Student recruitment industry booms as parents reject failing government-run classrooms

Choosing another government school won’t protect your child from the woke ideologies of DEI, LGBTQ+ or CRT. Taking children out of government schools and educating them on your own dime is the only way to educate and protect them.  

So many parents are dissatisfied with their local government schools that a K-12 student recruitment company is raking in millions by persuading parents to transfer their children to a different failing government school. 

“Caissa K12, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has been hired by school districts to recruit students as more parents opt for schools outside their neighborhood public school, causing enrollment numbers to plummet,” Fox News Digital reports.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Anyone paying attention should know that government schools have become little more than indoctrination centers for the agenda dictated by far-left teacher unions. It’s no wonder that desperate parents are seeking alternatives.

Caissa K12, a public policy firm as well as a government school recruitment center, has acquired more than 100 school district clients across 27 states since it started student recruitment services over the past 10 years. Its customer base includes districts in big cities such as Memphis, Orlando, Newark and dozens of other school districts. The firm sets up canvassers across a school district to speak to parents.

“All we hear about is how bad public schools are because it’s easy to attack them. They’re the biggest … they’ve been around for hundreds of years, and you have got this new grass that is greener thing,” Brian Stephens, president of Caissa K12, told Fox News Digital.

“So, what we do is actually just present the facts,” Stephens said. “We say this school district’s got 186 extracurricular activities. They’ve done really well here and if you love those things about that school, then pick it.”

Notice how the firm advertises how one district is better, with more programs. Nothing about student achievement.

Parents should know that choosing another government school won’t protect your child from the woke ideologies of DEI, LGBTQ+ or CRT. Taking children out of government schools and educating them on your own dime is the only way to educate and protect them.

Fox News Digital previously reported on several states following Arizona in passing universal school choice legislation, responding to the trend of parents seeking alternative options to traditional public schools.

The Fox article credits government-enabled school choice as helping Caissa K12’s business. Taxpayers should notice that this is yet another new cost to the education system.

According to USPIE’s new report, “Are Government Schools Redeemable?” parents put their children at risk by leaving them in government schools.

“The Mood of the Nation survey, published February 5, 2025, found that 73% of 1,005 adult respondents were dissatisfied with the quality of public education in the U.S.,” the report says. “It is the highest dissatisfaction rate since the survey began in 2001.”

To hear more from USPIE’s Founder and President, Sheri Few, tune in to the latest episode of USPIE’s podcast, “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few,” on Tuesday, Dec. 9, where Few is joined by special guest Robert Kilo, incoming Executive Director of School Ministries, an organization dedicated to bringing Bible education to government school students across America through a program called Released Time Bible Education. Robert is a passionate servant leader with experience in education, ministry, and nonprofit development.  Listen to “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few” on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and X.