Today children throughout Missouri go to school in an outdated system that locks parents and children into a predetermined path for their future based on where they live.
While many elements contribute to a child’s success, countless studies have shown that if you live in a rich neighborhood then you will most likely attend a higher quality school and have a much easier path to college and higher paying job than if you live in a poorer neighborhood.
As a result, the most disadvantaged students are consistently left behind, stuck with no other option than to be warehoused in failing schools where students graduate far below grade level and without the necessary skills to succeed in today’s high-tech and fast-paced world.
If you lived in a poor neighborhood with a failing school, would that be good enough for your kids?
The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri believes that no parent should have to answer “yes” to that question and we are actively working with parents across the state to help them reimagine education in Missouri.
What would education look like if we could start with a completely clean slate and design it to meet the needs of the parents and students of the 21-st century?
In today’s world, you can choose to buy a product from thousands of choices online or in hundreds of stores around you, you can choose a lunch that could come from hundreds of different cuisines, and you can choose to watch virtually anything on demand anywhere you are.
In a world of so many choices for even the most trivial things, shouldn’t we also have choices for something as important as our education system?
What if parents had the ability to choose the school that worked best for their children instead of being stuck in the school defined by their zip code?
Imagine a world where parents had the power to choose schools that empowered teachers to use innovative approaches to harness the best aspects of today’s Internet-driven technology.
Imagine a world where parents could choose a school that focused on art, or science, or languages because their child excelled in those programs.
Imagine a world where a student could connect with teachers and students throughout the state from the comfort and safety of their own home.
Imagine a world where parents, not bureaucrats, had power over the funding for and the quality of their children’s education.
Imagine a world where students were not left behind and stuck in a one-size-fits-all system, but instead were given the power to choose the educational path that fit them best.
Thankfully, we do not have to continue doing what has always been done and continue to leave children throughout the state behind, because YOU have the power to help change the system.
CEAM is helping parents get involved in fighting for the power to choose what is best for their children.
Every parent in the state can be involved in reimagining education and every parent’s voice, YOUR voice, matters.