Sen. John McCain has shown himself to be a staunch supporter of charter schools and school choice.
In a recent Fox News op-ed, McCain extolled the benefits of school choice and highlighted the successes of Arizona’s charter movement as an example of why it’s important to provide a quality education to students, regardless of zip code.
McCain specifically mentioned the latest round of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed Arizona’s charter students bucking trends and achieving results that puts them on par with some of the highest ranking states in the country.
The Senator also praised charter schools for the overall innovation, and teacher and school leader empowerment seen in many schools.
Op-ed published on Foxnews.com on Jan. 27
A quarter-century has passed since the nation’s first charter-school law was enacted in Minnesota, leading to arguably the most fundamental shift in public education in my lifetime.
Across the 42 states that now have charter-school laws, access to a quality education is no longer determined by the neighborhood in which a student lives. Families in these states have grown accustomed to competition and choice in the K-12 education marketplace. For nearly three million charter school students and their families, there is no going back.
Just as critical, the 6,700 individual charter schools that have opened nationwide are serving as incubators of the most forward-thinking leaders in public education. In my home state of Arizona, families may choose from 556 public charter schools – including those that specialize in STEM instruction, the arts, college-prep, online instruction and more.
