Virginia Walden-Ford is the founder and executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice, Inc. Founded in 1998, DCPSC is a clearinghouse organization for parents in Washington, DC. Virginia’s community involvement began as a result of her personal experiences. As a single parent, she raised three children in Washington, DC. She saw two of her children complete high school successfully in the District, but with her third child she was faced with deteriorating public schools and violent times. After obtaining a private scholarship for her son to attend a private school, she became an outspoken advocate for school choice.
She believes passionately that all children should have the chance to obtain a quality education and that parents should be able to choose the schools that best meet their children’s needs.
Several years ago, I was a single mother with a son in ninth grade. When my son started having problems in and out of school, I knew I did not want him to attend Roosevelt High School, a DC public school that had (and still has) many problems of its own.
Thanks to a neighbor’s financial help, I was able to send my son to Archbishop Carroll High School, where his grades immediately improved. In 2000, he completed high school in a safe environment where he graduated at the top of his class. He is now serving in the United States Marine Corps.
In l997, the president vetoed a bill that would have given 2,000 low-income DC parents the same chance my son is getting. The bill would have provided as much as $3,200 a year per student to send these children to a school of their choice. As someone who has seen what a difference sending a child to a private school has made, I know that this bill would have benefited many parents who face problems similar to those I have faced with my son.
A good alternative is out there for most low-income children—and at a price that is often less than the cost of educating that child in a traditional public school.
Unfortunately, arguments against the bill focused on the need to fix the public schools. I am all for saving the system, but I don’t want to sacrifice children in the process. Those who think that the system should take precedence over an individual child don’t know what it is like to see a child begin to act like a hoodlum because of the school environment. They don’t understand that a good alternative is out there for most low-income children—and at a price that is often less than the cost of educating that child in a traditional public school.
Some people worry that poor mothers don’t have the knowledge it takes to decide what is best for their children. That opinion offends me. I work as a mentor with many low-income parents, and I know that low-income parents do not necessarily care any less about their children’s education. It doesn’t take a doctorate in education to figure out that a child is hanging out with gang members and performing poorly in school.
Parents shouldn’t be blamed for a school system that doesn’t know how to teach children.
Critics say my position on vouchers puts me in the same camp as right-wing conservatives. I am a lifelong Democrat, and I am not sure when the Democrats decided that siding with the poor and the needy is no longer part of their platform. School choice empowers parents, and I don’t care who is behind it, Democrats or Republicans.
However, I do worry when Democrats think that spending more money on education is the only answer to problems in schools. The District spends between $7,000 and $10,000 on each child in public school. To demand more funding and still produce terrible test scores is unacceptable.
In l998, 41 percent of DC public school third-graders and 53 percent of tenth-graders performed below a basic level on the Stanford 9 Achievement Test. Math results were even worse: 89 percent of tenth-graders scored below basic. Even though test scores slightly improved in l999 for third graders in both reading and math, over 50 percent are still not proficient. For tenth-graders, there was no improvement in math, and in reading only 20 percent scored basic or above. Considering a record that abysmal, I don’t see how anyone can think spending more money on public education is the answer.
Critics say that choice may not help every child. but if it means saving one child who would otherwise end up in jail or drop out of school, I think it should be given a chance. The way I see it, those who oppose school choice—despite all the rhetoric— show that they don’t really care much about low-income parents and care even less about the children of these parents.
The Meantime Volume 1 Number 1