NYC Families Gather to Demand More Educational Options

By Kevin P. Chavous

I had the opportunity to take part this weekend in StudentsFirstNY’s Parent Convention. The convention brought together hundreds of families and education choice activists from across New York City to discuss the best way to inspire policy changes that would lead to more quality educational options for New York children. 

New Poverty Statistics Make Clear the Dire and Immediate Need for School Choice

On the heels of news released today that the nation’s poverty rate hit 15.1 percent last year—the highest level in 17 years—we’re gaining more and more insight into the plight of the large swath of the nation’s low-income families.

The total number of people living below the poverty line of $22,314 is at the highest level in the recorded history of the statistic. But those numbers apply to everyone. Things get even worse when you dig a bit deeper:

• Although all demographic groups saw  equal or higher proportions of people living in poverty, rates are significantly higher for Hispanics and blacks, who saw the largest increases from the previous year
• The poverty rate for children sits at a staggering 22 percent
• Among Hispanic children, the poverty rate is 35 percent. Among black children, it’s an unfathomable 39 percent

According to Joan Entmacher, the vice president of the National Women’s Law Center, there exist a host of fundamental problems about the environments in which so many recession-ravaged families are growing up:

Behind today’s grim statistics are real people who are finding it harder than ever to…give their children a chance at a better life.

More than any set of sweeping data in recent history, these statistics sound a vociferous clarion call about the need to save our country’s children—predominantly minority, predominantly urban-dwelling, and low-income—from the difficulties that lie ahead on the path down which they’re traveling.

And how can we best do that? By improving the education these kids are receiving.

'A Small Leak Can Sink a Great Ship'

The title is a quote from Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the most famous Philadelphian of all time. And unfortunately, it could also serve as a warning regarding what's at stake if we don't begin fixing our education system in the place he once called home.

Philadelphia has one of America's oldest public school systems. As a result of that age comes experience, which is why the city is home to some of the country's most exemplary public and public charter schools.

But for every kid lucky enough to be zoned to attend Central High School, there are hundreds more who are relegated to failing schools, those of which are sadly common in a Philadelphia school district that ranks as one of the worst in the state.

That's where Senate Bill 1 comes in. It aims to rescue children from those failing schools by granting them vouchers that allow their parents to choose a qualifying private school for them to attend. Targeted specifically towards the low-income children most in need of help, it's at the center of a contentious debate currently going on in the Pennsylvania legislature.

After the jump, watch a stunning video that makes clear what's at stake if these students don't receive help—and fast.