Even at a young age, my daughter demonstrated promising potential and I felt that the only way this would flourish would be to find a school setting where she wouldn’t fall behind in a crowd of students. I know from first-hand experience receiving public education throughout my youth what it’s like getting lost in a classroom packed with students.
I came from a lower middle class family. I was a very timid, quiet, ‘passing’ student who had potential to go further and be more, but was overlooked because the naturally gifted and learning challenged tend to get the attention of the teacher who was already spread thin. My daughter was just like me as a child and I knew I wanted more for her, but like my mother, I didn’t know how I could afford it and still pay for our rent, bills, and food on the table.
“There are no words to describe what this scholarship program has done for our family…”
The Opportunity Scholarship has given my daughter educational opportunities my mother could only dream of when I was a child. Being in a private school with smaller classes has given her visibility. Her teachers through out elementary have had the ability to give more attention to each student due to the smaller classes and recognized and built up her potential and given her the strongest foundation entering middle school, more than public school would ever be able to do. She will enter with confidence having mostly A’s and was also recommended for 6th grade Honors English next year. Imagine! A ten-year-old 5th grader being recommended for middle school Honors English!
My daughter has learned and experienced so much more than I ever remember during my elementary days! Some of the subject levels she’s learned this year were things I was not introduced to until I was already in middle school! There are no words to describe what this scholarship program has done for our family of two middle class working parents who would otherwise still be unable to provide a quality private education and make ends meet and a child who would otherwise fall through the cracks except for….BLESSED!
My daughter does not take her education for granted and uses her opportunities to the fullest because she understands that not everyone can access this program. We pray all the time that this program continues and will receive much more funding to provide many families like ours the same opportunities! We pray that school choice is protected and Opportunity Scholarships remain! You would be hard pressed to find a family, if given the opportunity for their child to attend a private school at no cost, that would still send their child to a public school until the public school system is fixed. Until then, there is NO CHOICE but SCHOOL CHOICE thanks to Opportunity Scholarships. WE ARE A VOICE FOR CHOICE!
