A revolution is coming in public education. It will be hard to reverse, as confidence in public education declines. While the political left does not want to believe it, or acknowledge the cause, it is happening. Parents tired of false, perverse, activist, unaccountable, objectively poor “education” of their kids – who have only one youth – are pulling them out of public schools.
Dramatically up is the number of families choosing to “home school” their children, or send them to private religious and secular schools. Up too are private schools being formed to accommodate rising parental concern, what some would call disgust, with trends in education. The number of families homeschooling has recently doubled, no end in sight.
While private schools were down 20 years ago, they are now rising again, with one in three schools private and on-line resources exploding for home schooling as well as “school formation.” Moreover, the vast majority of private schools are expressly religious.
While data lags and is distorted by pandemic numbers, 55 percent of private schools saw an uptick in enrollment in 2022 over 2021, in turn an uptick over 2020. Nearly half had more applications than seats, and although COVID hit all schools hard, the private school rebound outpaces public.
Looking beyond the pandemic, a combination of factors are at work – including reduced confidence in public education, parental concern over religious discrimination, false teachings, political indoctrination, gender disorientation, and an emphasis on activism over hard learning, as well as changing demographics (fewer kids), and the gig (non-formal, web-based) economy.
Thus, for example, Maine reports, “Public school enrollment…has been declining over the past ten years and saw a significant drop in the 2020-21 school year,” while New York reports a 1.8 percent enrollment drop this year, 3.8 last year, 4.7 the prior year. California saw a 1.8 percent drop last year, 2.6 drop the prior year, and foresees a continuing “plunge.”
While some of what is happening may be intuitive, data helps. As reported by US News and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in 2021, “Students in private schools consistently out-performed their public school peers in all subject areas,” a reality becoming more stark as public school performance falls off a cliff.
In 2022, public school performance was objectively miserable, data on reading, writing, and math sounding alarms. “Math scores fell in every state,” while “reading dipped nationally,” and remedies seemed nowhere to be found.
In February 2023, the Public Schools Review – a pro-public school venue – came to foundation-rocking conclusions. They reported that “the American public education system has not kept up with the times and is currently facing a number of serious problems,” including 15 concerns.
Among these were “school safety,” “challenges in technology,” the growing popularity of “charter schools” and “vouchers” (which give parents a choice between better private schools and weaker public), “problems with common core curriculum” tied to “equity” (which federalizes, waters down, and homogenizes learning), “lack of teacher innovation,” “outdated teaching methods,” too little “parent involvement” and “too many schools being closed.”
Of course, in a nod to powerful unions, the volume does not admit the popularity of vouchers, charter schools, and closing of public schools suggests public failure, just a need for more money.
Reality is – however – setting in. Last week in Seattle, cuts in public schools rocked the city. Headlines proclaimed, “Seattle school district forced to do layoffs amid plummeting student enrollments,” as Democrats blamed on COVID, but most saw unresolved civic disorder, political activism, and weak performance in the schools causing parents to say “forget it,” pulling kids for better options.
Widening the lens aperture, public discontent with public education’s move to embrace political indoctrination (by the left) over basic education (in math, science, reading, and writing) is infuriating parents of all demographic backgrounds, White, Black, Hispanic, You Name It.
Nationally, the Biden White House, Education, Homeland Security, and Justice Departments are contributing to reduced confidence in public education, as “transformational” agendas are boldly pushed, from transgenderizing and kindergarten sexualization of small children to normalizing far left ideologies, teaching Marxist doctrine, critical race and gender theories, “equity” and shaming by “group” rather than individual sovereignty, liberty, opportunity, and the American Dream, made possible by serious learning and hard work.
When parents of kids in public schools raise their fears over miseducation, political indoctrination, religious and moral discrimination, or safety of their children – and dare speak up at school boards they are then singled out, pursued by the FBI, intimidated.
Bottom line: A tipping point has been reached. Either the public education system does a U-turn, and retreats from political indoctrination and swapping activism for real learning of math, reading, critical thinking, good judgment, and vital skills, or public education will face accelerated decline, in favor of private education. Parents are demanding accountability, and in the process leading an education revolution.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
