by Donna Krache

(CNN)—A recently released study by the Brookings Institution at Harvard has stirred up the debate over school choice and vouchers.

CHARTER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT RISING—More students are attending charter schools across the country than ever before, according to a report from The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Over 2 million students are enrolled in charters today. These students are studying American History at Coney Island Prep, a successful charter school in Brooklyn, New York. (Credit: Steve Kastenbaum/CNN)

In some districts and states, parents can get vouchers to pay for their children’s education. Parents may choose to send their children to religious or private schools using the vouchers as payment for tuition. Much of the research surrounding the effectiveness of vouchers centers on more immediate outcomes, such as test scores.

(CNN)—College changed my life, so when I think about the question of who should go to college, I can't help but consider it through my own experience. And what I've learned from teaching over the past 40 years leads me to think that my experience is not all that unusual.

FROM SCRUBBING FLOORS TO THE IVY LEAGUE—Ashley Dawn Loggins celebrates graduation from high school on June 8. Loggins, 18, was abandoned last year and left homeless. But the staff at Burns High School in North Carolina chipped in and gave her a hand. And she worked as school janitor between her studies to make ends meet. She wanted to go to college. So Ashley Dawn applied to 5 colleges and was accepted to each, including her dream school—Harvard College.

by Steve Kastenbaum

(CNN)—More students are attending class at charter schools across the U.S. than ever before, and the number is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently released a report saying that more than 2 million children are enrolled in public charter schools this year. The nonprofit resource for charter schools said that more than 500 charter schools opened their doors across the country in the 2011-12 school year.

(CNN)—I often read materials that approach a subject as if there were only one solution. Such is the case of “redshirting” children for kindergarten, which is the practice of holding a child back from school until he turns six. There is certainly a best answer for each child, and parents and educators must determine what that answer is by considering his individual needs and development and not by blindly following a trend.