Last week, in recognition of National School Choice Week, Philanthropy Roundtable Adjunct Senior Fellow Patrice Onwuka, also a co-host on WMAL’s “O’Connor & Company,” highlighted the issue on the show in a conversation with co-host Larry O’Connor.
“It’s important that we support school choice because that is the way of getting Black kids, of getting minority kids, of getting kids with disabilities and learning issues, giving them a chance to bail out of their failing school – but also giving them a way to step up and move up in society,” she said.
Onwuka also emphasized that philanthropy can play a role in supporting school choice.
“Historically, you’ve seen donors big and small … investing in local, public, charter schools, investing in, frankly, the advocacy that’s needed or the programs that are created to either help people build their own school and create micro schools [and] really support the idea that we need to have as many options as possible,” she said.
She added that organizations like Philanthropy Roundtable can be an effective resource for donors on issues like this.
“They do some great work, highlight how donors can get involved in school choice and direct their funding in those different ways,” she said. “This is an opportunity for everyone to speak out, to support it and to drive our lawmakers to ensure they are enacting school choice.”
Listen to the full conversation on “O’Connor & Company” here.
