April's Great Republican

By Ann Guthrie Hingston

Jeanne Allen

Founder & CEO, Center for Education Reform

Education choice is sweeping the nation. State legislatures in West Virginia, Arizona, Iowa, and Utah have passed universal education choice scholarships in recent years.  Similar legislation is in motion in other states.  Forty-seven states have charter schools.

This month we recognize Bethesda Republican, Jeanne Allen, for her tireless advocacy for school choice and we celebrate, with her, the success of her efforts -- tuition vouchers, private scholarships, and charter schools throughout the country.

In 1993, as a former US Department of Education official and young mother, Jeanne Allen founded the Center for Education Reform (CER) to promote education excellence and accountability for outcomes for all students regardless of zip code. 

Working with Governors, state lawmakers and funders, she has helped craft legislation to empower parents, rather than unions and education bureaucracies, to improve learning and raise standards that students desperately need.  Allen stepped up herself and ran for Maryland Delegate in 2010.  Unfortunately, she lost and Maryland officials continue to be in the grip of the State teachers political action committee. 

As scholarship students flourish in the District of Columbia, thanks to Republicans in Congress, Governor Wes Moore has reduced funding for BOOST scholarships for poor students, many living in Baltimore, to attend private schools.  For information on how states are doing see CER’s Parent Power index at https://parentpowerindex.edreform.com/

Today CER is busy showcasing exemplary programs and sounding the alarm when bureaucracies try to claw back money. CER administers the yassprize.org funded by Forbes, Inc and Janine Yass to honor providers who deliver outstanding education for students. They awarded $20 million in 2022 to innovative and successful education providers.

Ever vigilant about education bureaucracies, Allen advocates for education money to follow the child and not the school system. She recently sounded the alarm in a Wall Street Journal column, https://www.wsj.com/articles/students-flee-but-the-money-keeps-coming-hold-harmless-phantom-public-schools-proficiency-choice-66671227

Congratulations to Jeanne Allen and the Center for Education Reform for being a leading voice for innovation and opportunity in education. We are proud that Jeanne Allen is a Montgomery County Republican.

__________

Ann Guthrie Hingston is a Member of the Maryland Republican Central Committee from Montgomery County.