Archival Collections and
Institutional Repository
Abstract:
Records of a pro-school choice activist/lobbyist who participated in the movements in Milwaukee and Cleveland to secure public funding for private school children, including children attending religious schools.
Biographical History
A lifelong supporter of Catholic education, Sharon L. Schmeling graduated from Messmer High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before attending Marquette University where she received her degree in journalism in 1987. In 1999, after working first as a newspaper reporter and then a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, Schmeling joined Howard Fuller at the Institute for the Transformation of Learning (ITL). In 2000, she began working with George and Susan Mitchell at the American Education Reform Council (AERC). Both organizations advocated school choice. In these positions, Schmeling worked as project manager for a variety of public policy communications initiatives aimed at educating journalists and lawmakers nationwide about school choice. She stepped away from the school choice movement for several years before reengaging with it in 2014 as executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools (WCRIS).
Scope and Content
Other than a small amount of material that touches on Schmeling’s public service on the Jefferson County Board and as a trustee for the Countryside Home in Jefferson, Wis., the collection documents Schmeling’s role as a pro-school choice advocate from 1999-2004.
The bulk of the collection consists of subject files, both paper and electronic, arranged alphabetically. It also includes a series of TV and radio spots that Schmeling produced featuring testimonials from school choice parents. All videocassette recordings have been digitized. All audio recordings are available as digital files.
Included in the collection is an oral history interview of Schmeling, conducted by William Fliss in September 2024, that records her reminiscences of the school choice movement. Of particular interest are her thoughts on how the movement changed over time.
| Series | Box | Folder | Folder Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | Paper subject files, arranged alphabetically by title, |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Accountability, 1999-2003 |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Accreditation, 2002 |
| 1 | 1 | - | American Education Reform Council (AERC), |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Conference for Cleveland organizers, 2000 May 8-9 |
| 1 | 1 | 4 | Issue advocacy, circa 2002 |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Public Information Project, 2000 |
| 1 | 1 | 6 | Strategy, 2001 August |
| 1 | 3 | 9 | Articles about Sharon Schmeling, 2015, 2020, 2024 |
| 1 | 1 | 7 | Attack by American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 2001 |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | Background checks, 2003 |
| 1 | 1 | 9 | Black Alliance for Educational Opportunities (BAEO), 2000-2001 |
| 1 | 1 | 10 | Black Alliance for Educational Opportunities (BAEO), TV ads - Norquist, Johnson, Cleveland, 2001 |
| 1 | 1 | 11 | Charter School drama, 2003-2004 |
| 1 | 1 | 12 | Cleveland filming, 2001 April |
| 1 | 2 | 1 | Cleveland voucher court case, sources, 2002 June |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | Communications, workplans, 2000-2003 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Contacts lists, 1995-2001 |
| 1 | 2 | 4 | D.C. voucher meeting, 2003 December 10 |
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Florida oral argument, 2000 August |
| 1 | 2 | 6 | Media training, Marquette University, 2000 June 21 |
| 1 | 2 | 7 | Milwaukee County private schools list, 2003 |
| 1 | 2 | 8 | Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), Enrollment Cap, 2004 |
| 1 | 2 | 9 | Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), Longitudinal study, 2001 |
| 1 | 2 | 10 | Milwaukee School Choice Dinner, 1990 |
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Milwaukee - Cleveland filming, 2000 October |
| 1 | 2 | 12 | National website, 2003 |
| 1 | 2 | 13 | Op-Ed articles, 1999-2000 |
| 1 | 2 | 14 | Outreach to newspapers, 2002 September - 2003 April |
| 1 | 2 | 15 | Publications completed with Schmeling's assistance, 2000-2001 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | Publications completed with Schmeling's assistance, 2002-2003 |
| 1 | 3 | 2 | Reports and articles on School Choice, 1995-2002 |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Scripts for radio spots, 2001 |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | Television advertisements filming, Florida, 2001 August |
| 1 | 3 | 5 | Television advertisements filming, Florida, 2002 January - February |
| 1 | 3 | 6 | Visits, D.C. and Missouri, 2003 |
| 1 | 3 | 7 | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Conclusion to Partners for Public Education Complaint, 2000 April 18 |
| 1 | 3 | 8 | Wisconsin State Budget, 2003-2005 |
SLS
Series 1
| Series | Box | Folder | Folder Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | Electronic subject files, arranged alphabetically, |
| 1 | - | ER-1 | BAEO, TV / Radio ads, 2000-2002 |
| 1 | - | - | Letters and editorials responding to disinformation, |
| 1 | - | ER-2 | 2002 |
| 1 | - | ER-3 | 2003 |
| 1 | - | ER-4 | 2004 |
| 1 | - | ER-5 | Op-ed essays, 2000, undated |
| 1 | - | - | Parent profiles, 2001, undated, |
| 1 | - | ER-6 | General |
| 1 | - | ER-7 | Cleveland |
| 1 | - | ER-8 | Florida |
| 1 | - | ER-9 | Milwaukee |
| 1 | - | ER-10 | Washington DC |
| 1 | - | ER-11 | Personal, non-school choice work, 2002-2003, undated |
| 1 | - | ER-12 | Q&A on school choice, 2002, undated |
| 1 | - | ER-13 | Research-Reports, AERC, 2003 |
| 1 | - | ER-14 | Research-Reports, Others, 2001-2003 |
| 1 | - | ER-15 | Wisconsin public information project, 2001-2003 |
| 1 | - | ER-16 | Wisconsin public information project, Fiscal effects, 2001-2002 |
| 1 | - | ER-17 | Wisconsin public information project, Newspaper visits, 2002-2003 |
SLS
Series 1
| Series | Box | Folder | Folder Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | ER-0 | Oral history interview, 2024 September 24 |
SLS
Series 1
| Series | Box | Folder | Folder Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | - | Videocassettes (VHS), arranged chronologically, |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, "School Choice" T.V. and Radio Spots, Fall 2000 |
| 1 | 4 | - | New BAEO commercial spots - Final Rough Cuts, 2001 March 2 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO,Spots Compilation, 2001 March 16 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, commercial spots, parents, 2001 August 15 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, commercial spots, parents, 2001 August 30 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, commercial spots, Norquist, Caire, Johnson, 2001 September 11 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, Florida T.V. Commercials, 2001 September 13 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, commercial spots, parents, 2001 October 2 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO Washington D.C. T.V. Ads, Cleveland parents, 2001 |
| 1 | 4 | - | BAEO, Spots Compilation, 2002 June |
| 1 | 5 | - | AERC, Freedom to Choose: How School Choice Revitalized an American City, 2002 |
| 1 | 5 | - | BAEO, Commercial Compilation, 2003 March |
| 1 | 5 | - | BAEO, "School Choice" 9 T.V. Ads, undated |
| 1 | 5 | - | Sound recordings (CDs), arranged chronologically, |
| 1 | 5 | - | BAEO, four (4) 60-second radio spots, 2000 November 13 |
| 1 | 5 | - | BAEO, three (3) 60-second radio spots, 2001 May 21 |
| 1 | 5 | - | AERC/BAEO, four (4) 60-second radio spots, undated |
| 1 | 5 | - | BAEO Radio, ten (10) 60-second radio spots, undated |
| 1 | 5 | - | BAEO, Spring Image campaign, three (3) 60-second radio spots, undated |
| 1 | 5 | - | Video (DVD), BAEO, National Television Campaign, circa 2002 |
| 1 | 5 | 1 | White t-shirt with "Save School Choice" in red lettering on front and "School Choice Works!" in blue lettering on back, undated. |
