Betsy DeVos is one of the top education reformers in the country. She has worked with different state leaders to bring educational choice programs forward, particularly in states likes Florida and Louisiana.
While she has been criticized for her policies, US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has never been deterred from helping students pick where they want to go to school. She has always believed that it is a family’s right to choose where their children go to school. However, there haven’t always been programs available to guarantee this until educational choice was introduced.
Educational choice has been debated over the years because it takes students out of their regular zones and allows them to go to other schools, including other public schools. The debate over standardized testing has continued to add to this conversation as many public schools have lost funding due to poor scores.
DeVos believes that the first step is to allow students the choice of where to go to school. She toured the US in 2019 with the First Lady Melania Trump, starting the trip in Miami, Florida. She wanted to see how programs had advanced in her time as US Education Secretary.
Florida has the most educational choice programs, including magnet programs, charter schools, private schools, and virtual classes. In addition, the Sunshine State offers a scholarship program based on tuition costs. Students are able to apply for scholarships once accepted to a private school.
Betsy DeVos grew up in a small area of Michigan with big dreams. She has donated over $35 million to education, particularly in her home state. Along with her husband Dick DeVos, the couple built several charter schools and co-founded the West Michigan Aviation Academy in Grand Rapids.
The states have been slow to respond to educational choice, but DeVos has managed to expand her program to more areas in the past three years. She has also started new school safety programs, including a campus guardian who protects campuses from violence. In 2018, DeVos introduced these policies as part of new campus safety policies.
While DeVos has faced opposition across the country for her policies, she believes that students should be placed first in priority, instead of standardized testing requirements. She also believes that all families should have the choice of where to send their children, and her support has led to more virtual schools, allowing students to get an education from home.
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