Exactly What Is a Choice School?

Recently, Rebecca Midles wrote an article for Getting Smart online, highlighting the Tacoma, Washington school district for their efforts in expanding the number of choice schools for their students and families to attend. Midles writes,

“Tacoma, Washington is home to a growing number of choice schools that offer personalized learning opportunities for its students, reflecting a trend towards more flexible and diverse educational programs. Tacoma Public Schools has taken a collaborative approach to developing its choice schools, working with teachers, parents, and community members to create schools that reflect the needs and interests of local community. These learning options offer students unique opportunities to explore their interests and passions in a meaningful and intentional way.”

“Most recently, Tacoma Public Schools kicked off the planning and building of the Maritime Skills Center that will serve students across south Puget Sound and expand choice opportunities. With the Port of Tacoma covering nearly 2,500 acres of the area surrounding the school district, it was natural for the Port and the school district to partner and support learners and a healthy maritime workforce. Set to open in 2025, the skills center will focus on four main areas:

Sustainability

Technology and Innovation

Transportation and Logistics

Skilled and Technical Trades”

“Choice schools and personalized pathways are a growing trend in education, providing learners with more options and flexibility. These options allow students to choose from a range of programs, from arts-focused schools to science and technology academies, and even schools that focus on social justice and community service.”

“Tacoma Public Schools’ commitment to choice schools is part of a larger effort to rethink urban education. The district is working to provide students with more options and opportunities to succeed, no matter their background or interests. Tacoma Public Schools is leading the way in personalized options for its students, families, and community through ongoing investments in education and innovation.”

Sounds great, but I’m sad to say we’ve already done what Tacoma thinks is ground-breaking reform.

They were and continue to be called magnet schools. They were invented in the 1970’s to help schools districts comply with de-segregation orders coming from our federal government. Houston, Texas had a slew of these schools when I worked there from the mid-1980’s to 2018.

But there were some problems with magnets.

First, not all magnets were magnetic, meaning they didn’t have the right theme to make kids interested in attending there. You had many schools that were “magnets” in name only, remaining open even though their magnet enrollment was nearly non-existent.

Second, some magnets were unbelievably magnetic, meaning that thousands of kids were turned away because that particular school didn’t have enough space to accept all of its applicants. In Houston, many of the magnet programs shared school space with neighborhood kids assigned to the same campus. Believe it or not, one Houston middle school accepted high-performing magnet students while sending their neighborhood kids to a different campus. That occurred until a new principal came in and stopped the practice.

Third, at least in Houston there wasn’t an opportunity for a young learner to be guaranteed the opportunity to study their passion throughout their secondary experience, since many of the magnet concepts were either middle school- or high school-based.

Finally, even though magnet schools moved the needle toward personalized learning, it still expected the individual learner to fit into the curriculum established by the school. I’m guessing Tacoma schools are similar.

The Tacoma choice schools Midles writes about are just a reinvention of something that has been around for 50 years – magnet schools that are theme-based and depend on the support of that theme-based community.

I wonder why Midles or others aren’t writing about something called “learner choice?” “Learner choice” is when an individual learner builds a plan, with the support of an adult learning leader, detailing what that learner would like to learn moving forward.

I think I know why Midles hasn’t written about “learner choice.” It’s because most schools aren’t interested in promoting or supporting “learner choice.” It seems if young learners and their families are really interested in establishing a learning plan based on that young person’s interests and their need to build their reading, writing, problem-solving, and character development skills, then they must move outside of our current public education system to achieve success. And that is just wrong.

I’m sure there are examples of “learner choice” inside some public schools, but the number of those opportunities are pathetically low and therefore extremely trivialized.

If we really want to be pioneers in the area of the type of learning that is now possible for all of our youngsters, then let’s stop spending time covering a story in Tacoma, Washington that is 50 years old, and let’s start defining, planning, executing, and evaluating individual learning that is growth-based, relationship-embedded, empowering, can happened anytime and anywhere, and that utilized the latest technology.

Til tomorrow. SVB