Clarion Reviews evaluates The School Choice Roadmap: 7 Steps to Finding the Right School for Your Child
Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5
With a convincing platform that’s based on helping children thrive, The School Choice Roadmap is a fair-minded resource.
A reassuring guide for parents, Andrew Campanella’s The School Choice Roadmap is all about navigating the sometimes overwhelming decisions around K-12 enrollment.
Its outlook positive, the book emphasizes the idea that school choice is personal, not political. It sidesteps the public versus private school debate, suggesting that parents research the options that are available where they live. What matters, it asserts, is what’s best for each individual student; it argues that parents are the experts when it comes to knowing their kids.
Presented in two parts, the book first forwards an objective overview of six types of schools: traditional public, public charter, public magnet, online public, private, and home. It argues the potential benefits of each, discussing the facts in a friendly way that’s appreciative of how busy parents are. This section will be helpful for cutting through school mission statements and numerical ratings to evaluate the key features which are relevant to a family’s circumstances. Its information sticks to standard definitions. In its second portion, the book outlines seven steps toward choosing a school.
Virginia Walden Ford’s is the Great American Story
Virginia Walden Ford’s is the great American story, she’s on the right side of it, and it’s dramatically well-told in the new movie Miss Virginia. In the movie, Emmy winner Uzo Aduba plays Ford as she—sick and tired of being treated as if she’s incompetent to choose her own child’s school—rises in righteous rebellion and seizes control of her own affairs again by fighting for school choice in Washington, D.C., in a grand renewal of the American ideal of citizenship.
As also told in her forthcoming autobiography School Choice: A Legacy to Keep, “Miss Virginia” was an already-struggling single mother from a low-income neighborhood who decided to take on yet another struggle—to seek another option for the education of her teen boy. She was highly dissatisfied with the public school he was assigned to attend. She very much feared that he might be on his way to a life of drug dealing and all of that which too often follows. She couldn’t afford the tuition at other, nearby private schools, however.
Overcoming several obstacles, including her own fear of public speaking and the powerful educational establishment, Ford and the D.C. Parents for School Choice group she formed in the late 1990s sought to secure educational opportunity for her child, at another school, of her choosing. It was a story known to Bradley, which supported similar groups in Milwaukee and elsewhere; it helped fund D.C. Parents for School Choice, too.
New Op-Ed from Andrew Campanella: New Data Shows Kids Are Struggling with Reading—How You Can Help
If your child is having a hard time learning to read or you’re worried she might fall behind, the Nation’s Report Card scores released yesterday aren’t great news. An alarming percentage of students in fourth and eighth grades are indeed struggling, according to the 2019 scores.
Nationwide, 35 percent of fourth graders and 34 percent of eighth graders are not proficient in reading, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Equally as disturbing: overall student proficiency in reading has actually declined over the last several years.
In New York City, the proficiency rates are even lower: 24 percent of fourth graders and 26 percent of eighth graders are proficient—both a full percentage point below what they were in 2017.
The response to this worrisome news is predictable. Policy wonks and elected officials are engaging in spirited discussions about how they can change education policy to improve children’s chances at succeeding. There will, almost certainly, be a lot of finger pointing too, identifying what caused these surprising declines and what could have been done to prevent them. These discussions—the ones about how to fix things moving forward, at least—are important.
But most parents, understandably, are not thinking about this from a detached perspective. They are thinking about their own children. Some moms and dads will see the NAEP data and ask themselves if their own children are truly proficient in reading, or if they are quietly falling behind. For some parents who know their children are having a difficult time, the national NAEP scores will only reinforce their concerns.
STORIES OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL: A RECOMMENDED BOOK LIST
Thru-hikers and section hikers always have a story about what brought them to the trail. The Appalachian Trail in particular is swarming with folklore, so nearly everyone remembers the first story they heard about the 2,000+ mile footpath that weaves uninterrupted from Georgia to Maine. Sometimes the magic is captivated in a single moment; for others of us, several instances over time bound us closer and closer to the trail.
Personally, I found magic in the words and stories of others. When I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson I was intrigued. I thought perhaps one day I’d hike it. But then Jennifer Pharr Davis gave me a story I could really attach too—one that I could see myself in—and I knew it was game over for me. I had to make the trek. For many of life’s greatest endeavors, that’s all it takes: someone’s story to inspire us, blaze a path, and serve as a beacon to guide us.
Because stories are so powerful, below I’ve listed some of the powerful stories that set the stage for my 2020 thru-hike. It’s not all-inclusive, but it contains the books that had the most powerful effects on me and my dreams. Many of you may have already read these stories, but if not, I highly recommend.
Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis As a kid you hear so many stories about a young hero (usually a boy) who feels out of place in society, but eventually discovers his strength and turns into the hero he was destined to become (think Hercules, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, etc.). Jennifer Pharr Davis is that (s)hero. This story follows her first thru-hiking experience as she “finds” herself—her strength, beauty, confidence, passion, and values. I love this story for how well it captures the trail and for the inspiring way it clearly altered the course of Pharr Davis’ life. A truly wonderful read, especially for young women considering a thru-hike.
UZO ADUBA SAYS ‘MISS VIRGINIA’ CHARACTER SHOWS THE POWER WE ALL HAVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The depths of a mother’s love is on full display in the new movie “Miss Virginia,” based on the true-life story of Virginia Walden Ford who successfully fought the system to create a private school voucher program for low-income children in Washington, D.C.
Orange is the New Black’sUzo Aduba, who plays Virginia in the film and delivers a passionate performance, says this is what drew her to the role – the unrelenting love a mother has for her child. In an interview with EURweb’s Lee Bailey, Aduba said she saw examples of this type of love with her own mom and knew this was the role she wanted to play.
“It felt to me like such a love story in a sense when I was reading it,” Aduba explained. “The mother went pretty far for the love of her child and gave everything she had for the love of her child and that’s a story I’m familiar with. I’m a product of immigrants and I had a front row seat to my own mother doing the same for myself and my siblings, pouring all of her love and hope into us so that we could have as many different exposures as we possibly could.”
“I could connect to that idea and that story,” Aduba added.
THE MOVIE MISS VIRGINIA POWERFULLY DRAMATIZES THE URGENT NEED FOR SCHOOL CHOICE
What’s it like to have your life story told on the big screen?
The new movie Miss Virginia is based on the unlikely story of Virginia Walden Ford, who, as a single mother in Washington, D.C., in the early 2000s, fought to create a federally-funded private school voucher program that would allow poor kids—including her son—to escape failing public schools. Against long odds and institutional hostility, she succeeded and is played with fiery passion by Orange Is the New Black‘s Uzo Aduba. Matthew Modine, known for roles in Full Metal Jacket, Weeds, and Stranger Things, co-stars as a sympathetic congressman who helps win congressional authorization for the program.
Walden Ford’s own backstory as a student is both harrowing and inspirational. She was among the early waves of black kids that integrated public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, an experience that informed her actions as a parent. Her memoir of growing up in the segregated South and becoming a major figure in education reform, School Choice: A Legacy To Keep, will be published on November 21.
Jeff Alt, a talented speaker and award-winning author of A Walk for Sunshine, enjoys sharing his 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail adventures with Shenandoah National Park visitors. Jeff uses humor and adventure in a story telling format. His presentations involve music, slides, and personal narration. 4-5pm.
Hi readers! Mia ThermoBEAUlis here. We’ve had a busy fall here at Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press as we prepare to go to press for five separate titles.
Out of these titles, two have been making some major headlines as of late. The first title, School Choice: A Legacy to Keep, is the new memoir from Virginia Walden Ford, a courageous trailblazer who paved the way for a complete overhaul of the education system in her local community. What began as a grassroots movement has since turned into a national organization. The Opportunity Scholarship Program now provides “scholarships for low-income children to attend private schools, while boosting federal funding for traditional public schools and public charter schools.”
Virginia didn’t always have the influence she maintains now, however. Her movement began as an act of desperation, as she worked three jobs so she could afford a private education for her son who was failing out of a deteriorating public school in the suburbs of Washington D.C. School Choice: A Legacy to Keep is Virginia’s retelling of the years she spent fighting corrupt politicians in Congress and how she and other dedicated parents changed the face of the American education system forever.
We were thrilled when we found out the Moving Picture Institute was planning to produce a film based on Virginia’s story. “Miss Virginia,” starring Uzo Aduba and Matthew Modine, is an inspiring drama that retells the true story of Virginia’s fight for educational rights. The film hits theaters this Friday, October 18th, but we were honored to be invited to attend the world premiere for the movie here in New York City.
Director R.J. Daniel Hanna, Virginia Walden Ford, and actor Matthew Modine before the premiere.
Several members of our team were present at the premiere and had the opportunity to hear from Virginia herself, as well as Modine, director R.J. Daniel Hanna, and other panelists related to the school choice cause. Nick Reid, executive producer and senior vice president of the Moving Picture Institute, moderated the panel and lead the discussion about the making of the film and the impact the school choice movement has had on families around the country.
Virginia Walden Ford, Matthew Modine, and other panelists join Nick Reid for a Q&A after the premiere.
Also present at the premiere was another Beaufort author, Andrew Campanella. As the president of National School Choice Week, Andrew has worked closely with Virginia through the years to empower parents and educate them about the different types of education available. Andrew’s new book,The School Choice Roadmap, is another upcoming Beaufort title. It serves as a guide for parents looking to find the best learning environment for their children.
Both School Choice: A Legacy to Keep and The School Choice Roadmap are available for pre-order now. School Choice: A Legacy to Keep will hit shelves on November 21st of this year, while The School Choice Roadmap will be available on January 21st, 2020.
We’re so excited to be publishing both titles. If you’d like to support these incredible authors and changemakers, you can pre-order a copy of both books from Indiebound or Barnes & Noble.
