My Why: The Stories Behind School Choice

Meghan Presnell, Marketing Director, shares why she supports school choice for all Alabama families.

Imagine purchasing your first home, preparing to welcome your second child into the world—and then the housing market crashes. What was meant to be a small starter home suddenly looks like it might be your forever home. Fast forward three years, and it’s time to send your firstborn to kindergarten—except the school you’re zoned for is consistently failing. What should be an exciting milestone for a family is instead fraught with anxiety.

So we toured every elementary school we could, hoping the district would allow us to choose a better fit. In the end, our application was denied. That was my reality in 2012.

But giving up was never an option. For four exhausting months, I jumped through administrative hoops, made endless calls to district offices, and even recruited my mother-in-law—a former teacher and administrator in the district—to lean on her contacts. Eventually, midway through the kindergarten year, through public school choice, we landed at an elementary school that was right for our child.

That decision changed everything.

From that point forward, my children used school choice throughout their entire K–12 experience. In sixth grade, both transitioned to a small K–12 university lab school—an environment that offered opportunities simply not available to them otherwise. The school’s small size gave them access to opportunities much earlier than usual, including high school courses and dual enrollment college classes. Both of my children participated in sports and were exposed to JV and varsity athletics as early as middle school.

Academically and career-wise, the impact was just as profound. Through the lab school’s CNA program, my daughter earned her certification while still in school—an opportunity that directly led to a highly sought-after position in a hospital emergency room. The hands-on experience she gained there didn’t just build skills; it clarified her future, guiding her to major in Public Health with plans to attend P.A. school after graduation.  That’s not a “nice-to-have” outcome. That’s a life-altering one.

Sadly, very few parents have the time, resources, or insider knowledge to fight the way we did. That reality is exactly why I come to work each day and advocate for education opportunities for all children.

No family should feel anxious about sending their child to a school that’s a poor fit. No child should be assigned a future based solely on a zip code. For our family, we lost four months of kindergarten—a small fraction of a K–12 journey. But too many families across the country lose years of access to high-quality education their children deserve.

That’s unacceptable. We can do better. And I’m proud to devote my time and talents to making that happen.