Perhaps more than anything else, Dick DeVos’ name is associated with the charter school movement. However, many individuals in the mainstream media might have the wrong idea about why he’s become so entrenched with these alternative institutions of learning. Being a life-long resident of Kent County in Michigan, he’s seen the damage that can be done by a mismanaged education department.
Rather than simply push for change through political channels, Dick DeVos has taken major steps to rectify the problem. Naturally, he’s also been involved in a number of local political movements that deal with the issue. However, his biggest donations have always been directly given to organizations that work on the front lines where it will do the most good.
Consider, for instance, the fact that Dick DeVos founded a charter high school based around aviation sciences at the Grand Rapids International Airport. This unconventional school may seem odd at first glance, but his donations have helped it to ensure that its students are being prepared for real careers in the field. They’ve also financially supported a number of other unconventional institutions, all of which are designed to prepare students for real careers so that they can make a seamless transition into adult life.
Back in 2000, voters shot down a constitutional amendment that he had sponsored to create a voucher system for students to attend private schools. Media pundits seemed to announce the death of the movement and felt that it was time to simply time to move on from this kind of proposal.
Rather than simply give up, Dick DeVos and his wife Betsy simply shifted their advocacy to other parts of the country. In many areas, voters and policymakers were actually far more receptive to these kinds of programs. Now at least 24 different states have some form of vouchers that allow lower-income families to seriously consider the option of sending their students to private schools. At the same time that these states were approving at least some form of voucher policy, Washington DC was doing the same.
Some might look at the capital region’s adoption of a similar law as one of the biggest victories for Dick DeVos and his movement, because the region was unlikely to ever propose this sort of legislation. It also goes to prove that no matter what mainstream media pundits may claim, the push for school choice hasn’t failed at all.