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April 22, 2013

Postcards from the Past 
A new, occasional blog post by CER President Jeanne Allen in commemoration of CER’s 20th Anniversary in business and the historical events that have taken place during our history.

Ohio, 1994

So many people start a sentence with “it seems like yesterday,” but you know, that phrase has never tired me. When history is so critical to who we are individually or collectively, what has happened before is almost always interesting. I think that’s particularly so today for education reformers, who just a short time ago launched a movement that has shattered myths, broken down conventional barriers to real education for children, and upset an establishment that continues to plague our schools.

“It seems like yesterday…” that I got this letter, and went to work to help State Senator Cooper Snyder eventually succeed with his legislation authorizing a pilot school choice program for poor children in Cleveland, eg, vouchers. It was a bill which eventually got through the entire legislature, was litigated all the way to the US Supreme Court and affirmed the constitutionality of vouchers and most important, the parents’ right to direct the flow of dollars allocated to educate their child.

The outcry from The Blob was, as expected, fierce and negative.

Today, more opportunities are opened up to children thanks to a few people like Senator Snyder, who is now retired and keeps up with us on the day’s trends. We owe this pioneer of school choice a great deal of gratitude — and the critical recognition that too many of us forget to give — for fighting the early battles so we could all benefit.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this first Postcard from the Past!