Way back in the 2000s and early 2010s, Democrats For Education Reform (DFER) played a major role on the education scene, pushing for high standards, charter schools, and old-school accountability.
However, DFER’s struggles were already becoming obvious nearly a decade ago, and while quasi-public charter schools may be less controversial than they once were, education reform has been in full retreat since then.
Former Providence, Rhode Island mayor Jorge Elorza aims to change all that. As the new head of DFER, Elorza is calling for Democrats to to rethink their traditional opposition to public funding of private school choice.
“There’s nothing inherently conservative or Republican about private school choice,” says Elorza in an interview conducted before last week’s elections.
So far, there are only a few high-profile figures who have publicly embraced this position: Elorza, Arne Duncan, and Rahm Emanuel. And last week’s election results may discourage blue-state politicians and candidates from reconsidering their views.
But private school choice is spreading, and high-quality, progressive-minded schools are already sprouting up in blue parts of red states, according to Elorza.
“I think that when harnessed in a very positive way with the right guardrails, [private school choice] can provide better options for families.”
Watch, listen, or read the transcript of the half-hour interview above.
Previously
Surprises a reporter experiences inside a newly-opened private school in Alabama
A new home for center-left education politics?
Inside the Harper’s magazine story about teaching at an ESA-funded micro-school
The Sudden Rise and Ongoing Challenges of Democrats for Education Reform (AEI)
The Successful Failure of ED in ’08 (AEI)
