In with charters out with public schools.

Betsy Devos is the 11th Secretary of Education in the U.S. and she plans to reform schools by decreasing the use of public schools and introducing more charter schools.

DeVos is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are operated independently. DeVos plans to get many school districts to open up to charter-like schooling.

DeVos is 59 years old with a husband and four children. Her husband, Dick DeVos, is the co-founder of Amway and the owner of the NBA team, Orlando Magic. The names of her kids are Ryan DeVos, Elisabeth DeVos, Andrea DeVos and Richard DeVos lll.

In her hometown of Holland, Michigan, DeVos attended a private school, which was Holland Christian High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and political science at Calvin College.

DeVos is the chairwoman of the Windquest Group, which is a group that she invested in with her husband, Dick. They are also chief investors and board members of Neurocore, which is a company that does remedies for brain disorders like anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc.

Being is a big donor to charities and organizations, mainly ones that involve her beliefs on religion and education, is something that she is known for. A list of some corporations/groups she has donated to: Loudspeaker Media Inc., Success Academy Charter Schools, GREAAT Schools, Inc., The Potter’s House, Alliance for School Choice, Foundation for Excellence in Education, University of Maryland College Park Foundation, School of Missionary Aviation Technology and Calvin College. She has also donated some money to the Republican Party, as she has conservative views

A charter school is a hybrid between public and private schools. It is free education for students, like public schools, but like private schools, charters have limited space in them, so parents must submit an application to enroll their child in the school. “I don’t like the idea [of charter schools] in most cases. I don’t feel it’s what’s best for all students because it loses a layer of accountability for the schools,” said guidance counselor, Dana Steinmetz.

Currently, there are no charter schools in Kentucky, but, there are traditional schools that exist. Traditional schools are similar to charter schools in which they are like public schools, but the parent must apply for their child to get accepted into it. These schools focus on the core subjects like math, science, reading, and social studies. Some traditional schools in Kentucky include Moore Traditional High School, Butler Traditional High School, Louisville Male High School, duPont Manual High School, and Barret Traditional Middle School.

“In BCPS, there would become a popular school and an unpopular school –or a good school and a bad school [if charter schools were to ever be introduced to BCPS]. Right now, we are really working as a district to make all three high schools similar. We all have similar policies and procedures in place to make the schools consistent and fair. I believe it’s important to have to answer to somebody for the decisions you make as a school because those decisions affect thousands of kids from a variety of backgrounds,” said Steinmetz.

When nominations were being made and DeVos’ confirmation came about to declare her the Secretary of Education, two Republicans did not back her, so this left the vote tied at 50. When events like this happen, the vice president steps in and makes the final call. Vice President Mike Pence made the deciding vote on November 23 to make DeVos the new Education Secretary.

“I am very excited to get to work and to talk about my thoughts and ideas on making American education great again,” said DeVos after her appointment.

DeVos has been a long-time advocate for reforming the school systems in the U.S. She has been trying for years in her home state of Michigan to change the way schools are ran. She is a very religious person, in which she compared the Bible to her workforce and activism by listing education activism and reform efforts to “advance God’s Kingdom.”

DeVos believes education should be opened up to for-profit charter schools, and she has stated that education is “a closed system. It’s a monopoly, a dead end.” In other words, she thinks public schools are not working anymore and the government plays too much of a role in it. She thinks that opening up education to a brighter spectrum will give parents increased choice and also gives underprivileged kids a chance.