In the News

 

November 13, 2010: Story on FoxNews.com, "House Republicans Consider Effort to Revive D.C. Voucher Program."

 

November 9, 2010: Article in The Washington Times, "House GOP to push for school vouchers."

 

June 23, 2010: Editorial in The Washington Post, "D.C.'s successful voucher program deserves a second life."

 

September 30, 2009: Hundreds of students, parents and educators rally outside of the Capitol in support of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. Speakers included a number of students who are receiving the scholarships. As one student attending Our Lady of Victory School put it in an interview with ABC 7: "I've been at this school for five years and it's the best experience I've ever had in my life."

 

 

 

September 29, 2009: Archdiocesan school superintendent, Dr. Patricia Weitzel-O'Neill, testifies before a United States Senate Committee, advocating for the continuation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program and the children and families who benefit. Without action by Congress, the program will end next summer and hundreds of children will lose their tuition assistance, forcing them to leave their schools and a quality education.Read Dr. Weitzel-O'Neill's testimony here.

 

September 1, 2009: School is back in session this week and Congress comes back soon! The kids and families are depending on your support with the DC City Council and with Congress.

 

August 20, 2009: DC OSP's lead researcher documents program's success in Education Next article. A summary of the article reads, "The reading effects of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) show the largest achievement impact of any education policy program yet evaluated in a randomized control trial by the U.S. Department of Education and reveal an important trend toward increased reading gains for students the longer they remain in the program, according to the evaluation’s principal investigator, Patrick Wolf of the University of Arkansas." Read the article here.

 

July 30, 2009: Senator Joseph Lieberman and a bi-partisan group introduce the “Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act of 2009” or “SOAR Act.” SOAR would extend the successful and popular DC Opportunity Scholarship Program for five years. It would allow low-income children the chance to attend a high-performing non-public school; give priority to siblings, thereby easing the strain on families; strengthen the scholarship program through new requirements for certificates of occupancy and teacher qualifications; improve scholarship levels from $7,500 to $9,000 for elementary schools and $11,000 for high schools; and strengthen education across the city by providing $20 million in federal funding for the scholarships and $20 million each for public and charter schools.

 

July 2, 2009: In an editorial, The Catholic Standard asks "Where would you want your tax dollars to go: buying clunker cars or making sure a child gets a good education?" Read more here.

 

Senator Joseph Lieberman is not letting fabrications by the National Educational Association stand. The NEA, fearful of a military spouse’s request to give military families school vouchers as they move from base to base, issued a letter to all senators that they hold the line against school choice and cited inaccurate information on the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Read Senator Lieberman's June 15, 2009 response to the NEA's letter here.

 

Congratulations to the 2009 Archbishop Carroll High School seniors!

 

Continuing a tradition of excellence, Opportunity Scholarship recipients who graduated this year from Archbishop Carroll were accepted at 30 colleges and universities. These include George Mason University, Marymount University, Morgan State, Norfolk State, Pace University, St. John's University, Syracuse University, Trinity Washington University, University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University, Xavier University and others.

 

June 3, 2009: 8th grade and high school senior Opportunity Scholars celebrated their success at a graduation ceremony at Archbishop Carroll High School and sponsored by DC Children First and the Washington Scholarship Fund. WUSA TV 9 anchor Andrea Roane emceed the evening and DC Councilmember Harry Thomas was the keynoter. Sacred Heart graduate, Shirley-Ann, also spoke. Read her talk here.

 

(Catholic Standard photo by Rafael Crisostomo)

Shirley-Ann, a graduating eighth grader from Sacred Heart School in Washington, speaks during the June 3 District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program graduation ceremony at Archbishop Carroll High School. Her Opportunity Scholarship helped her attend Sacred Heart School and will enable her to attend Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School this fall.

 

June 4, 2009: Catholic Standard Editorial: DC Opportunity Scholarship graduates say program opens doors

May 21, 2009: Archdiocese Welcomes Introduction of Congressional Legislation to Continue Opportunity Scholarship Program
May 14, 2009: Catholic Standard Editorial: Opportunity Scholarships: Strengthen the Lifeline
May 13, 2009: Archbishop Carroll High School Students Testify at US Senate Hearing; Archbishop Wuerl Asks What Politics are More Important than Kids' Lives
• Video and testimony from hearing
May 7, 2009: Obama Proposal to Extend Opportunity Scholarships Not Enough for DC Children

 

 

"We are so far from the work being done, it's not even funny,"

Michelle Rhee

Washington Post Editorial, June 12, 2009