Watch: COVID, Student Enrollment and Charter Schools — How the Pandemic Has Changed What Parents Expect From Their Education System

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Throughout the pandemic, thousands of parents have pulled their kids out of traditional schools and sought alternative ways of educating them. Many of them turned to public charter schools, which reported dramatic enrollment increases from the end of the 2020 school year to the end of the 2021 school year. So what’s next for charters — and the traditional public schools that have witnessed significant enrollment declines? 

These are some of the questions that will kick off the Dec. 15 webinar “Voting With Their Feet: Responding to Increased Demand for Innovative Schools,” presented by The 74 and the Progressive Policy Institute and set to take place Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. The event is free and open to the public; refresh this page at 2 p.m. to stream here or simply click here to register and watch.

Panelists will include such leaders and experts as Dave Sokola, Delaware State Senator; Jessica Sutter, D.C. State Board of Education; A.J. Crabil, Director of Governance for the Council of the Great City Schools; and Debbie Veney, Senior VP, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The panel will also feature two parents: Matt Mohler of Tallahassee, Florida, and Katrina Merkerson of Birmingham, Alabama. 

For more information on the event, and to sign up to receive a livestream link, please visit our RSVP page.

Some recent school choice coverage from The 74:

• ‘Equal Treatment, not Special Treatment’: Conservative Supreme Court Justices Appear Ready to Strike Down Religious Barriers to Public School Choice Funding
• For Learning Pod Teachers, a Pandemic Paradigm Shift: Why So Many Now Say They Don’t Want to Return to Traditional Classrooms
• In Dress Code Case, Federal Appeals Court to Weigh in on Public Status of Charter Schools

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