Voices of school choice
June 17, 2008 | By Nathaniel Ward
Long a discredit to our nation’s capital and its students, education in the District of Columbia has seen its fortunes rise in the past several years. Among the many bright spots has been an innovative scholarship program to help low-income parents send their children to the private school of their choice.
Thanks to this reform, parents have been able to send their children to better schools instead of the decrepit city public schools. Today, 1,900 low-income students participate in the voucher program.
But Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s non-voting representative in Congress, wants to derail this successful program.
“Now that Ms. Norton has made her intentions loud and clear,” argues Jennifer Marshall, director of domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation, “it’s only fair that the voices of children and families in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program be heard for themselves.”
Parents and children alike believe this scholarship program is critical for the nation’s capital. Thanks to the efforts of parent organizer Virginia Walden Ford, they have spoken out on the issue in videos posted to Voices of School Choice.
“When I was in the public school, there wasn’t a lot of actual learning going on,” student Carlos Battle says in one poignant video.
Carlos’ mother, Pamela Battle, explains why the program works in another video. “When you give a child a different environment, a different opportunity, they act different. They want more for themselves when they can see that it’s a possibility they can get more. My kids are talking about going to college.”
» Watch all the videos on VoicesOfSchoolChoice.org
Fire at Heritage
A fire broke out at The Heritage Foundation’s Capitol Hill headquarters last Thursday. There were no injuries in the blaze, which was extinguished within about ten minutes.
Our offices officially reopened for business on Friday, but many Heritage policy experts had already resumed their important work to promote sound conservative reforms.
“Now that the fire is out at our headquarters, Heritage is again putting out the policy fires in Washington and advancing conservative ideas around the nation,” Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner said.
Reported on news outlets including the Drudge Report, the fire started as a construction crew worked to give Heritage’s front wall a much-needed facelift.
“The fire did not enter the building,” Rob Bluey reported on Heritage’s blog, The Foundry. “However, there is some lingering smoke, water and drywall damage on certain floors.”
In other news
- California began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Monday. The state’s supreme court decided last month that same-sex couples have a “right” to marry. In November, California voters will have an opportunity to reiterate the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman by amending the state constitution.
- There’s good news from Europe: by rejecting the bloated Lisbon Treaty, voters in Ireland have dealt a blow to the latest attempt to further centralize the European Union. The 260-page treaty, a reincarnation of the failed European Constitution, would concentrate power in the hands of European bureaucrats and limit the sovereignty of member countries.
- “President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House,” London’s Times reports.
- Two male Anglican priests have wed in Britain.
- Journalist and political analyst Tim Russert, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” passed away on Friday. He and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.
- Doesn’t the United Nations have better things to do than lecture free nations on their internal affairs? The corrupt international organization is urging Britain to fundamentally alter its form of government by abolishing the monarchy and establishing a written constitution and bill of rights.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage’s website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- On Tuesday, June 17 at 11:00 a.m., a panel of experts discusses the route to enacting the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which ended racial preferences like affirmative action, in 2006.
- On Tuesday, June 17 at noon, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) joins Prof. John Baker and former Attorney General Edwin Meese to discuss the troubling increase in federal criminal laws.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
