DeVos is good choice

Milwaukee teacher’s union president Kim Schroeder’s op-ed attacking Betsy DeVos’ support of school choice completely ignores the benefits that competition in K-12 education has had in Wisconsin (“DeVos will be disaster,” Opinons, Dec. 15).

Wisconsin has utilized charter schools and scholarships for private schools to drive significant gains in student achievement. In Wisconsin, nearly 90% of high school students are now graduating. Wisconsin also has earned the distinction of having the second highest ACT scores in the country, a strong indicator that kids are leaving high school with the skills to excel in college and the workforce.

Schroeder tries to depict DeVos as a threat to democracy because she supports empowering parents to make decisions about where their kids are educated. DeVos correctly understands the power of competition to improve the performance of all schools — public, private and virtual. She has spent the past 28 years challenging the status quo and fighting back against entrenched bureaucracies and unions that too often put the interests of adults ahead of the needs of children. Schroeder’s over-the-top attacks of DeVos should be viewed in this context.

Let’s look forward to the day when the union’s tired, debunked arguments about charter and voucher schools are laid to rest and public, charter and private schools work together to ensure that every child has access to a great school. If anyone can do it, it’s Betsy DeVos.

Henry Tyson Milwaukee