Left-leaning groups like the NC Public Schools Forum and very left of center groups like Public Schools First NC have stepped up their attacks on school choice students and families.

These type of groups can’t see the forest for the trees. They don’t want to. More importantly, they don’t want anyone else to either.

These two groups are the same ones who have some after school choice children and their families over and over in the last five years. Public Schools First NC came after vouchers for low-income children and NC Forum’s leader compared a charter school bill to HB2.

Last month the NCAE (the NEA’s affiliate in NC) and the “NC Council Churches” held an education summit where they trashed school choice… during school choice week. Apparently, Governor Roy Cooper sent his “teacher adviser” to it.

Dr. Stoops’ article does a wonderful job of nailing down why groups like Public Schools First NC, Red4Ed, the NCAE, and NC Public Schools Forum hate families choosing what is best for their children – it represents competition.  Not competition to in the best education for children, the competition for dollars. Each child represents money to a district. Despite decades of increased spending in public education, the outcomes have been the same and are declining.

This video is five years old, but on public education spending, it’s evergreen.

So how is NC Forum, the NCAE and Public Schools First NC going about this new attack on choice?  The new hotness in the war on school choice is “privatization.”

NC Forum and Public Schools First NC want the cap public charter school to be put back into place because “privatization” is ‘draining’ public schools.

They’re right on the ‘draining’  front.  Parents and kids are continuing to choose homeschooling, public charters and private schools at a steady pace.

Public schools are seeing enrollment drops, that means less money in union pockets and district budgets, so the NCAE/union protection squad is stepping up their game.

Let’s get one thing straight here – charter schools in North Carolina are not private. They are public schools which at last check were funded by around $1,100 less per student but are thriving nonetheless. Public charter schools in North Carolina are actually outperforming their district counterparts in academics and student diversity.

In this long-winded blog post at Public Schools First NC, the sneering disdain for school choice, and in particular, charter schools, is very clear.  The article substitutes ‘privatization’ for ‘school choice’ and treats the term privatization like it’s the F-bomb.

It’s truly amazing to me to watch groups like NC Public Schools Forum and Public Schools First NC which claim to be about making public schools the best they can ignore the big reasons why families are leaving.

What’s not amazing to me is that these groups do not want anyone asking why families are leaving traditional public schools in droves.  Instead, these organizations have opted to call school choice families ‘segregationist’, racist, and a ‘threat to public education’.

Safety of their child, flexibility in teaching style, and an alternative to a one-size-fits-all public schools education that includes more personalized attention are just some of the big reasons.

We can choose and customize our salads in a restaurant, our apps on our phone, our social media profiles and even credit cards or cars we drive. But if you want to choose and customize your child’s education? Well, now you’ve crossed a racist line.

If you have a kid currently in a charter school or are one of the over 55,000 students on a charter school waitlist, you need to get some skin in the game.

Here’s how: Stand with the groups fighting for families who want to choose the best educational option for their families.  Find your school and sign the petition.