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Government of the District of Columbia Office of Communications
ADMINISTRATOR FOR DC SCHOOL CHOICE INCENTIVE PROGRAM SELECTED
(Washington, DC) The US Department of Education, in conjunction with Mayor Anthony A. Williams, has selected the Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF) to administer the DC Choice Incentive Program, Education Secretary Rod Paige announced today. The $14 million, five-year demonstration initiative is the first federally-funded program in the nation to provide "equal opportunity scholarships" to low income students in the District to attend parochial or private schools. At the Department of Education, the Office of Innovation and Improvement will have the lead responsibility for implementing the program and for carrying out cooperative activities with the D.C. government. "This is a huge step in the right direction," said Mayor Williams. "I look forward to the WSF taking on the task of operating this program and moving quickly to ensure a successful effort in the fall. I am confident that WSF will continue its good work of providing increased educational options for parents." The WSF was founded in 1993 by a group of local business leaders who were concerned about expanding school choice for low-income families in the District. Since then, WSF has provided $10 million in scholarships to more than 2,700 students. During the current school year, the WSF is distributing about $1.7 million in scholarships to 1,023 students from 673 families. Currently the WSF is funded entirely through private donations. Through its management of the DC School Choice Incentive Program, the WSF will expand school choice opportunities in the District -- opportunities which currently include magnet public schools, public charter schools and privately funded scholarship programs for attendance at private schools. "I'm glad to see that this effort to expand school choice is moving ahead full speed," Secretary Paige said, who announced the competition for selecting the administrator last month. "The WSF has a proven track record for this type of work and I'm happy to see them take on this project. We're in the business of improving education by providing parents with choices - regardless of their income level - and so are they. This project will add another 2,000 children to their growing list of low income students in the District who are looking to achieve their dreams through the best education available." The prospective scholarship recipients will receive grants of up to $7,500 to be used for tuition, fees and transportation. The program is scheduled to begin this fall. The Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences will have the lead responsibility for implementing the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, including cooperative activities with the D.C. Government that are related to that evaluation. A detailed request for proposals was made published in the Federal register on March 16. To access the request for proposals, visit http://www.eps.gov/spg/ED/OCFO/CPO/ED%2D04%2DR%2D0008/listing.html. Washington Scholarship FundFor Immediate Release: March 24, 2004 Washington Scholarship Fund Named by the U.S. Department of Education and DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams to Lead Scholarship Program for DC StudentsWashington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Education and the Office of DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced today that the Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF) has been selected to administer the newly authorized, groundbreaking, publicly funded scholarship program for DC students in grades K-12. The program will grant low-income students in the District up to $7,500 a year in tuition, fees, and transportation costs to attend private schools, beginning this fall in the 2004-2005 school year. Students who attend public schools which have been identified for improvement or correction will have priority in receiving scholarships. Some $12.1 million in scholarship funds will be available to eligible DC families of students in kindergarten through high school. The Washington Scholarship Fund will launch the federally funded scholarship program with an immediate campaign to disseminate word of the scholarships to all eligible families in the District of Columbia. WSF will work as the lead organization in a partnership with other local non-profit groups. Those include the privately funded scholarship organization, Capital Partners for Education; DC Parents for School Choice; the Greater Washington Urban League and the Parent Group. WSF and its community partners will initiate an intensive outreach campaign that will involve advertisements, mailings to District families who have expressed interest in private school scholarships, and a door-to-door information campaign in some high-priority neighborhoods. WSF also plans to announce, in the very near future, a schedule of events for families who are interested in securing scholarships for the coming school year. The organization plans to invite families in April to attend informational meetings where they may apply for scholarships, supply documentation of eligibility, and receive extensive information about their private school options, as well as procedures for gaining school admittance. "Our organization was founded just over a decade ago with the goal of expanding educational opportunities for District students. The new DC scholarship program perfectly aligns with our mission to enable families to have greater choice in where they send their children to elementary, middle, and high school," said Joseph E. Robert, Jr., Chairman and CEO of J.E. Robert Companies, and Chairman of the WSF Board of Trustees. "We are gratified to be making this progress toward our ultimate goal, to help all DC students – public, charter and private – get an education that is unsurpassed by what is available anywhere in the nation." "The WSF staff, board and our team of volunteer parents are eager and excited to get started on the scholarship program, and tremendously gratified by this vote of confidence from Secretary Paige and Mayor Williams," Sally Sachar, President and CEO of the Washington Scholarship Fund, said today. "I know our partners are equally dedicated to doing everything in our power to make this program a success for the families who apply for scholarships, the students who receive them, and the private schools throughout our community that enroll students." The Washington Scholarship Fund was chosen to operate the program through a competitive application process overseen by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement, in partnership with the office of Mayor Williams. "I'm glad to see that this effort to expand school choice is moving ahead full speed," U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said today, in remarks he sent to the staff of WSF. "The WSF has a proven track record for this type of work and I'm happy to see them take on this project. We're in the business of improving education by providing parents with choice – regardless of their income level – and so are they. This project will add another 2,000 children to their growing list of low income students in the District who are looking to achieve their dreams through the best education available." DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams said, "This is a huge step in the right direction. I look forward to the Washington Scholarship Fund taking on the task of operating this program and moving quickly to ensure a successful effort in the fall. I am confident that WSF will continue its good work of providing increased educational options for parents." The DC scholarship program was created through the federal DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003, passed by Congress in January. It is part of the Three Sector Initiative, through which the federal government will provide not only scholarship funds during the coming school year, but also some $26 million to improve educational opportunities in DC public schools and public charter schools. The office of Mayor Williams, together with the non-profit organization Fight For Children, Inc., have laid the groundwork for the scholarship program by launching an advertising campaign, and making preparations with private schools that have committed to enrolling scholarship recipients in the school year 2004-2005. WSF and its partners will work to ensure a smooth transition in the operation of the scholarship program for both schools and families. Families who seek information on applying for scholarships may call 1-888-DC-YOUTH (1-888-329-6884), or consult the website www.dcscholarship.org. In order to qualify for scholarships, families must reside in the District of Columbia and be financially eligible for the federal free or reduced price lunch program. Should there be more scholarship applicants than there are funds available, students will be chosen to receive scholarships through random lottery drawings. The lotteries will be conducted under the supervision of the Washington Scholarship Fund. WSF anticipates that families will be informed of their scholarship status for the school year 2004-2005 before the end of the current school year. The Washington Scholarship Fund is currently the largest and oldest granter of privately funded scholarships for K-12 students in Washington, DC. It was founded by a group of local business and community leaders to give low-income families expanded opportunities to choose schoolsand is governed by a board, the majority of whose members are residents of the District of Columbia. The WSF is uniquely well-positioned to launch the new DC scholarship program because of its strong relationships with numerous local private schools that serve students from diverse neighborhoods and backgrounds. WSF also benefits from long experience in working with DC families, and from an intimate understanding of the challenges and options those families face in seeking the highest quality education for their children. Capital Partners for Education helps low-income students attend private high schools in the Washington metropolitan area. "Capital Partners for Education is very pleased to be partnering with the WSF team to help provide quality private school options for low-income students in Washington," said Khari Brown, Executive Director of CPE. "We have more than 10 years of experience in providing scholarships and support programs to high school students. Some 98 percent of our graduates go on to college, and we hope to help make this possible for more inner city students through the new scholarship program." "Sachar said, "We are committed not only to assuring that scholarships will go to as many students as possible who meet the criteria established by Congress, but also that those students, and participating schools, have the support they need to succeed. We are actively seeking private funding to enhance our ability to serve families and schools. Our goal is to continue not only to expand opportunities, but to make sure they work for students." As it operates this innovative program, WSF will benefit from the guidance of national policy experts and its own trustees. Local parents, as well as school, community and other leaders will also serve on a newly created advisory board. Washington Scholarship FundRemarks by Sally Sachar at Press Conference, March 24, 2004Good Morning Secretary Paige, Mayor Williams, Councilmember Chavous, School Board President Cafritz, Joe Robert and Boyden Gray and all of you gathered here today. On behalf of the board and staff of the Washington Scholarship Fund I want to say how excited and honored we are to have this chance to be a part of opening more doors for DC students, families, and schools. We are very pleased to be a part of the education reform effort here in the District. Taken together, the work with DCPS, the Charter Schools and expanding opportunities through scholarships, will go far in improving learning opportunities for DC students. WSF – our staff, our board, and our partners -- is absolutely committed to making this program succeed for our three main "customers" – students, their families, and schools. Their needs are front and center. I want to thank Secretary Paige and Mayor Williams and their staffs for the confidence they have placed in WSF and our partners, and for their unstoppable work getting to where we are today. You and many Congressional and community leaders deserve recognition for your courageous leadership in pushing for – and gaining passage of - the legislation that authorized this path-breaking program. The Washington Scholarship Fund has a long track record in giving scholarships to local students. Nearly 3,000 students have received about $10 million in WSF scholarships over the past decade. During this school year our scholarships are helping more than 1000 students attend 128 schools in the DC metro area. As such we already have solid relationships with leaders of local private schools, and a first-hand understanding of the school-related needs of District families. We also get tremendous support and guidance from our volunteer parents, who give us terrific ideas, and in particular have been a great inspiration to me. They enthusiastically and with uncontained pride promised to help us as volunteers for this program, if selected to lead it. Let’s be clear -- it will take everything in our power – and that of our partners -- to get this program up and running by the time a new school year starts in September. Achievable? For sure. But we are called upon to be enterprising, creative, hard-working, organized, precise in our thinking and our doing, clear in our communication, and very responsive in our work with schools and families. Soon we will be talking with you about things like family financial verification forms, school participation agreements, a school information booklet for parents, check processing systems, school tuition and fees, student enrollment confirmation and lotteries. For today, though, our message is simple and clear. We need to turn our undivided attention to outreach to families and schools. Families need to know about the scholarships, how to apply to get one, and we need to be sure that families who are our highest priority are, in particular, clear on the hows, the whats, the whens, the wheres. And schools need the same. They need to know, and to know fast, what participation means and what it does not mean. Helping us is a dedicated and very well respected group of partners. Capital Partners for Education, which does excellent work with high school students will have the lead with high school students. Khari Brown, CPE’s Executive Director, has already become a terrific partner and I am grateful for all that he and his organization have done and will do. We are also fortunate to have Virginia Walden-Ford who has worked tirelessly to ensure the possibility of these scholarships and in recent weeks has been out enlisting families. A third valued partner will be the Greater Washington Urban League who will help with our outreach efforts. And, Jackie Pinckney-Hackett, another tireless DC parent, who has a long history working with other DC parents, will also be a part of our group. We are truly blessed at WSF to be supported and guided by a terrific and very dedicated board of directors, led by Joe Robert, Jr. and C.Boyden Gray. For this project, we will also be advised by a 17 member board of local leaders and by another group of national policy experts. We have laid out in great detail (50 pages, double spaced, 12 point type, 1 inch margins) our recommendations for running this program. Over the coming days and weeks, we will be finalizing those plans, in consultation with the Department of Education, the Mayor’s Office, and the team of researchers selected to evaluate the program. Meanwhile, the message today is to families and schools: WE WILL CALL YOU, BUT PLEASE CALL US! We are fortunate to be able to build on the work already launched by Fight for Children (which has done just an incredible job as interim manager). If a family or school is interested –or thinks they may be interested – please call TODAY 1-888-DC YOUTH or visit www.dcscholarship.org. Before closing, I want to thank the WSF staff who has worked tirelessly over the past months and who know the work is just beginning! You –Felita, Tricia, Ruth, and Joy who are here this morning – are part of an incredible team. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to excellence! Thank you again, Secretary Paige and Mayor Williams, for this incredible opportunity for WSF and, most important, for DC parents, students, and schools. We are proud to be a part of it and are ready to begin the journey |
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