by Benjamin Yount
Schools available to participate in and student enrollment are up in Wisconsin for its choice program.
The state’s Department of Public Instruction on Friday released the list of schools available for the 2023-24 school year. At 339, it’s 25 more than this year.
School Choice Wisconsin says the number of students enrolled at choice schools is up at the state’s four private school parental choice programs (6.7 percent), 4-K private school parental choice programs (8.5 percent), kindergarten (5.1 percent) and grades 1-12 (6.8 percent).
Additionally, the group said, “Independent charter schools reported a headcount of 11,150, an increase of 4.5 percent from September 2021.”
The Department of Public Instruction, in its release on the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, said the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program has 136 private schools registered, and the Racine Parental Choice Program has 36 private schools registered. In each, students must reside in the city of Milwaukee and the Racine Unified School District, respectively.
The announcement came near the end of National School Choice Week, which began Sunday and ends Saturday.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty this week released its Apples to Apples report on schools in Wisconsin. The report says students in the state’s school choice programs and in charter schools continue to outperform students in traditional public schools.
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Benjamin Yount is a regular contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Teacher and Students in a Classroom” by Tima Miroshnichenko.
