In one form or another, the school choice movement has been around a long time. But it has never received a shot in the arm like the one it got with the federal scholarship tax credit provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which became law last July. That provision includes the most ambitious choice initiative to date: a credit of up to $1,700 for individual taxpayers who contribute to scholarship-granting organizations for private-school tuition.

Not surprisingly, some public school advocates reacted with despair on social media:

“School choice is a tactic conservatives use to defund public education and create barriers for upward mobility.”

“School choice is a way to destroy public education and eventually push public tax dollars to private schools which are used to segregate students.”

“Vouchers are a tax break for the wealthy.”

“Giving money to [private] schools is stealing from public education, and I don’t want a dime of my money going towards it.”

Nor were policymakers immune, as reported in K–12 Dive:

[S]chool vouchers “sweep aside civil rights protections, support segregation, decimate public school budgets, and do not improve student outcomes.” 

[T]he school choice program “will divert billions of taxpayer dollars to private religious schools that indoctrinate and can discriminate against students and their families based on the schools’ beliefs.”

Amidst all the negative rhetoric, this insightful comment stood out:

“If we are going to keep public schools, school administrators need to figure out a new delivery model. All-in-one schools are increasingly not what people want. If districts don’t adapt, private schools will continue to gain popularity, regardless of how good or bad they are.”

I could not agree more.

I have spent over 50 years as a public school educator. I know now is the time for public school leaders to embrace and learn from competition, not fear it.

Learning from the Competition

In his classic “The Power of Vision” video (1991), futurist Joel Barker asserted that the genesis of paradigm shifts resulting in profound changes may often come from people with no previous credibility in the field.

Public schools urgently need a new generation of visionaries who are not bound by past practices but open to guidance from those outside traditional public education.

Learning What Private-School Parents Want

In December 2023, EdChoice asked private-school parents why they chose their schools. Their top two priorities were a safe environment (50 percent) and academic quality (47 percent).

A November 2024 OpinionatEd poll amplified these findings by revealing that voters, regardless of party or demographics, supported connecting K–12 education to future jobs and careers so that all graduates will be prepared to contribute to the community.

Academic quality, a safe environment, and real-world readiness are not outlandish expectations. Public school leaders would be wise to heed these findings and intentionally and aggressively seek interest convergence among public and private-school stakeholders centering on exactly how to integrate their desires into a shared vision for each particular school.

Empowering Stakeholders to Plan for and Implement Goals

There is no template. To mirror one of the distinctive features of private education, plans must be tailored specifically to the expectations of the parents in each school. This may mean expanding advanced coursework, niche programs such as STEM or language immersion, a stronger sense of care and belonging, curricular flexibility not found in public schools, more diverse extracurricular experiences, or expanded community connection and service.

To learn parents’ precise expectations concerning academic quality, a safe environment, and real-world readiness, public schools should hold forums in communities where parents are likely to take advantage of the tax credits. Then, based on what they’ve learned, leaders can begin the essential work of implementing the suggestions.

As new initiatives are rolled out, the next step is forming a guiding coalition of public and formerly private-school parents. They are charged with evaluating how programs could more impactfully address parental desires for better academic integrity, safety, and real-world preparedness, and the ways the school could improve nurturing and expanding the partnerships.

A third step is to mount an aggressive campaign to inform the entire community about the new spirit of open communication with both old and new stakeholders. While an information campaign does not take the place of action, it is necessary to communicate to the whole community the school’s desire to learn from an expanded group of stakeholders and actually put that knowledge in place.

Developing a consensus about definitive next steps will not be as easy as writing the global goals, but the attempt is worth the effort.

Years of experience have taught leaders that collaborating with people from a variety of perspectives, including critics, requires active listening to others’ views, clear and calm communication, empathy, and focusing on solutions rather than dwelling on problems.

The most promising aspect of engaging stakeholders is that both progressives and conservatives wholeheartedly embrace schools building genuine partnerships with families and communities toward mutually agreed-upon goals and actions. This can be a “win-win” if done honestly and sincerely.

To be successful, however, school leaders must, as one leadership advisor put it, “lead with their ears and not with their mouths.” The ability to listen more than speaking to stakeholders is a crucial quality in leadership.

Public School Leaders Have Choices, Too

Parents now have an expanded variety of school choices, but so do public school leaders: a growth of purposeful schools that are more responsive to all parents’ wishes.

Public school educators like me can continue to lament what they perceive to be unfair attacks on public schools, or they can embrace competition; respond to private school parents’ expectations; address their concerns forthrightly through focused implementation; and enhance former private school stakeholders’ credibility by giving them credit for the improvements.

The best part is that, when leaders take these actions to improve their schools, all students will benefit.

Dr. Ronald S. Thomas was a teacher and school and district leader in Maryland’s inner city, suburban, and rural schools for 32 years. Since 2001, he has been a faculty member in the Towson University educational leadership department.