I am a very concerned and involved parent that sends her...

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Question by Intuition_in_MD
Submitted on 4/2/2004
Related FAQ: FAQ: Financial Aid, Scholarships, and Fellowships [Monthly posting]
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I am a very concerned and involved parent that sends her child to a private school for several reasons. I am against the DC voucher scholarship program. I am in the process of finding out whether my daughter’s school will be a participant in this program. If so, I will most likely take my daughter out of the school. I am a single mom that has decided to make my daughter’s education important enough for me to make a financial investment in it. I have decided to budget my monthly income to make it possible for my daughter to attend this prestigious school even though I am a single mom who receives less than $300 a month in child support. Realizing when I was pregnant that I will most likely be a single mom and still wanting to give the best to my daughter, I made a decision that I will sacrifice and make sure my child has the things that she needs. In making that decision I also realized that I need to accept my ‘financial’ reality. So I decided I may have to sacrifice certain ‘luxuries’ so that my daughter can go to a school with other kids that share the same beliefs and values. I do not spend money on: 1. Getting my hair done every 2 weeks.—not even every 6 months. (Saving up to $200-$400 a month) 2. I do not wear expensive clothes and shoes to give others the appearance that I have a lot of money. (Saving up to $200-$300 a month) 3. My car note is less than my daughter’s tuition. In picking out my car, I told the sales person that my payments have to be less than my daughter’s tuition. (Ensuring that my daughter’s education comes first.) 4. I do not always get my nails and eyebrows done. (Saving an additional $120 per month) 5. etc. I am involved parent. I converse with my child’s teacher(s), Principal, and most of all – my child. I make sure everyday that her homework is done and is correct. I ask her about things that happened at school. I ask her teacher how is my child doing and what I can do as a parent to insure my child improves if needed. I have made the decision – not only to invest time in my child, but to also invest in my child’s education. I make sure everyone does what they are supposed to do to insure this is not a bad investment. Public School Teachers on average make more money than Private school teachers. Public schools have more money available for the school than Private schools. The big difference in Public Schools and Private schools are the parents making the investment and the teachers being dedicated because they know that the parents are involved with their child’s education. The money for DC scholarships needs to go to DC Public Schools. The problem with the system is not only the lack of dedication from some of the teachers but also the lack of dedication from the parents. The parents need to demand that their kids have smaller classes and dedicated teachers. The parents need to be dedicated themselves. If the parents that have their kids in Public schools want to their kids at private schools they should have financial counseling and the child should be an extra-ordinary student. His/Her grade point average should be almost a 4.00. The should have to write a letter explaining what the difference will be to be in a private school compared to a public school. The should have to give examples of how the parents have been involved at the public school and any changes he/she has tried to make to improve the system. I am going to try to contact as many private schools that I can so that they can be fully aware of the consequences accepting this program at their school. The bottom-line for me is that I am not making the sacrifice and investment so that my child goes to a Public (private) school. This will not improve DC Public schools and it will bring down the Private schools. Parent of a DC Private School Attendee

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