 |
| Nearly a dozen parents were in attendance for today's D.C. Council hearing. |
But they weren’t there to sight-see—they were there to there
to testify during a hearing on the FY2013 education budget.
Led by Chairman Kwame Brown, who is a strong supporter of
the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), the hearing included testimony
from charter school leaders, parents, and others in support of the District’s
three-sector funding initiative—an approach where D.C. public schools, charter
schools, and the highly-successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program are
equally and additionally funded
beyond what would originally be the case.
Congress renewed their support for the three-sector approach when it
reauthorized the OSP back in April 2011.
But the most convincing testimony of all did not speak of
budget shortfalls, lack of fairness, and the depressingly low educational
outcomes of far too many District children (all important things, of
course). The parents who spoke told the
real story.
Sheila Jackson has been a part of the D.C. Opportunity
Scholarship Program for seven years. Her
daughter, Shawnee is thriving in her school and doing well in math—a subject in
which she has always struggled. Here is
what she told the council:
Chairman Brown, council members
Yvette Alexander, Marion Barry, and Muriel Bowser, thank you for your support
of the Opportunity Scholarship Program. I am grateful for this
opportunity to speak before the city council today.
I am a divorced mother of
two. I have a sixteen year old daughter who is and has been a recipient
of the Opportunity Scholarship for seven years. The scholarship program
has been the difference in Shawnee having to attend an underperforming schools
that was not safe to her now attending a school that meets her needs and where
I know she is safe.
My daughter attended DC Public
School though fourth grade. I was not pleased with the overcrowded
classrooms, teachers having to share teacher aides, purchase supplies with
their own money, children so unruly the police had to be frequently called
because they were a threat to the rest of the student body.
I could not allow the DC Public
School system to fail my daughter and I knew this if she continued in DC Public
Schools that would surely be the case. Shawnee was struggling in math and
her teacher was not willing to do anything outside of her lesson plan to help
my daughter.
She blatantly told me that if my daughter did not get it than she was sorry. The school she was attending was an underperforming school as were most of the schools in my ward. During her last year in the DC Public School system, I learned about a tutoring program for low-income families under the No Child Left Behind Program. I applied for my daughter and she was accepted.
After an assessment of her by
the assigned tutor, it was discovered that she was intimidated by math.
Ms. John, her tutor who is currently a Professor at the University of Oklahoma,
worked with Shawnee through the remainder of the school year. There was a
tremendous improvement in her math grades.
That was her last year in DC
Public Schools. During that year, I learned about and applied for the
Opportunity Scholarship Program and Shawnee was accepted. She is now a
junior in high school attending the Preparatory School of DC, an honor roll
student and making plans for college.
Not only has the OSP provided me
a choice for my daughter, but also for many other parents. I stand today
asking those of the council that support the program for their continued
support and those that don’t, to please re-evaluate your views of the
OSP. We all want our children to get the best education possible, but are
not always financially able to afford private schools. The OSP provides
parents, like myself, to choose a school well suited for their children and to
receive a quality education. Thank you for allowing me to share my story
with you today.
The second parent to speak was Ruth Reynoso, who has applied
this year for her daughter to participate in the program. She is waiting to hear if her daughter will
win the lottery for a coveted scholarship.
“I want to thank you for giving
me the chance to talk about the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Thank
you for your strong support. It means a lot to those of us who are trying
to choose a better education for our children.
I am waiting to hear news about
the application for my daughter. My older child went to a private school
because I wanted a better educational opportunity for them. However, I
was working back then and at the time could afford the tuition amount.
Now that I no longer work, I
cannot afford to pay the tuition, but want the same opportunities for my
younger child that my older child had. There is no help for someone like
me to pay the tuition at a private school so the Opportunity Scholarship
Program represents a real choice for me as a parent to do the best that I can
do for my child’s education and her future.
It was disappointing to read
that the Mayor did not fund the Opportunity Scholarship Program in his
budget. The program is nothing more than a chance at a better education
for my child and I can’t understand why anyone would want to be against helping
children across this city have a better educational future.
Thank you again for supporting
this choice for me and I hope that more parents will be able to take advantage
of this program in the future.
To learn more about the amazing results of the OSP, click here.
- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG
No comments:
Post a Comment