Scholars, advocates of various positions, and policymakers have fiercely debated whether the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), also known as the voucher or "Choice" program, has been a godsend or a scourge for the city's children. Wisconsin policymakers, concerned about that question, identified the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP) as the organization to help provide the answers. The SCDP is a national research organization, based in the University of Arkansas's Department of Education Reform, dedicated to the comprehensive, objective, and nonpartisan evaluation of school choice programs. The authors are drawn together for this project by the opportunity to examine what effects the mature MPCP is having on the students, parents, taxpayers, schools, and communities of the city and state. This study, as a component of the larger mix-methods School Choice Demonstration Project evaluation, is a rare effort to describe, as well as to compare and contrast, the lessons learned from families who have pursued different school options, among them traditional public, public charter and private schools that accept publicly funded vouchers. In the first year of the study, which was launched in the spring of 2008, the authors attempted to establish a relationship and build trust with the families, as well as gain a baseline understanding of their experiences within two of three major school sectors in Milwaukee. This first year report reflects the responses of families with children attending MPS and MPCP schools. A second round of focus groups with participating families is scheduled for the spring of the 2008-09 academic year, and a third and final meeting during the spring of 2010-11. Subsequent reports will be expanded to include the experiences of families with children attending public charter schools. Research Methodology is appended. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 20 footnotes.)