you should be able to decide what the money goes to. I'm thankful my family made the best choice for my education even though their tax money can't help pay for it. My school is definitely the best choice for me!"
-Liberty S.

"At our school, we learn how to clean up ourselves because if we don't clean up it looks like a tornado hit half of our school. On the other hand, another fun experience is that we get to cook because there is a kitchen in our school. We have made Brazilian hot chocolate and frosted our own cookie shaped as Antarctica (we were learning about glaciers, northern lights, icebergs, and ice shelfs, so we used M&Ms and chocolate chips to make them). It was really fun! HELLO, those seem like life skills to me."
-Avery L.

"I go to St.Teresa's Catholic School...and I get to learn religion, which I would not be able to learn if I went to public school. The freedom of choice allows me to go to the school of my choice that works best for me, and for other kids, the school that works best for them."
-Lucia R.

Thank you to all the students who entered the 2017 Nebraska School Choice Week Essay Contest! 

When LPS school board member Connie Duncan was raising her children, she did what all good parents do: she sought out the best education for her children, understanding that her children had individual needs and goals. Margaret Reist wrote the following for the Lincoln Journal Star:
 
"Her boys attended Sheridan Elementary, then Lincoln Lutheran for junior high.
 
One of them transferred to East for high school, playing baseball and attending the LPS Entrepreneurship Focus Program. Her other son graduated from Lincoln Lutheran, although he also attended the focus program with his brother.
 
Duncan said they visited many schools, always looking for the one that was the best fit—and in middle school that was Lincoln Lutheran."
 
Fortunately, the Duncans had the means to afford the schools that were “the best fits” for their children. They recognized that even children within the same family might need different educational programs in order to thrive. But under our current education system, only a select few are able to make such choices. Our current system distinguishes between the haves and have-nots when it comes to education. For most Lincoln parents, choices are very limited. Yes, they may be able to switch to a different LPS school than the one they’re assigned to, but what if a traditional public school isn’t the best fit, as was the case for LPS board members Duncan and Schulte at times?
 
“There’s homeschool,” anti-choicers say. And yes, nearly 1,300 students in Lancaster County registered as homeschoolers for the 2015/2016 school year. But homeschool requires resources that many Lincoln families don’t have: a parent home during the day and the financial resources to buy curriculum and tuition to co-ops or online classes.
 
Is there a way for all children in Lincoln to have access to the same kinds of opportunities as the children of LPS school board members?
 
All across the country, state legislators have been enacting school choice legislation that opens education opportunities to all children, not just those with enough money to afford private school tuition on top of their property taxes that fund district public schools. Here are some types of school choice programs that are successfully helping students to find their “best fit.”
 
Tax-Credit Scholarships
These scholarships allow taxpayers to receive tax credits when they donate to non-profits that provide K-12 private school scholarships. These programs are often geared toward low-income students or students in failing schools. Tax-credit scholarship programs are currently operating in 17 states. Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program alone has 97,826 participating students (as of Fall 2016).
 
Charter Schools
Charter schools are independently run public schools that are exempt from many rules and regulations in exchange for increased accountability. They cannot turn students away, must use a lottery system for admission if there is a waiting list, and do not charge tuition. There are an estimated 6,800 charter schools in 42 states and the District of Columbia, but we don't yet have a single one in Nebraska.
 
Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)
ESAs allow parents to withdraw their children from public schools and receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts. The funds may be used for private school tuition, online learning programs, tutoring, community college tuition, and other approved learning services and materials. The funds can only be used for approved educational expenses. There are currently over 10,000 students in the U.S. who are participating in ESA programs.
 
School Vouchers
Vouchers allow parents to use all or part of the public funding set aside for their children’s education to pay for partial or full tuition at a private school, including both religious and non-religious options. As of November 2016, 14 states plus the District of Columbia have school voucher programs, and most students who receive vouchers are students from low-income households, students attending failing schools, students with disabilities, and students living in rural areas.
 
School Choice for Nebraska
In the coming weeks, the Nebraska legislature will be discussing several school choice measures:

LB295 (Tax-Credit Scholarships)
LB608 (School Vouchers)
LB630 (Public Charter Schools)
LB118 (Education Savings Accounts)

This legislation could bring exciting opportunities to all of Lincoln’s students and families, the kinds of opportunities that have previously only been available to a few. Education will blossom in our town like never before when all students can find “the best fit." If members of the LPS school board are justified in finding "the best fit" for their own children, all of us have the right and responsibility to do the same. We know our children better than anyone else; it's up to us to find that "best fit." Contact your state senator to voice your support for school choice legislation for Nebraska!