Thursday, April 01, 2010

School Choice Advocate
The New Emerging Leaders of the School Choice Movement

A little-known fact about the late Rose D. Friedman: she was born during a recession. The economy was in recession between January 1910 and January 1912. Her late husband, Milton, lived nearly half his first 21 years in an economy in recession. He also earned his bachelor's degree from Rutgers University during the Great Depression, the 20th century's most severe economic contraction. Therein lies a powerful lesson: recession, an unfortunate economic occurrence, can serve as the catalyst for education and great lifetime achievement.

The history of American private schools provides many examples of visionary leaders who inspired parents, often hardpressed, to create alternative learning institutions in periods of recession. Their stories are varied and compelling.

Arkansas' income rank has tended to be second lowest in the nation, ahead of Mississippi, since records were first kept. Yet an émigré Catholic priest, Michael Judt, inspired his flock, mainly farmers, to launch a private school, Ss. Cyril and Methodius, on the eve of the 'Roosevelt Recession' (May 1937 to June 1938). The school, at Slovak, Ark., was opened in the poorest region of the United States—the Mississippi Delta. Another private Catholic school, St. Michael's, also opened in the Delta (West Memphis) at the same time. Ss. Cyril and Methodius later merged with Holy Rosary in nearby Stuttgart. Both schools still serve their respective communities.

Michigan, Arkansas' sister state, provides numerous examples. The official Detroit motto (speramus meliora, resurget cineribus) translates as, "We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes." Gabriel Richard, an émigré from the French Revolution and nonvoting congressional delegate, penned these words. A private high school named for Richard arose in Riverview in the industrial Downriver Detroit area around the December 1969-November 1970 recession.

Recession can also serve as the impetus for change rarely seen in government. Private school administrators and parents do not have the luxury of running to taxpayers or the state legislature for a bailout. They must adapt, overcome and improvise with limited resources. One example is the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy. The university traces its roots to the 19th century's longest recession (October 1873-March 1879). The high school responded to the November 1973-March 1975 recession by creating a middle school "feeder program." A school history explains:

"Perhaps the most significant decision in the school's history occurred during this difficult time period. In the mid 1970s, many people connected to the school were advocating a relocation to the suburbs in order to stabilize enrollment, finances and resources… After an examination of the Jesuit mission for the school, the Jesuits remained committed to providing the highest quality, college prep, Catholic and Jesuit education within the city of Detroit. In effect, the decision for the school to stay in the city of Detroit was a decision to support and to create a school that would reach out and serve the residents of the entire Detroit metropolitan area."

Enrollment stabilized and the school grew in ensuing years.

Holy Family Regional School in suburban Rochester Hills provides another example. Financial restraints that grew out of a recession forced the closing of St. Andrew School in 1971. The scourge of inflation led to two recessions (January-July 1980, July 1981-November 1982). Yet Holy Family emerged, and the school expanded in another recession in 2001. A history explains:

"The spring and early summer of that year were spent interviewing and hiring additional teachers to staff the two campuses. Grade-level picnics were held in early June and July so that current and new families could become acquainted."

Private schools have been opened in America by all religious denominations. A Protestant school, Heritage Christian High in Dyer, Ind., was opened in the 2001 recession. New York is home to many private Jewish schools including the Ramaz School, a co-educational Modern Orthodox Yeshiva Day School on the Upper East Side. In the mid- 1930s, Joseph H. Lookstein sought to establish a day school as the country struggled to regain its financial solvency. A history explains:

"He first broached the subject to a circle of close friends at a July Fourth weekend in 1936. He spoke of what he saw as a tremendous void in Jewish education. He shared his vision of a new type of day school with a different philosophy of education -- one that demonstrated a better understanding of a Jewish child growing up in the free and open society of the United States of America."

Financing the school was among the many obstacles Rabbi Lookstein and his congregation overcame. The Academy opened its doors during the 1937-38 recession with only six students. There were two teachers: one taught general studies, the other religious studies. A history explains the Academy's early growth:

"Word of mouth, advertisements and, ultimately, the ability of the Ramaz School to confound the pessimists and sustain itself, brought increasing numbers of applicants."

The school held its first high school commencement during a recession (November 1948-October 1949).

An independent school, the John Thomas Dye School in Brentwood, Calif., traces its roots to February 1929, months before the Depression, and a move to a new facility in the 1948-49 recession. John and Cathryn Dye founded the school. The couple, a school history notes, "persevered and succeeded despite great personal loss: the death of their only child, John Thomas Dye III (after whom the school was named)" in World War II.

Founding a private school in the best of times is a daunting task. Opening a private school in a recession can be even more challenging. Choice advocates can learn a great deal about overcoming adversity by studying the histories of these private schools and others founded in trying economic times.