School choice is booming in Iowa, but are students better off? The state's leaders have embraced school choice, creating and expanding alternatives to public schools. This has led to a competitive marketplace where public schools are struggling to compete with charter schools and private institutions. The story of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, illustrates the impact of school choice on public education. The city's newest charter school, Cedar Rapids Prep, is only in its first year as a middle school, but it's already renovating a future home to expand into next fall. The former office building is getting a multimillion-dollar remodel, offering Apple computers, a college-level chemistry lab, and an indoor slide. This costly construction is funded by one billionaire philanthropist, Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade. The school's principal, Justin Blietz, admitted he's taken heat from former colleagues and some strangers who feel he's helping the competition. The competition extends to private schools, like Xavier High School, which is attracting public school families with its beautiful campus and affordable tuition made possible by Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). However, not every family can choose to attend Xavier, as private schools have considerable say over who they accept and can turn away students for poor grades or a history of misbehavior. The data suggests that Xavier's schools may still be out of reach for the city's poorest families. The story of Cleveland Elementary School highlights the challenges faced by public schools in the face of school choice. Principal Condra Allred runs Cleveland Elementary and houses a districtwide program for students with disabilities. She worries that school choice is dividing families into those who have the time, money, and know-how to seek other options and those who don't. The share of white students in the district has dropped considerably over the past decade, in large part because of open enrollment, which allowed families to switch to suburban districts. Meanwhile, the share of students with disabilities and kids living in poverty has increased in city schools. The question that school choice communities must now consider is whether a growing education marketplace can be made to work for everyone, even the most vulnerable children.
