This week, Parade Magazine published its first-ever list of “Personalities of the Year.” Top of the list: “the kids of Waiting for ‘Superman’ Five students who kicked off a national debate about education.” The film Waiting for ‘Superman’, described as an “early favorite to win an Academy Award,” portrays the plight of low-income parents trying to break cycles of poverty and low achievement by sending their kids to charter schools.
Charter schools can be effective alternatives to traditional public schools, but they make up only four percent of all schools in the U.S. In contrast, far more private and parochial schools exist, and they have thousands of empty seats. They have educated low-income and inner city kids for decades, and they don’t require a lottery for admission. For low-income parents, the obstacle is usually financial. For most low-income children seeking alternatives to their local public schools, privately funded scholarships are the easiest and most effective way to have immediate access to a safe environment and a quality education.
The Children’s Scholarship Fund has helped more than 116,000 low-income children nationwide attend private and parochial schools with partial tuition scholarships. Here in Oregon, CSF-Portland has given more than 600 students a “hand up” in life through education.
For more information about how you can support this life-changing program, visit the Children’s Scholarship Fund-Portland online.
Kathryn Hickok is Director of the Children’s Scholarship Fund-Portland program at Cascade Policy Institute.
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