PROGRAM — Opportunity Scholarship Program

English translation below.

Mi nombre es Gema Ruiz y soy la madre de dos niñas que están cursando el 2do y 3er grado.

La mayor era la única que teniamos becada para ir a una escuela privada. La chiquita estaba asistiendo a una escuela pública, pero tuvimos que moverla a otro medio ambiente porque allí le hacían mucho bullying. Por esa razón que la cambiamos para acá [St. Christopher].

A la pequeña, cuando estaban en fila para ir a comer, los otros niños la empujaban y a veces le metían como el pie para que se cayera. Llevaga a la casa triste y ya no quería ir más a la escuela y yo no sabía por qué. Al final, nos dijo el motivo. Aunque fuimos a hablar con la directora y castigaron a las niñas que le estaban haciendo eso, ya no era igual. Vivíamos con mucha preocupación y sentíamos que teníamos que estar siempre muy pendientes de su seguridad.

Menos mal que encontramos ayuda y pudimos moverla de escuela. Entonces estabamos más tranquilos. Las niñas también, estaban tranquilas. Y después de toda esta travesía, nos mandaron a decir que ya no teníamos la beca [de la oportunidad], que nos la habían cancelado. ¡Imagínate! la niña menor se puso triste, dijo que no quería regresar a la escuela pública otra vez. Es una verdadera lástima, porque no podemos pagar el costo [de una educación privada].

Es muy importante que se mejore la educación pública en Las Vegas,  ¡hay tanta violencia! A veces nuestros mismos niños terminan dañándose entre las malas compañías. Por  lo menos, en St. Christopher sé que mi hija está segura y que le inculcan buenos valores.

Finalmente, quisiera decirle a las personas responsables que nos regresen la beca. Aunque solo sea una parte, para poder traer de vuelta a mis hijas a un lugar seguro. Que nos ayuden por el bien de los niños y  por el bien de la comunidad, por que siento que estas escuelas forman personas con valores sanos. Además de que hemos visto lo mucho que ha mejorado la educación de las niñas.

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My name is Gema Ruiz and I am the mother of two girls who are in second and third grade. My oldest was the only one who had a scholarship to go to a private school. My youngest daughter was attending a public school, but we had to move her because there was a lot of bullying there. Because of the bullying she experienced, we moved her to St. Christopher.

My youngest daughter, when she was in line to eat, would be pushed by the other children who sometimes put their feet out in front of her so that she would fall. She would come home sad and didn’t want to go to school anymore. At the time I didn’t know why.

In the end, she told us the reason. Although we went to talk to the director and they punished the girls who were doing that to her, it was no longer the same at that school. We were constantly worried and felt that we always had to be paying attention to her safety.

“Thankfully, we found help and were able to move her to another school.”

Thankfully, we found help and were able to move her to another school. Then we were calmer. The girls too were calm. And after this journey, we received notification that we no longer had the Opportunity Scholarship; that it had been canceled. Go figure!

My youngest daughter was sad and said she did not want to go back to public school again. It’s really bad because we can’t afford the cost of a private education otherwise. It is very important to improve public education in Las Vegas, especially because there is so much violence! Sometimes our children end up hurting themselves because they are in bad company. At least at St. Christopher, I know that my daughter is safe and that good values ​​are instilled in her.

Finally, I would like to tell the people responsible for this to return the scholarships to us. Even if it’s just a portion, so I can bring my daughters back to safety. Please help us for the good of the children and the good of the community, because I feel that this school develops people with healthy values. In addition to that, we have seen how much our girls’ education has improved.

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