WASHINGTON - Forty years ago, poor children were denied a quality education. Today, some African-American leaders, Capitol Hill lawmakers and union officials are still condemning these children to poor-performing schools and denying them the education they want and deserve. It was wrong then, and it�s still wrong today.
A few years ago, I was a single mother with a son in ninth grade. When my son started having problems in and out of school, I knew I did not want him to continue attending the D.C. public high school where he was enrolled.
Thanks to a private scholarship, I was able to send my son to Archbishop Carroll High School, where his grades immediately began to improve and for the first time he began to succeed academically.
Over the last few days, the voices of parents whose children are finally thriving in schools because of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program have been heard in many forums. Parents desperately want the Opportunity Scholarship Program to continue to help their children obtain what every parent wants ... a quality education.
Those who oppose the continuation of this program just don�t understand that good alternatives are out there for low-income children, and at a price that is often less than the cost of educating that child in a traditional public school. This wonderful program has provided parents with quality educational options for their children.
We have seen support come from Washington D.C. leaders like Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, former Mayors Anthony Williams and Marion Barry, former Councilman Kevin Chavous and others, but their voices seem to not be heard at all by the District�s elected representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton. Rep. Norton has constantly talked about �saving the children� but not �saving the program,� and it�s been confusing and frustrating to all.
Parents have asked me, �Why would Del. Norton not stand beside us to make sure this program continues to be available for our children?... we just don�t understand.�
As we�ve talked to parents, we�ve heard over and over that it would be devastating to have to look for new schools for their children when they are doing so well in the schools they are currently attending. It is so heartbreaking to have to come up with an answer that makes sense. The schools that once met our children�s needs are not currently working for them. Schools that don�t work are dead-end streets for our kids. Parents here in the District daily express their frustration in finding educational environments that work for their children. Many of them have gotten to the point where they feel hopeless and helpless.
The Opportunity Scholarship Program has empowered parents by giving them the chance to get their children out of low-performing schools and send them to schools that meet their individual needs. We have seen that, when children are placed in nurturing educational environments, they succeed and their parents become active and involved.
Our children need a good education, and we can no longer stand by while politicians condemn them to a life of lost opportunities and unfulfilled dreams.
As Sherine Robinson, a single mother of four, told me: �It is not easy to find a good school for your children. Parents should not have to worry about guns and knives in school, and you shouldn�t have to fight for your kids to learn. All parents should have a choice and the Opportunity Scholarship Program gives us a chance to expand our search for the best school possible.�
As we wait for the House Appropriation Committee to make decisions which will impact the future of this program, we hope members of Congress hear the voices of more than 1,900 parents who believe that their children deserve a quality education in a school of their choice.
Virginia Walden Ford is executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice.