Thursday, April 29, 2004
The Power of Choice
Voucher Plan Draws Hundreds
Parents Attend Orientation Session on Aid Program for D.C. Students
By Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 29, 2004; Page B01
Cynthia Briggs is worried that her 14-year-old son could fall victim to violence at a D.C. public high school. Juanda Benjamin wants her two children to have language and extracurricular programs that are not offered in the public system. Anthony Payne would like help paying the tuition for a daughter who goes to a Catholic school.
The three District residents are among hundreds who want to participate in the nation's first federally funded voucher program and who attended an orientation session at the Washington Convention Center last night. The parents are hoping their children will be picked in a lottery next month to qualify for a voucher of up to $7,500 per student toward the cost of attending private school.
The odds of winning the lottery will depend on several factors that are still hazy. Officials with the Washington Scholarship Fund, the nonprofit organization running the voucher program, have funding to provide grants to at least 1,700 students and say they have heard from about 4,000 households -- which may include about 8,500 children -- interested in applying.
Private schools have until May 7 to indicate how many slots they plan to set aside for voucher students, but officials have warned that the program may not serve as many children as expected in the first year because many of the schools have filled most of their classes for this fall.
None of that seemed to deter the parents at last night's orientation. Dozens waited inside a convention room before the meeting began, and a crowd of more than 200 had shown up within the first 15 minutes of the session.
Among them was Briggs, 46, a Northwest Washington resident. She said her 14-year-old son, Mark, now in public school, has been admitted to St. John's College High School in Northwest but was offered only a partial scholarship toward the $10,000 annual tuition, and Briggs said she cannot afford to cover the rest on her secretary's salary. She expressed worries about his safety in D.C. public high schools, saying that black males are at risk, given violent incidents that have occurred there in recent years.
"I'm leery of black boys going to public high school," she said. "It's just so scary."
Briggs added that she was not seeking a private-school voucher for Colette, her 15-year-old daughter, because Colette is happy at her public school, Dunbar Senior High in Northwest, and does not face the threat of violence that male students do.
Benjamin, 34, of Southeast Washington, said her 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter are getting an excellent education at Elsie Whitlow Stokes, a public charter school in Northwest. But the school goes only through sixth grade, and her son, Dionte, will graduate this year. Benjamin, who learned about the voucher program from a sign on a Metro train, said there are no comparable language and extracurricular programs for seventh-graders at regular or charter schools in the public system. And she wants her daughter, DaQuanda, to attend the same private school as her son.
"I didn't have private school," said Benjamin, who works as a teacher's aide in a D.C. public school. "I want them to have something better than I had. I don't want them in an environment where bullets are flying."
Parents at last night's meeting asked questions and filled out paperwork to determine whether they meet the program's residency and income guidelines -- at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Similar sessions will be held at the convention center from 6 to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Gloria Queen, 53, a janitor who lives in Southeast, said in a phone interview yesterday that she will apply for vouchers for her three grandchildren. They now attend Johnson Junior High and Turner Elementary, two public schools in Southeast where the atmosphere has not been conducive to learning, she said.
"They're not really getting what they should be getting," Queen said of Rachelle, 14, Tarshia, 11, and Richard, 7.
She said she has visited the two schools and seen children in the hall instead of class.
"The kids are not focusing," Queen said. "They stay in the hall all of the time. . . . The teachers seem like they're so busy. Some give up like they don't care."
Queen said she first learned about vouchers several months ago from remarks by Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) touting the program, then received a flier in the mail providing more information.
The scholarship fund, which was awarded a federal contract to administer the voucher program after President Bush signed legislation earlier this year, said the lottery to determine who receives the grants will be held the week of May 17.
The lottery will be weighted to favor students from 15 D.C. public schools that failed to meet goals for two years under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Students at other D.C. public schools will have the next-highest chance of winning, followed by those who already attend private schools.
Parents who win the lottery then will start visiting private schools that have agreed to participate in the program, to determine which ones best fit their children's needs. The schools will be allowed to use their normal admissions criteria in deciding which voucher students to accept. A second lottery will be held in late June to determine final matches between schools and students.
Demand at the high school level will probably exceed the available space, said Sally J. Sachar, president and chief executive of the scholarship fund.
Several of the parents at last night's meeting said they were seeking vouchers to cover payments they are already making to private schools.
Payne, 48, of Northeast, said his 14-year-old daughter, Ebone, attends Archbishop Carroll High School and his other daughter, Christiana, 6, attends Aiton Elementary, a public school.
Payne, who has kidney problems and is on disability, wants vouchers for both children, to help defray the cost of his older daughter's education and to pay for his younger daughter to attend religious school.
"This is a great opportunity for me to continue the education of my family," Payne said. "Aiton is a nice school, but we're a deeply religious family, and I'd rather have our children in a Christian school setting. I want my children to be able to pray."
Shirlene Allen, 39, of Southeast was filling out paperwork to qualify for a voucher for her 5-year-old daughter, Judith, who has not started school yet.
Allen, a student at the University of the District of Columbia, said her daughter is naturally curious and wants to learn a foreign language, which is rarely offered at elementary schools in the city's public system. "I want the best for my child, and I'm going to do everything possible to get her into a private school," Allen said.
She is not seeking a voucher for her older daughter, Tamira, 15, who is enrolled at Browne Junior High in Northeast. She said Tamira is doing well and does not want to be separated from her friends in public school.
Denise Milligan, 34, a secretary who lives in Southeast, has an 8-year-old daughter, Sade , who attends Kimball Elementary in Southeast. As far as D.C. schools go, Milligan said, Kimball is not bad. "It's just that she's getting older, and I want her in a school that's more conducive to learning," she said.
Milligan is looking into private schools where she might be able to use a voucher. She is thinking about St. Francis Xavier School in Southeast.
Milligan said sending children to good schools should not be so hard. "I hate that we have to go through the process of getting a voucher to get a quality education for children," Milligan said.
� 2004 The Washington Post Company
PermaLink | 5:32 AM |
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Parents Attend Orientation Session on Aid Program for D.C. Students
By Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 29, 2004; Page B01
Cynthia Briggs is worried that her 14-year-old son could fall victim to violence at a D.C. public high school. Juanda Benjamin wants her two children to have language and extracurricular programs that are not offered in the public system. Anthony Payne would like help paying the tuition for a daughter who goes to a Catholic school.
The three District residents are among hundreds who want to participate in the nation's first federally funded voucher program and who attended an orientation session at the Washington Convention Center last night. The parents are hoping their children will be picked in a lottery next month to qualify for a voucher of up to $7,500 per student toward the cost of attending private school.
The odds of winning the lottery will depend on several factors that are still hazy. Officials with the Washington Scholarship Fund, the nonprofit organization running the voucher program, have funding to provide grants to at least 1,700 students and say they have heard from about 4,000 households -- which may include about 8,500 children -- interested in applying.
Private schools have until May 7 to indicate how many slots they plan to set aside for voucher students, but officials have warned that the program may not serve as many children as expected in the first year because many of the schools have filled most of their classes for this fall.
None of that seemed to deter the parents at last night's orientation. Dozens waited inside a convention room before the meeting began, and a crowd of more than 200 had shown up within the first 15 minutes of the session.
Among them was Briggs, 46, a Northwest Washington resident. She said her 14-year-old son, Mark, now in public school, has been admitted to St. John's College High School in Northwest but was offered only a partial scholarship toward the $10,000 annual tuition, and Briggs said she cannot afford to cover the rest on her secretary's salary. She expressed worries about his safety in D.C. public high schools, saying that black males are at risk, given violent incidents that have occurred there in recent years.
"I'm leery of black boys going to public high school," she said. "It's just so scary."
Briggs added that she was not seeking a private-school voucher for Colette, her 15-year-old daughter, because Colette is happy at her public school, Dunbar Senior High in Northwest, and does not face the threat of violence that male students do.
Benjamin, 34, of Southeast Washington, said her 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter are getting an excellent education at Elsie Whitlow Stokes, a public charter school in Northwest. But the school goes only through sixth grade, and her son, Dionte, will graduate this year. Benjamin, who learned about the voucher program from a sign on a Metro train, said there are no comparable language and extracurricular programs for seventh-graders at regular or charter schools in the public system. And she wants her daughter, DaQuanda, to attend the same private school as her son.
"I didn't have private school," said Benjamin, who works as a teacher's aide in a D.C. public school. "I want them to have something better than I had. I don't want them in an environment where bullets are flying."
Parents at last night's meeting asked questions and filled out paperwork to determine whether they meet the program's residency and income guidelines -- at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Similar sessions will be held at the convention center from 6 to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Gloria Queen, 53, a janitor who lives in Southeast, said in a phone interview yesterday that she will apply for vouchers for her three grandchildren. They now attend Johnson Junior High and Turner Elementary, two public schools in Southeast where the atmosphere has not been conducive to learning, she said.
"They're not really getting what they should be getting," Queen said of Rachelle, 14, Tarshia, 11, and Richard, 7.
She said she has visited the two schools and seen children in the hall instead of class.
"The kids are not focusing," Queen said. "They stay in the hall all of the time. . . . The teachers seem like they're so busy. Some give up like they don't care."
Queen said she first learned about vouchers several months ago from remarks by Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) touting the program, then received a flier in the mail providing more information.
The scholarship fund, which was awarded a federal contract to administer the voucher program after President Bush signed legislation earlier this year, said the lottery to determine who receives the grants will be held the week of May 17.
The lottery will be weighted to favor students from 15 D.C. public schools that failed to meet goals for two years under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Students at other D.C. public schools will have the next-highest chance of winning, followed by those who already attend private schools.
Parents who win the lottery then will start visiting private schools that have agreed to participate in the program, to determine which ones best fit their children's needs. The schools will be allowed to use their normal admissions criteria in deciding which voucher students to accept. A second lottery will be held in late June to determine final matches between schools and students.
Demand at the high school level will probably exceed the available space, said Sally J. Sachar, president and chief executive of the scholarship fund.
Several of the parents at last night's meeting said they were seeking vouchers to cover payments they are already making to private schools.
Payne, 48, of Northeast, said his 14-year-old daughter, Ebone, attends Archbishop Carroll High School and his other daughter, Christiana, 6, attends Aiton Elementary, a public school.
Payne, who has kidney problems and is on disability, wants vouchers for both children, to help defray the cost of his older daughter's education and to pay for his younger daughter to attend religious school.
"This is a great opportunity for me to continue the education of my family," Payne said. "Aiton is a nice school, but we're a deeply religious family, and I'd rather have our children in a Christian school setting. I want my children to be able to pray."
Shirlene Allen, 39, of Southeast was filling out paperwork to qualify for a voucher for her 5-year-old daughter, Judith, who has not started school yet.
Allen, a student at the University of the District of Columbia, said her daughter is naturally curious and wants to learn a foreign language, which is rarely offered at elementary schools in the city's public system. "I want the best for my child, and I'm going to do everything possible to get her into a private school," Allen said.
She is not seeking a voucher for her older daughter, Tamira, 15, who is enrolled at Browne Junior High in Northeast. She said Tamira is doing well and does not want to be separated from her friends in public school.
Denise Milligan, 34, a secretary who lives in Southeast, has an 8-year-old daughter, Sade , who attends Kimball Elementary in Southeast. As far as D.C. schools go, Milligan said, Kimball is not bad. "It's just that she's getting older, and I want her in a school that's more conducive to learning," she said.
Milligan is looking into private schools where she might be able to use a voucher. She is thinking about St. Francis Xavier School in Southeast.
Milligan said sending children to good schools should not be so hard. "I hate that we have to go through the process of getting a voucher to get a quality education for children," Milligan said.
� 2004 The Washington Post Company
PermaLink | 5:32 AM |
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