Commentary
Op-Ed: More school choice means fewer lotteries
Originally published in LancasterOnline.
Kevin McCoy of Philadelphia is very blessed — and very grateful. His academic achievements are extraordinary, but he says he almost missed his shot at success.
At a state Senate hearing last month, the high school senior revealed his secret: winning a lottery to enroll in the local charter school. Instead of getting stuck in his local district school, one of the lowest-ranked in the state, McCoy discovered his true potential through this educational opportunity.
At TECH Freire Public Charter High School, McCoy made the honor roll 14 times and served as vice president of the National Honor Society. He won the 2019 Young Writers Storytelling Award for his fiction and three STEM awards through the University of Pennsylvania’s summer program. Now, he’s heading to Temple University as a Provost Scholar to study psychology.
Across the state in Pittsburgh…