Parents Take Control of Education

Last night, The Board of Trustees voted to allow the expansion of Oxford Preparatory Academy. Barcelona Elementary in Mission Viejo will close to allow for the expansion.

OPA is a charter school so it doesn't fall under the direct control of the school district and operates free of influences present in public education.

Aliso Viejo has two charter schools that use different approaches to teaching.  This allows parents to choose a school they believe best suits the learning style of their child.  Parents are finding this very empowering.

Many believe the increasing popularity of charter schools is a result of parents becoming dissatisfied with an educational system held hostage by the teachers' union.  This was certainly the tone I witnessed at parent forums.

But nothing exists in a vacuum.  Technology has created a new era of empowerment.  More people of starting their own businesses with their sole presence being on the Internet.  Anyone can be a journalist with their own blog.

The rise of charter schools might just be one more example of people wresting control from the government.  Few things are more motivating than a parent's desire to do right by their kids.  This might just be one more barrier between the educational establishment and parents being torn down.

As the Louisiana politician Huey Long once said, "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown."