In the wake of this week’s momentous Carson v. Makin Supreme Court verdict, Newsweek featured an op-ed by Partnership Superintendent Kathleen Porter-Magee. In it, she observes:

States should allow families who choose Catholic schools access to the same educational resources and programs as families that chose secular education.

It’s often said that one unshakable fact of American life is the trust families put in their local public schools. Yet, over the past two and a half years, parents have grown increasingly frustrated, as large public districts struggled to scale remote learning, teachers’ unions fought to keep schools shuttered, and national public-school leaders try to shut parents out of critical curricular and instructional decisions.

In stark contrast, Catholic schools stepped forward to provide parents what they needed: in-person education they could count on; rigorous, content-rich instruction for their children; and a feeling of belonging and community that was lost during the pandemic. Indeed, at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, while only 43 percent of public schools and just 34 percent of charter schools re-opened to in-person learning, fully 92 percent of Catholic schools offered either full-time in-person or hybrid learning.

…When it comes to K-12 education, it is well past time for public officials to recognize the value that options play in ensuring parents’ voices are heard and children’s needs are met. Catholic schools were there when families most needed a better option, and they will continue to put kids first in the years ahead if we simply recognize they are worthy of public support.

You can read the full editorial here.