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Kentucky Should Take Proven Path For Educating Minorities and Low Income Children

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

Everyone claims to want to do a better job of educating children, but the job still is not being done well on a large scale.  The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) resulted in a dramatic increase in taxes being spent on education, but, unfortunately, it has not been successful in improving the lives of Kentucky students.  In Jefferson County schools, after 14 years of KERA, 58% of African American fourth graders still read below grade level and 45% of all fourth graders still read below grade level.  Clearly, Kentucky taxpayers are not getting their money’s worth, and Kentucky’s children are not being prepared for successful lives.

While the education establishment continues to demand more money, School Choice Scholarships has spent the past six years making a real difference in the lives of low income and minority children in Louisville.  The students who have taken advantage of School Choice Scholarships began at the same level as the government school children, with only 40% reading at or above grade level.  However, after one year in the choice program, 60% were at or above grade level.  After two years, 92% were at or above grade level, and, after three years, 96% were at or above grade level.  Just think of the difference the School Choice Scholarships have made in the lives of those children!  School Choice Scholarships give by far the biggest “bang for the buck” in terms of educating low income and minority children of anything that has been tried. 

Since 1998, School Choice Scholarships has awarded over 1,100 scholarships through a lottery to low-income children who participate in the federal free and reduced lunch program.  The typical family profile is a single-parent home with 3 children and an annual income below $12,000.  The School Choice Scholarships do not cover the entire cost of tuition.  Typically, the schools the students attend provide some help, and the families also have to pay some tuition.  The families who win the scholarships choose the school they think is best for their children.  The children must meet the behavior standards of the school they choose.  The scholarships are paid directly to the schools, and, so far, over 60 independent private, religious and secular schools have participated.  School Choice Scholarships pays up to $2,000 per student per year for three years, as long as it does not exceed 60% of the family’s tuition obligation.

There now are 400 children on a waiting list for the School Choice Scholarship program.  Once the information about the success of the School Choice program becomes well-known, even more families will want to participate.  Our family has donated to the program for several years, and we are pleased to see that our donations have really made a difference in children’s lives.  If you have an interest in educating children, an interest in the economic development of the state, or even an interest in making sure there will be some educated people to take care of you in your old age, please make a donation to this program.  Now that the effectiveness of the program has been proven, the members of the Kentucky state legislature can show how much they really care about education by taking a very simple step that will make a dramatic improvement in the education level of children all across the state – simply provide a tax credit to anyone who donates to the School Choice Scholarship program. 

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