Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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To a child, there is nothing scarier than a new school. Your entire world is turned upside down, with new teachers, new friends and new maps to memorize and navigate.
As a child who moved more times than I could count, there was always a risk of a new home forcing me into a new school. The reason for this is simple: zoning maps. If we moved too far away, some nameless entity decided that I must be sent to a new school. The choice was not left to my teachers or parents, and certainly not to me.
Most of my experiences with schools came from this, and I had always assumed that students were meant to be huddled together and educated by their most common attribute: their address. All of this changed when I decided to be a teacher and had my first experience with school choice.
In the spring of 2014, I received an email informing me of the placement for my student teaching at a magnet school in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I began researching immediately, hopeful that my first day would be full of excitement and wonder.
I found that this was not your ordinary elementary school, but it was open to anyone who went through the application process. This school was dedicated to the arts and humanities and encouraged applications from students all around the city who wanted to learn core content through the lens of the arts. Never in a thousand years could I have imagined that I would learn to juggle, ride a unicycle, play the djembe and more.
Even beyond my own experiences, it amazed me that these students had the opportunity to use these skills to enhance and guide their learning. It was then that I realized I would forever be one of the voices who shouted “school choice” from the rooftops.
After graduation, I got the chance to move to Las Vegas and teach at another school dedicated to the arts and humanities. Once again, the school was open to anyone, regardless of their address.
Here, I was given the honor of teaching math and science through art, dance, music and more. To see a student perform a choreographed dance along a life-sized coordinate plane will change the way you see mathematics. Students who are excited, passionate and driven in the arts thrive here, and it shows in their growth each year.
This is only possible for some of these children because the shackles of zoning were removed, and the families who knew their children best could help them pick the environment that allowed them to thrive.
I get to teach middle-school math at a K-12 college prep academy. Families all over the city come to us to get the opportunity to explore academics through career-focused lenses and technology integration in the classroom. When other schools fail to meet the needs of their child, they come to us with an understanding that our school is designed to support growth and success not just in the classroom or on some standard test, but throughout the child’s entire future.
Every year, I meet a new family who tells me the stories of the school around the corner, that never quite seemed to “get” their child. It was simply a building that held their kids for eight hours but never inspired them. Choosing our school meant they had a say in who teaches them, what programs they have access to, and what path they want to go down to lead them to their futures. Children who walk through our doors and sit in my room have already decided they want to be there and are ready to face any challenges coming their way.
The stark contrast between my education, which had me shuffled from place to place based on where I lived, and that of the students who get to have their voices heard when choosing how and where they are educated, tells one central truth: For these communities, school choice is no choice at all, but the imperative reality of our future.
Stephanie Campbell is a sixth-grade math teacher at Somerset Losee Academy in North Las Vegas.
