[Senate Hearing 116-27]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 116-27
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SOAR: 15 YEARS OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN D.C.
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FIELD HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 26, 2019
__________
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
Patrick J. Bailey, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Courtney J. Allen, Deputy Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Daniel J. Spino, Professional Staff Member
David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
Ashley E. Poling, Minority Director of Governmental Affairs and Senior
Counsel
Jackson G. Voss, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Thomas J. Spino, Hearing Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Opening statements:
Page
Senator Johnson.............................................. 1
Prepared statements:
Senator Johnson.............................................. 25
Senator Lankford............................................. 27
WITNESSES
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Hon. Tim Scott, A United States Senator from the State of South
Carolina....................................................... 2
K. Marguerite Conley, Former Executive Director, Consortium of
Catholic Academies, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program....... 12
Yisehak Abraham, Alumnus, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program... 14
Gerald Smith, Principal, St. Thomas More Catholic School......... 15
Alphabetical List of Witnesses
Abraham, Yisehak:
Testimony.................................................... 14
Prepared statement........................................... 31
Conley, K. Marguerite:
Testimony.................................................... 12
Prepared statement........................................... 29
Scott, Hon. Tim:
Testimony.................................................... 2
Prepared statement........................................... 28
Smith, Gerald:
Testimony.................................................... 15
Prepared statement........................................... 33
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SOAR: 15 YEARS OF SCHOOL CHOICE IN D.C.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:30 p.m., at St.
Thomas More Catholic School, 4265 4th Street S.E., Washington,
DC, Hon. Ron Johnson presiding.
Present: Senator Johnson.
Ms. Gonzales. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. My name is
Rosio Gonzales. I am the President of the Consortium of
Catholic Academies, and I want to extend a very warm welcome to
Senator Ron Johnson, who is up here, and Senator Tim Scott. I
also want to give a warm welcome to our parents, our students,
our guests, and our entire St. Thomas More community.
The Consortium is educating over 840 children this year
across our four schools, and our families represent the
communities where our schools reside in. Our students flourish
academically and are accepted to some of the most competitive
schools in the district.
The reauthorization of the Scholarships for Opportunity and
Results (SOAR) Act makes it possible for our students to dream
and to succeed in high school and beyond, so we are just really
grateful to be here tonight to bring importance to this
reauthorization act.
I also just want to thank our principal, Gerald Smith, our
pastor, Father Moore. I am sure they are here. I also thank the
Senators and the leadership that has helped make this event
possible, and just a warm welcome to all of you as well. Thank
you.
[Applause.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN JOHNSON
Chairman Johnson. This hearing will come to order. I want
to thank Mrs. Gonzales for her opening remarks. I also want to
express my gratitude to the staff and the principal of St.
Thomas More Catholic Academy, Father Moore.
That is very appropriate. Not a coincidence, probably.
But I mainly want to thank the audience for attending.
I also, as a little special shout-out to Catholic
education. I am Missouri Synod Lutheran, and I ask that my
opening comment be entered into the record.\1\ I will not bore
you with reading that. But just my own personal experience in
Catholic education, we sent out all of our children through the
Catholic school system in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And my second-
oldest daughter, for kind of social reasons, decided to leave
the Catholic school system, I think in 10th or 11th grade, to
go to Oshkosh North Public School.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Johnson appears in the
Appendix on page 25.
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And the assistant president at the time was a wonderful man
who really brought total quality management to education
through Fox Valley Technical College, and was really serving
with gratis, I mean not being paid as the president of the
Catholic school system in Oshkosh, making sure it could
survive.
And so he called me in, as part of that total quality
management system, as a father whose daughter left the system,
just an exit interview. What happened? And one thing led to the
next. He asked me to be on the President's Advisory Council. I
am an accountant by training. I started looking at the numbers.
I started understanding, really, the challenge of keeping a
private-sector alternative open, a Catholic school system, one
that teaches the value of acknowledgement of a Creator, of
morals and of values. I was all in, and did everything I
possibly could.
The reason I mention that is in that time period I came to
understand how crucial a private-sector system is to education,
having that choice available to students and their parents. I
came to understand how important it was that families were
involved in education. I came to understand the service and
sacrifice of every administrator, every principal, every
priest, every parent, every teacher involved in that system.
Let us face it. Those of you who are working in the
Catholic school system, or in many private systems, you are
doing it as an act of service. You are not getting paid what
you can be paid in the private sector. You are doing it because
you truly believe in the mission of these schools.
So again, I want to thank all of you for attending, but I
really want to thank all of you that are involved in this
system, throughout D.C., really throughout America, for your
active service and sacrifice in making sure that our young
people have this opportunity of being educated in a system that
understands that there is a Creator, that there is a higher
calling, a higher purpose in life, and how that is so important
in terms of shaping young people's lives and preparing them for
the future.
So again, with that, I want to really thank my Senate
colleague, Senator Tim Scott, who has been just an unwavering
supporter of school choice and for these systems, and with that
I will ask you to testify.
TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE TIM SCOTT,\1\ A UNITED STATES
SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Senator Scott. Thank you, and thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Certainly thank you and to your Ranking Member Peters who is
absent today. Thank you both for your leadership on such an
important topic and thank you for your commitment to the
country.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Scott appears in the Appendix
on page 28.
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Let me say first, to the St. Thomas More Academy students,
being blessed with a healthy, positive, powerful quality
education is critical in the life that we are going to live.
The fact of the matter is if you think about the difference
between those who have and those who have not, so often one of
the pillars is family formation. I came from a single-parent
household and I will tell you, sometimes it is very difficult
to overcome some challenges that you face growing up.
But one of the things that helps you get there is a quality
education, which is the second pillar of what helps our country
and our students succeed at the highest level possible. I have
sat in some of your seats before and I will say, without any
question, that the future is incredibly bright.
And as I had a chance to look through the success of the
D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), there is no doubt
that if you look at just simply 2016, when 98 percent of the
students enrolled at a D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
graduated, and 86 percent of those students went on to a 2-year
or a 4-year educational opportunity. Those numbers are
significant, especially when you think about the fact that so
many kids in the area graduate outside of the program around 50
percent of the time, which is just measurable progress in
exceptional time.
So I am excited about the lives that you will lead. I am
excited about your leadership. I have a tremendous faith and
confidence that the best is yet to come for our country,
because you all are enrolled in a program that will make sure
that you are equipped for the challenges that you face, both
spiritual challenges as well as physical, financial, emotional,
and educational challenges.
When I think about the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
and the impact that it has had here, I think about the fact
that there are so many parents who already have school choice.
It is called a good income. If you have a good income you have
the privilege of school choice. You can choose the neighborhood
you want to live in, or you can choose the private school to
send your kids to.
The folks who do not have school choice, the folks who are
not empowered by school choice are those folks like my mother,
who worked for a little bit above minimum wage as a nurse's
aide, who simply did not have the choice, the resources, the
flexibility, the margin for her children to participate in
quality education.
And so from my perspective, as a sitting United States
Senator, if I have an opportunity to fight for our young folks
who are trapped in situations where the school options are
limited, I want to be the guy at the front of that parade. I
want to be the person championing those kids who have high
potential but too often are overlooked because they simply do
not have the resources to get there.
And that is one reason why I am so thankful that the
parents of the kids who go to this school are blessed with that
option. The students at this school are blessed with high-
quality education. I think to myself that if we could have the
D.C. Opportunity Scholarship model all across the country, can
you imagine what an amazing day it would be, that every single
ZIP code in America would have quality choice in education?
That would be fantastic.
You see, I am convinced that Americans, and especially our
students, we do not lack talent. We do not lack potential. We
too often lack access to the right choices. And we have heard
it 100 times, or maybe we have heard it 1,000 times, that when
the parents have a choice, the kids have a chance. I am
completely convinced that the best and brightest days are ahead
of us.
The mission to educate kids in a high-quality school is
neither a Republican or Democrat issue. I am thankful that a
Democrat from California, Senator Feinstein, is the lead
sponsor on the Opportunity Scholarship Program, and has been
for most of the last 15 years. This is an issue that we do not
paint on the right or to the left. We paint this as a truly
American issue, and I am thankful for her leadership. I am glad
that last month she reintroduced legislation to move it
forward, and I am thankful that you have a Chairman of the
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC),
who champions this cause and who understands and appreciates
the importance of having quality education in every single ZIP
code, which will make America stronger and more competitive in
a global market, that without it we will not be able to
compete.
And so my hope is that we can move this bipartisan
legislation to the finish line to ensure families can continue
to benefit from the Opportunity Scholarship Program for years
to come.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Johnson. Well, thanks, Senator Scott. Do you have
a couple of minutes just to kind of have a little bit of a
dialogue here?
Senator Scott. Certainly.
Chairman Johnson. Because I think it is extremely important
that you point out the fact that we have bipartisan support.
Senator Scott. Yes.
Chairman Johnson. And there has always been opposition to
school choice. I personally do not understand it. Obviously, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we had Polly Williams and some real
champions of this, and we have a very robust school choice
program for people that do not have the means----
Senator Scott. Absolutely.
Chairman Johnson [continuing]. To give their students, and
parents the freedom to choose what is appropriate for them.
But Senator Feinstein has been a champion. Senator Cory
Booker, I believe, is going----
Senator Scott. Very much so.
Chairman Johnson. So I have watched ``Waiting for
Superman.'' By the way, if you have not watched that, in the
audience, or anybody possibly looking at this on video, watch
the documentary, ``Waiting for Superman.'' It is actually hard
to watch, but you start understanding how important this is to
families and students, in terms of how they view their ability
to have a good future.
Because you have been involved in this issue for quite some
time. Can you explain the opposition to it, because I really
have a hard time understanding it.
Senator Scott. I cannot adequately explain the opposition
to school choice. I can only say that at times it appears to me
that the opposition is either based on ignorance, which is just
not being educated on the actual facts on the ground, or the
focus is not on the students and their achievement. Any time
you have a system that is designed not for students but as an
educational system you probably should take a step back and
take a second look to figure out where the focus actually is.
I will say that when you look at the D.C. Opportunity
Scholarship, specifically what you find is that three out of
four parents are really excited about the success of the
program. So, differently, the people who are most concerned
about the education of the child is the parent, and the parent
has the highest level of satisfaction in the education
apparatus in this area. Those students whose parents have the
highest satisfaction rates are in the D.C. Opportunity
Scholarship Program.
When you compare the outcomes of the students when they
leave high school, one of the things that you realize very
quickly is it is hard to oppose knowing that just 2 years ago,
or last year, 98 percent of the kids graduated from Opportunity
Scholarship programs, where only 50 to 58 percent--I forgot the
specific number; it was in the 50s--graduated from those
schools not enrolled in a D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program,
which baffles the mind why anyone would be in opposition to
improving the graduation rates, improving those folks who go on
to college, improving what their incomes are like.
So for me, as a kid who was raised in poverty, and one who,
unlike Ron John, I am not sure you guys understand this but Ron
John, or Chairman Johnson, graduated cum laude. I graduated
``thank you'' laude. [Laughter.]
I just got out. You know what I am saying? Not everybody
can be Ron Johnson. I made him possible. I was at the bottom
half of the class. And frankly, as a kid who went to four
different elementary schools, by the fourth grade--because when
you are poor you move around a lot--for those folks to look
into my mom's eyes and say that she does not deserve the same
options that a wealthier person has, it is just downright
wrong. I cannot understand the opposition.
Chairman Johnson. That is the theme of ``Waiting for
Superman,'' where you have these families waiting to get the
Golden Ticket, waiting to win that lottery, because those that
won felt that their children had a future.
Senator Scott. Absolutely.
Chairman Johnson. Those that lost were devastated because
they thought, ``My child does not have a future.'' So again, I
do not understand the opposition.
The cost of educating a child in D.C., the operational
cost, not with Catholics, is about $19,000 per student.
Senator Scott. Yes.
Chairman Johnson. There are about 1,645 students that will
take advantage of the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Again,
those are 1,645 people the district does not have to educate.
They are saving more than $30 million, and they are getting $20
million in return as part of the SOAR, because it is $60
million divided by 3.
Senator Scott. Yes.
Chairman Johnson. So this program makes all kinds of sense,
but the main reason is so that there is not one parent that has
to go to their child and say, we cannot send you to a school
who, first of all, values parental input. I mean, it is just so
key. I mean, I know it is true in Oshkosh Catholic school
system so I am sure it here with St. Thomas More Academy as
well. Parents are welcomed. They are encouraged to participate
in their child's education, which is so important for the
outcome, and I am sure that was the case with you growing up as
well.
Senator Scott. Absolutely. The numbers that I find to be
the most important numbers that are stunning is that when a
child becomes disengaged along the way from an educational
perspective, as I flunked out of high school as a freshman and
had to go to summer school and catch up with my class and then
graduate on time, and thank God for a small football
scholarship that probably got me in as much as my SAT scores,
and was able to go on and then finish on time in college as
well.
For the kid who gets disillusioned like so many of my
friends, who drop out because they just were not having a
quality experience, their income as a high school dropout is
around $19,000.
So if you graduate from high school, though, your income
goes from $19,000 to $29,000, a 50 percent increase. If you go
on to graduate from college it goes to $58,000. If you get an
advanced degree you get closer to a six-figure income.
So the fact of the matter, the numbers that matter to me
most is not what we save as a government. It does not matter to
me. If we are spending the money properly for education we
cannot spend enough to do it right, and frankly, you can
actually, according to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Model,
you can spend less money and get a better return for the
students so that their incomes grow, and if their incomes grow
revenues to the government grows, revenues to community grows,
revenue to the church--if you believe in Malachi 3:10, that
grows as well.
Everything is better off if you focus on the number for the
kids who graduate versus the ones who do not and the ones who
go on to get a 4-year education, versus the ones who do not,
versus the ones who go on to get a graduate degree versus the
ones who do not. So the most powerful numbers that will equip
these young students for the better future are the numbers that
are most important.
And the last number I will tell you--and it is where I am
from, in South Carolina, Charleston County--60 percent of
African American males do not graduate from high school. So
just take that number and play it out over a lifetime. What
does that mean from educational achievement, income
achievement, family formation, poverty rates, governmental
assistance?
We can solve so many problems if we remember that education
is about a student. It is not about a teacher first. It is
about a student first. We want to have the best teachers, the
best administration, but all those other parts are only to make
sure that the primary responsibility and objective of making
sure that the student is best prepared and best served.
Everything else does not matter until we realize that the
focus is the student, and then we hire the best teachers, and
we get the best administrators, and we get the best program.
But the focus, the MVP of the league, is someone who shows up
for class and does well, because the system is built for that
child.
Chairman Johnson. You can see the passion that Senator
Scott has for this issue, which is why he is such a fabulous
advocate.
Now my staff will be kicking me in the knees, and probably
yours too. I do not know what your time schedule is. If you
have time I would love to have, if anybody has any questions
for Senator Scott before he does have to leave. Do you have
time?
Senator Scott. I will take a question or two if you have
them. But if I do not like your questions I just will not
answer them, so it is great. [Laughter.]
Just joking, kind of.
Chairman Johnson. We do not want to put too much pressure
on you.
Senator Scott. Any questions for me of the students over
here?
Chairman Johnson. Right over here.
Does she want to go to the microphone?
Senator Scott. I will repeat the question.
Chairman Johnson. OK.
Mr. Addison. How you doing?
Chairman Johnson. Just tell us your name and then give us
your question.
Mr. Allen. Hi, Senators.
Senator Scott. Hi, sir.
Mr. Allen. My name is Rob Allen.
Senator Scott. Rob?
Mr. Allen. Rob Allen. My question is, what would it take to
spread this program throughout the United States, and what
would be like the ramifications if it did pass in both the
Senate and the House?
Senator Scott. Yes, sir. Thankfully we are at a Catholic
school so we all believe in prayer. That is probably a good
place to start prayer, Rob.
The second thing I would tell you is that we would have to
have an honest conversation about building educational systems
for students, and for no other purpose but for students. If we
could have that conversation and if we were able to measure the
student performance in schools, in programs like the OSP, or
Milwaukee where Chairman Johnson is from, the State of
Wisconsin, in many ways they burst the school choice programs.
If we were able to see that come to fruition it would take
a serious conversation and debate around how we are going to
educate the next leaders of this country. If we did that, I
think we would have more support, but it is hard to have that
conversation in a polarized world called politics. That is why
it is so important for parents to engage in the conversation,
for students to engage in the conversation, because frankly, if
you have the right skill set and you have the tools brought to
you, I believe that you will do far better than I ever dreamed
of doing in my life, because the world is getting better, not
worse, if you see it right. The world is getting worse, not
better, if you do not.
I think we have to have that debate. It is one of the
reasons why I am engaged in the school choice conversation. I
do not care if the definition of school choice or high-quality
schools is a public school, a private school, a home school, a
virtual school. It does not matter to me at all. What I want
are educated kids, because you deserve the chance to prove your
mettle. You deserve the chance to prove to me and to the world
that you can compete. And that is what we are seeing, whether
at a Success Academy in New York, which are public charter
schools, or the Aviation High School in Michigan, or school
systems throughout this country that are focusing on the
development of a child to be the most successful leader they
can be.
Chairman Johnson. Anyone else? Right here.
Senator Scott. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Washington. OK. Hi. My name is Rita Washington. I am
from Archbishop Carroll High School. I have two questions. My
first question to you was why you think that people would
somewhat like disagree with this, even though you were saying
that it is beneficial to all of us, like the government and the
kids, and yet we all have a good benefit from this. So why do
you think people would disagree with this, or have a reason to
disagree?
Senator Scott. And your second question?
Ms. Washington. Oh, and my second question is, so you were
saying that it would help kids when it comes to like college
and things like that, but how would you encourage kids that
start to see college as just another thing, it is nothing
special. Because a lot of kids like do not have as much
interest in college because they see it as like, oh, it is just
something I am going to do so I can have a better job. So how
would you encourage students to continue through and actually
do good at school so they can have the same benefits?
Senator Scott. That is a great question, Ms. Washington.
Let me start with your second question and then I will go back
to your first question.
The second question, how do we convince kids to go into
college, is an important aspect, an important part of the
journey. I will say two things, and I mean it as I will say it,
though it may not sound like I am answering your question
directly.
I think continuing your education is imperative to be a
healthy citizen. So I call it being a life-long learner. I do
not think that college is for every student, however. I think
every student should have the choice, because the quality of
education that they receive from kindergarten to 12th grade is
such a powerful tool so that they choose whether or not they
want to go to a 4-year college, a 2-year college, or to an
apprenticeship program.
As an example, in my home State of South Carolina, we have
folks who are a part of apprenticeship programs and they
decided to take the route into industry, but they were able to
go through a 12-week program to become a welder, and they ended
up with an income of around $80,000 at 19 or 20 years old.
Because there are some professions--there is dignity in all
work. So some professions have a backlog of work. So you can
start making a lot of money very quickly without having to go
to college. So that is one point. So you do not have to go to
college to be successful as a person.
For the vast majority of the jobs of our future you are
going to have to be a life-long learner, and one of the
questions we are asking ourselves, what is the return on
college education? Well, the average person, after 4 years in
college, graduates with a debt of around $30,000, because if
you grow up in a family like me, my parents cannot help me at
all. My mother could not help me at all so I had a small
football scholarship that did not pay for everything else. I
had student loans that paid for everything else. I should have
just played better football, but I did the best I could with
the skills I had. It just was not good enough, right?
So the kids like me that graduate from college today have a
$29,000 or $30,000 debt, but that $30,000 debt is what causes
them to earn more than a million more dollars over their
lifetime. If you give me $30,000 and 4 years of your life, I
give $1 million back. That is a pretty good exchange, from my
perspective.
So what we have to understand is that the lifetime income
of someone who finishes 4 years of college is infinitely more
than the person who does not. So that is one real good reason
to go.
The second reason is that you are probably more familiar
with this. How old are you?
Ms. Washington. Seventeen.
Senator Scott. OK. So you are 17 years old. Are you a
junior or senior in high school?
Ms. Washington. Senior.
Senator Scott. Good. OK. So have you ever heard--and
sometimes I talk real fast, so if I need to slow down so you
can understand my next comment you let me know, OK?
Have you ever heard of an iPhone? [Laughter.]
You have? OK. How about the Internet? How about the
possibility of vehicles that drive themselves, autonomous
vehicles? How about vehicles and/or medical equipment that will
diagnose the problems within the system that someone will have
to come along and just fix the system, basically through
technology?
The vast majority of the disruption that is coming toward
our economy in the decade or two will be the automation. So the
technology economy, or the gig economy, is going to cause a
disruption for folks who are working in high-tech manufacturing
jobs, which my State has a lot of those jobs.
So if you want to be in the know for the next wave of
opportunities, technology is at the forefront. The place that
you get the best shot at a technical education, built around
technology--I am sorry, I speak with my hands. I apologize--is
at college.
So my nephew, who is--I call him the heir to the Scott
throne--it is a very small throne but he gets it all since I do
not have any kids, and I helped raise him since he was 8 years
old so I take a lot of credit for his success even though I did
not do anything for it other than just pay for it.
He went to Georgia Tech, which is a good college for
engineering. And he majored in biomedical engineering,
graduated and went to work for a Big 8 firm, real good job. He
got bored and went back to Duke to get his master's in
engineering and management. Tried, well, that one did not work.
I do not think he really wants to work, actually. He just wants
to stay in school.
So now he is in medical school at Emory. He is a third
year, just finishing up, and he is going to be a doctor who
helps patients who have probably traumatic brain injuries and
other issues. It is where he wants to focus his time. Well, his
return on investment, though I was able to help some part of
his education, he will have probably under six figures for his
loans and he will make probably a lot of money, which means to
me more than I am making, which is not hard to do. But he will
make $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, or $500,000.
But his primary objective is to change lives of people who
are severely injured. His dad is a military guy and worked in
medicine. So he is going to have the equipment here to help
change lives out there. So while the income is better for him,
what really drives him is his mission. His mission is to change
lives through the use of technology and medicine, bring them
together.
So since he knows what his mission is he is able to
accomplish that mission through education. So that, to me, is
why college is critically important for most students, because
of the disruption that is coming in our economy.
To your first question, Ms. Washington, why people
disagree, if I were to be objective and not cynical I would say
that some people believe that by having a conversation about
school choice we are talking about depriving other students in
other places from public education. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
The truth is this country spends about $700 billion on an
education system that has been dropping, versus our competition
worldwide, and we spend as much money per capita or per student
as most any other education system, yet our results are getting
worse and worse and worse. If I was in a competition, and I am
seeing $700 billion for something that is becoming mediocre, I
would want to take a looking and say will competition make it
better? I think the answer is yes.
I am a product of a public school. I want to protect as
many public schools as possible, as long as they are taking
care of the kids, and if they are not, I want someone else to
introduce a program that takes care of those kids.
Chairman Johnson. Well, Senator Scott, you have been very
generous with your time.
Senator Scott. Was there one parent that had a question for
me back there?
Ms. Thompson. Good afternoon, Senator Scott.
Senator Scott. Hey, ma'am.
Ms. Thompson. I just want to say thank you. I am a product
of OSP. I have been with OSP for the last 12 years. I have two
sons that are going to prominent high schools, Gonzaga College
High School. He is graduating this year.
Senator Scott. That is excellent.
[Applause.]
Ms. Thompson. I live in Ward 8, and unfortunately we would
not have had that opportunity that came from here. There were
educators here. And they would not have that opportunity if it
was not for OSP.
Senator Scott. Amen.
Ms. Thompson. So I have two more kids here in which OSP is
very important to me. So as a parent, what do we do to ensure
and make sure that nothing jeopardizes this program?
Senator Scott. Thank you, ma'am, a, for your energy, and
you are a far better advocate than I could ever be because you
are living the dream. You are watching your kids grow up. I
always tell people I am living my momma's American dream. She
sacrificed so I could be here and you have done the same thing
so that your kids can achieve beyond many of your friends'
wildest imaginations probably. At least I know that was true
with my momma.
I would just say that to the extent that you can take the
margin in your schedule, no matter if you are 12 hours or 8
hours, and make sure that you galvanize other parents who are
part of the success story of OSP, you will be doing every
student in the room a great service, by pledging a part of your
time to make a difference in the ears of policymakers, in
Congress and in D.C.
I will frankly tell you that it was refreshing to hear the
number of elected officials in D.C. who were supportive of D.C.
Opportunity Scholarships. So there are folks you can rally
around, and then there are other folks that you can probably
help educate on the importance of it. And you are the shining
example that we need to see more of, less of us old dudes and
more of you young ladies coming out there and being our
champions. I have never referred to myself as old, and I will
never do it again, so I apologize.
Chairman Johnson. You can refer to me as old. I am an old
dude.
Senator Scott. So seriously, getting a group of moms like-
minded like you are, and talking about the story of your kids
and what they are doing with their lives, and how they are
changing the community, and what it means for this Nation long-
term, it is the most powerful, untold story in America. So
please do it.
Ms. Thompson. Thank you.
[Applause.]
Chairman Johnson. Thanks, Senator Scott. We appreciate your
passion and your advocacy. In our hearts you will always be
magna cum laude, OK?
Senator Scott. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Johnson. Why do not our next witnesses come on up.
And as they are coming up, just let me tell you, we will give
the audience an opportunity to ask questions and make comments.
I mean, we want to hear from you. We appreciate the three
questions we got. They are excellent. We need this dialogue.
And like Senator Scott was saying, the most important thing you
can do is advocate. Make sure that your elected officials
realize how important this is to you and your family. Your
voices are going to be incredibly powerful, which is why we are
having this hearing here at this school.
I will tell my staff, I am not swearing witnesses in
because I do not think that we need to here. It does not have
to be that formal.
I really want to welcome to our stage here three
extraordinary individuals who have really worked tirelessly for
the success of this program. And we will just do it in order
here and I will introduce people right before they speak.
So we will start with Marguerite Conley. Ms. Conley is the
Chair of the Board of Directors for Georgetown Visitation
Preparatory School and has three decades of experience in
Catholic education as a teacher and administrator. Ms. Conley
served for 8 years as the Executive Director of the Consortium
of Catholic Academies, providing management and operational
oversight for four inner-city elementary schools in the
Archdiocese of Washington.
Prior to leading the Consortium, Ms. Conley was the
principal at Enunciation School in Washington, D.C. for 11
years. In 2006, Ms. Conley received the Washington Post
Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. Ms. Conley received
both a master's degree in education administration and a
bachelor's degree in English from the Catholic University of
America.
Ms. Conley, please.
TESTIMONY OF MARGUERITE CONLEY,\1\ FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
CONSORTIUM OF CATHOLIC ACADEMIES
Ms. Conley. Thank you. Thank you and good afternoon.
Senator Johnson, thank you for your leadership and support on
this issue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The prepared statement of Ms. Conley appears in the Appendix on
page 29.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every parent and guardian wants his or her child to have a
bright and successful future, often one better than he or she
had. For many parents and guardians in DC this means higher-
quality educational opportunities outside of their neighborhood
schools that allow for exposure to values, cultural
experiences, and activities enriching the overall education of
their children. This is evident in the competitive lottery for
choice public and charter schools in DC.
For 15 years, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program has
assisted parents and guardians in accessing an additional
educational option for their children. Since its inception in
2004, the program has awarded 10,701 scholarships to students
in grades K through 12 from low-income families to access
private and parochial schools of their choice. The average
annual income of families is below $24,000 and 50 percent
receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Ninety-five percent of the students are African American or
Hispanic, and 66 percent reside in Wards, 4, 7, and 8.
The private and parochial schools participating in the
program provide for the academic, social-emotional and
financial needs of OSP students. School leaders have provided
additional support for students performing below grade level;
worked to expand Title I services; provided teachers with
additional professional development; incorporated social-
emotional learning strategies in the classroom; enhanced
counseling services for both students and parents; and
coordinated with local community resources to obtain extra
resources to help address needs beyond the classroom.
School administrators have also sought alternative funding
to provide tuition assistance to cover the gap between tuition
and the OSP scholarship, as well as subsidize the cost of
additional school fees, materials, field trips, and school
events so that students can participate fully in their school
experience.
Recognizing the impact a successful transition to a new
school has, school administrators have created programs to
assist students and their families with acclimating to a new
school culture. These include, but are not limited to, academic
summer boot camps, new parent and student orientations, and new
parent buddies. Required parental engagement, attendance at
meetings, and volunteering also help new parents and guardians
become active members of the school community and empowers them
to become advocates for their children.
Parental involvement is essential for student success and
for creating a personal investment in the school. Classroom
teachers, counselors, support staff and principals work
collaboratively with parents and guardians throughout the year
forming partnerships that encourage open communication
nurturing student success.
Over the last 15 years, the Opportunity Scholarship Program
has improved in meeting the needs of the students and their
families due to the collaborative efforts of the administrators
of the program and school leaders. When the program first
started, scholarship award notifications were outside of the
private/parochial school application window. Even though some
schools accepted OSP students at the last minute--sometimes
even when school was even in session--the rush to place
students did not always yield the best fit.
Now under the direction of Serving Our Children, the timely
notification of scholarship awards and school fairs within the
private and parochial school application cycle allow school
leaders to properly assess and plan for the needs of incoming
students and their families. Better initial placements and less
school transfers provide a more sound and consistent academic
experience for students. In addition, the ongoing need for
supplemental academic supports for students below grade level
has led to the tutoring program established by Serving Our
Children.
The current administrator also implemented an absolute
sibling preference during the awarding process, allowing all
eligible children in a family to receive scholarships. This
alleviates the strain on parents or guardians of juggling
multiple schools or being forced to remain enrolled at their
current neighborhood school. Having all children at one school
provides a consistent educational experience for the entire
family and promotes commitment in and to the school of choice.
The overall success of the program is evident in the 24,351
applications received since 2004, the 94 percent parent
satisfaction rate with their child's academic progress and
current school, and the 86 percent high school senior
acceptance rate to 2-or 4-year colleges or universities. The
reauthorization of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
empowers parents to exercise their right to choose the best
school for their child, no matter their income and allows
children to have a brighter future.
Chairman Johnson. Thank you, Ms. Conley.
Our next witness is Yisehak Abraham. Mr. Abraham attended
Rock Creek International School and Archbishop Carroll High
School through the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Mr.
Abraham went on to graduate from Columbia University with a
bachelor's degree in economics and now works as a research
associate at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington,
DC, focusing on financial markets. Mr. Abraham.
TESTIMONY OF YISEHAK ABRAHAM,\1\ ALUMNUS, D.C. OPPORTUNITY
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Mr. Abraham. Thank you, Senator. Good afternoon Chairman
Johnson, Senator Scott, and other guests. Thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today to discuss my experience
with the Opportunity Scholarship Program. It is truly an honor
to sit before you representing all Opportunity Scholarship
recipients and to advocate on their behalf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Abraham appears in the Appendix
on page 31.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The D.C. OSP was created in 2004 with bipartisan support in
response to the growing need for access to quality educational
options for D.C. families. It is the first Federal Government
initiative to provide scholarships for grades K through 12 for
low-income children to attend a private school. The program
began as part of a city-wide effort to improve all of the
district's educational sectors--public, public charter and non-
public--in an effort to expand quality educational experiences
for district families.
It was subsequently reauthorized twice, and thanks to your
leadership and efforts hopefully will be reauthorized again.
Why should it be reauthorized? Let us take a look at the impact
it has had since inception.
Over 24,351 D.C. children have applied to the OSP since the
program was created. Over 10,700 students have been awarded an
OSP scholarship. 1,653 OSP students were enrolled in
participating schools just last year. Half of OSP students
received SNAP and/or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) benefits in the last school year.
$23,285 was the average annual household income for
families using the scholarship in 2018. Sixty-six percent of
OSP students enrolled reside in Ward 4, 7, and 8. More than 98
percent of OSP students graduate, and 86 percent of those
students enrolled in a college.
So who has this program served? It has served me and
thousands like me, students and families who were looking for a
choice that was either a better or maybe even the best fit for
their educational future, a choice that would not be available
to them were it not for the existence of OSP.
OSP has had a tremendous, positive impact on my life. From
kindergarten through the fourth grade I attended a D.C. public
school. However, by the fourth grade I felt that something was
not quite right, that the school I attended was not necessarily
the best fit for me.
In the fifth grade, I had the privilege of being awarded a
scholarship to attend a private school through the OSP. My
family chose to send me to Rock Creek International School
located in DuPont Circle. The transition to Rock Creek felt
magical, to say the least. The school had laptops for each
student to take home, language classes, spectacular teachers
who cared just as much about how I learned, as opposed to just
what I learned, and more.
I wrote my first extended research essay, which was over 10
pages long, on the ancient Olympic Games. The following summer
I even went to Greece through the school. I continued with the
OSP and attended Archbishop Carroll High School, an excellent
college-preparatory Catholic school in DC. I graduated from
Carroll in 2012, and from Columbia University in 2016, with a
bachelor in Economics.
Currently I am a Research Associate at the American
Enterprise Institute where I focus primarily on financial
markets. In the future, I hope to continue to utilize economics
to analyze policies that will better benefit the public and our
Nation.
OSP allowed me and my family a choice, a choice that would
not have been if the OSP program had not existed. Can someone
here tell me my choices should have been limited because I came
from a different part of DC? Should any child be told that
their choices have to be limited if a program that works and
can have a tremendous and positive impact on their lives
exists?
Senator Johnson, Members of Congress, please reauthorize
the OSP program and keep this critical program available for
years to come. Thank you.
Chairman Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Abraham.
Our final witness is also our host. Gerald Smith, Jr., is
the Principal of St. Thomas More Catholic Academy. Before being
named principal, Mr. Smith taught for 5 years here at St.
Thomas More and for 2 years at Bishop McNamara High School in
Forestville, Maryland.
Mr. Smith received a bachelor's degree in biology from
Xavier University of Louisiana and a master's degree in
interdisciplinary health sciences form Drexel University.
Principal Smith.
TESTIMONY OF FATHER GERALD SMITH,\1\ PRINCIPAL, ST. THOMAS MORE
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Senator Johnson.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Smith appears in the Appendix on
page 33.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
American educator and social activist, Geoffrey Canada,
once asked a simple question--What would it take, in a society
where a class of people in America are often forgotten and the
game is fixed against them, what would it take to get them out
of poverty?
The answer is simple. Education. But simply placing
scholars within a classroom is not enough. Providing true and
sound partnerships between the community, the parents, and
institutions' educators, and most importantly, the scholars in
which the school serves, is vital to the success of the
developing whole individuals, willing and ready to make the
world more just and humane.
School choice is an important component in allowing parents
and their scholars to find places that fit the needs of their
unique academic profile. More importantly, the chance to choose
a school rooted in mission and its religious core provides the
opportunity for developing young men and women who are
dedicated to growing in virtue.
Catholic schools like St. Thomas More Catholic Academy and
others within the Consortium of Catholic Academies, as well as
many private and charter institutions give rise to increasing
the chances of transforming every aspect of a young man or
young woman's life.
The support of reauthorizing the SOAR Act gives hope to a
world where brilliant minds are only one component to making
the world better. The SOAR Act gives the choice to parents to
find a school that is ready to lead, teach, and inspire,
through the gospels, reflecting love daily. Academic programs
supported by the SOAR Act transform men and women with not only
brilliant minds, but more importantly, men and women with fully
sanctified hearts guided by virtue.
[Applause.]
Chairman Johnson. Thank you, Principal Smith.
So I have a few questions for the witnesses but then
after--again, I really want to encourage questions from the
audience, and comments. I mean, we kind of want to hear your
stories as well, until we run out of time and get the boot.
Let me start with you, Ms. Conley. You have been involved
in this program for quite some time and in education. What
would you say is the single most important aspect or attribute
of the Opportunity Scholarship Program?
Ms. Conley. Wow. There are so many.
Chairman Johnson. Well, name a few then. I do not want to
limit you to just one. I like prioritizing things, but----
Ms. Conley. I think, first and foremost, choice. Every
one--every parent and guardian has that right and that
privilege to educate the child which they see fit. And we also
know not every school is for every child. And so a parent
should have access, no matter the income, to any school of
their choice.
I think the other piece is it is important keeping the
family together, which I saw at the very beginning of the
program, where funding was families were coming in together, we
kept the consistency of their education, and then where we are
now, moving back and saying absolutely sibling preference, so
that all children are in one school.
Chairman Johnson. So let me quick follow up on that aspect
of your testimony, because, first of all, I was very pleased to
read the fact that--it almost seemed to me, maybe early on--I
do not want to use the word ``sabotage,'' but, I mean, the fact
that the awards were occurring at a time when it was almost
impossible for the school system to plan, but that has
improved. Plus we are keeping students together.
So what happened there? I mean, was there an
acknowledgement that there was a real problem and there was
real cooperation to improving the program?
Ms. Conley. I think the ongoing push was principals working
directly with the administrators, throughout the different
years, of saying the importance of the timeliness. And some of
it came with reauthorization and appropriations, of how do we
know, up front, that money will be awarded and the program will
be funded?
I think in the years that we were on the fence of will this
be reauthorized, people hesitated, things did not move forward.
The fact that we know it was reauthorized, we know the money
was there, and this administrator making it an absolute
preference and realizing we want students to be in the best
place initially. We do not want transferring. We do not want
this scramble. No parent should be scrambling. They should be
sitting down and having the conversation with the school of
their choice.
And also what we see it the better initial fit. Students
are in where they belong and where they should be. Some people
may say it is cherry-picking. It is not. It is knowing up front
what are you coming in with? Where are you? Meeting the student
and the family where they are and then going forward, not just
taking off the top. And I think that was the perception in the
very beginning.
Chairman Johnson. I think keeping families together is so
important. I mean, we were always comforted. We hated to see my
daughter go to North because the rest of the kids were going to
Lourdes, first of all, just for convenience in terms of
transportation but also, siblings look after each other. So
again, that was a really positive result that I am glad is
happening.
Mr. Abraham, I want to ask you a what-if. Obviously you are
an exceptional young man. I think you would have succeeded just
about in any environment. But, you know, what if? What if you
did not have that opportunity in the fifth grade? Do you think
you would have pursued the same career path? I mean, do you
think you would have been a little bit more limited? I mean,
just, the what-if question.
Mr. Abraham. It is hard to speak on what if. I guess, the
best answer I can give you is I know having through the path
that I went through, and, having started at the public school
that I did, I guess I knew what I would have missed out on. I
would have not been on an accelerated track that would have
pushed me. I would not have been pushed beyond my bounds in a
way that made me see that more was possible, both in my
education and in the capacities that I could gain.
Chairman Johnson. So you are pretty thoroughly convinced
that having this opportunity, this choice to go to a school
that suited your abilities better, you end up--the result was
better performance and--I mean----
Mr. Abraham. Yes. Actually, in the original draft of my
speech I kept saying who are we but the product of all the
choices we have made from all the options we were given. And,
to me the fact that I had a scholarship and was able to choose
any school that I wanted to, it motivated me to take advantage
of the schools that I ended up going to, because I knew I had
the choice and I knew exactly what I was going to those schools
to obtain.
Chairman Johnson. OK. I mean, again, that is exactly what
the parents in ``Waiting for Superman'' realized too, is that
choice opened up doors that if they did not have those doors
would close and they really thought their futures would be
limited.
So I want to ask Principal Smith a question here. If you
have a question why do not you start lining up in as quiet way
as possible so we can kind of move this along as efficiently as
possible.
But, Principal Smith, I cannot tell you how many times,
working with Lourdes High School in Oshkosh, the Catholic
school system there, I used to just be involved and just think
to myself, this is a really special place. OK? Just a couple of
hours here now, in St. Thomas More Academy, I get the same
feeling.
Can you describe that? Can you say, from your standpoint,
what makes this system, this school such a special place?
Mr. Smith. So it is a gamut of things. I think, one, the
scholars make this place what it is. It is home. It is home for
many of us. For some of us, we come from broken families. For
some of us, we come from circumstances that are out of our
control, and this is a place where we can be consistently and
honestly ourselves and be loved and educated and get the same
love that Christ gives us each and every day.
I had the opportunity to be an educator here, left, learned
a lot of amazing things and came back, and I get to work with
some of the best educators within the Consortium, and the best
principals as well, led by someone really great, with a
mission, and we are all mission oriented with this ultimate
goal of making sure that our scholars have what it takes to be
successful in life.
Chairman Johnson. So would you call it a pretty nurturing
environment?
Mr. Smith. Oh, it is very loving. This is a family. And it
is very funny because we never leave. We come right back. When
we graduate from 12th grade we come back. We graduate from
college, we come back. We had some kids that become educators
here at the school. So it is an amazing place that just goes
full circle in developing virtue.
Chairman Johnson. I am going to ask you a combination of
the questions I asked Ms. Conley and Mr. Abraham. What aspect
of this program is the most important? And you see students all
the time. Kind of the what-if question of those students as
well.
Mr. Smith. I think, as Ms. Conley talked about it, it is
choice. The what-if, I mean, there are endless possibilities of
what could happen to our scholars if they did not have the
opportunity to choose a school that fit their academic profile,
if they could not choose a place that would love them
unconditionally for who they were, and guide them to become
wholesome young men and women. This is a place where they get
the science, they get the math, they get the reading. They get
all those things that they could get in a public school. But
here, within, with the SOAR Act and with the OSP scholarship,
they get their hearts formed. They become saints, and that is
what our ultimate goal is as human beings. We go to college but
ultimately we go to heaven.
[Applause.]
Chairman Johnson. Well again, thank you for your
involvement.
Now I will ask for questions or comments from the audience.
Anybody? I am a U.S. Senator. I can talk for a long time, but
you really do not want to listen to me.
Mr. Campbell. Hello.
Chairman Johnson. State your name.
Mr. Campbell. My name is Keron Campbell. I am a senior at
Archbishop Carroll High School. I do not have a question. I
have a comment.
Coming from a public school all throughout K through 8,
where I was dealing with a lot of kids and the classroom sizes
were sometimes humongous--like when I first came to Carroll--I
came to Carroll my 10th grade, so I did not go to Carroll all 4
years. I came from a very large high school in P.G. County
which is called Charles Herbert Flowers High School. It had
2,300 kids. The average class size was 40 kids, and that was
not me. Sometimes my teachers did not even know my name. That
is how big the school was.
And so coming to Carroll and really getting that intimate
setting with my teachers and getting the opportunity--and I do
not think I would have gotten the opportunity without OSP, to
be honest with you. I think I would have been at another public
school with a large setting of kids and I would have never,
like, got that attention I really needed at the time.
And so at Carroll I feel that every day, I would not have
gotten that if I had not had OSP. That loving setting and a
Catholic school setting where you can foster kids and be better
and really grow them as a person. And I think I never would
have gotten that if it was not for OSP.
So that is all I have to say. Thank you.
[Applause.]
Chairman Johnson. I appreciate that.
By the way, let me point out a few numbers here. As said
earlier, the average cost, operational cost of educating
somebody in the district is $19,000. If you tack in the capital
costs, the maintenance and building cost, it is about $29,000.
The cost of the scholarships is somewhere between $8,000
and I think $12,000. Is it $13,000? So if you really do the
math on that, $30 million is what the district saves, and they
are getting $20 million out of the deal, so it is pretty good.
But the reason I am pointing that out is tuition--and I do
not know what tuition is here. I know in the Catholic school
system in Oshkosh it was a lot cheaper than that per-student
cost, and yet the class size was smaller. So you have to
scratch your head. What is the public system doing but what a
good deal these voucher system schools really are. So got to
make that a counting point.
Any other questions or comments?
Ms. Wilson. I have a comment. I want to say thank you,
because I was at OSP too. When I went to a public school I was
very down in reading until I got an OSP scholarship, and now my
reading got actually better. So thank you.
Chairman Johnson. So what is your name and what school do
you go to?
Ms. Wilson. Yenaya, and I attend St. Thomas More.
Chairman Johnson. And you are in what grade?
Ms. Wilson. Sixth.
Chairman Johnson. Well, you are a very articulate little
sixth-grader, so thank you for those comments.
Ms. Wilson. Thank you.
[Applause.]
Mr. Massey. Good evening, Senator.
Chairman Johnson. What is your name and your school?
Mr. Massey. My name is Micah Massey. I am in eighth grade
and I go to St. Thomas More Catholic Academy.
I would like to add on to Mr. Smith's speech. From a
student standpoint about this is a home, he is correct. This is
a home where you can express yourself in the right way, be your
true and authentic self. That is what Mr. Smith always tells
me. This is a loving and caring school. We accept anyone. And
that is what I would like to say.
[Applause.]
Chairman Johnson. Well, thank you.
So again, why would anybody be opposed? Why would anybody
deny somebody an opportunity to experience something like this?
Sir.
Mr. Carter. How you doing, Senator Johnson. My name is
Derrick Carter and I have actually two sons that are in the OSP
program. One attends this school and I have one that is
graduating from Archbishop Carroll this year.
First and foremost, I would like to say thank you to Mr.
Smith, because not only is he the principal of this school but
he is like a father figure when things are not going right
here. So me, as a parent, had it not been for this program, I
do not know what I would have done, because as a parent I
always want to have a choice of where I can send my kids to get
their education from.
So me, as a parent, I am real thankful that this program is
around. I have advocated for it because I have been on Capitol
Hill at these congressional meetings, so I am one of those
parents that you might see on Capitol Hill one day, because I
do support this program. That is how much passion I have about
this program.
So we just want to say, as parents, that we are going to
work and make sure that we keep this program around, so that--
and these are his words--our scholars can continue to have
success in life, whatever they decide to do.
Thank you.
[Applause.]
Chairman Johnson. Well, thank you, Mr. Carter. Thanks for
those comments. And again, thank you for expressing your
appreciation to the principal, and by extension, everybody who
works in this very special place. I mean, it is a an act of
service and sacrifice, so thank you for expressing that.
Next. Your name and your school.
Ms. Adams. Hi. My name is Mackenzie Adams and I attend St.
Thomas More Catholic Academy. And my question today is what do
you think the world would be like, well, Washington, DC would
be like without this program?
Chairman Johnson. Anybody want to answer that?
Mr. Smith. I think we would have a world where--I think if
the scholars did not have the opportunity to be partners in
their education we would have robots. We would have a world
that feels like this is the one way that we go, these are the
one things that we do. Here, with this scholarship, you have
the opportunity for your world to be broadened, for doors to be
opened, for you to see things that you never could imagine. I
think this is what this scholarship provides you, insight to
things that are bigger than Washington, DC, bigger than your
neighborhood, bigger than your back yard.
So if you never had that opportunity you would be very
close-minded, I think. Your eyes would be closed to all of the
wonders that the world has to offer.
Chairman Johnson. But let me chime in, and if you are
thinking of your own response, what made this Nation great is
the vision of our Founding Fathers to protect the God-given
rights--and again, God-given rights--of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. The reason we are able to pursue
happiness is because we are free people, and as a result of
free people we have the opportunity to aspire, to dream, to
hope. And without an Opportunity Scholarship Program the
families who are taking advantage of this, they have some of
that hope, some of that freedom, some of that aspiration taken
away from them.
I keep pointing out no government agency would have created
this. This was created by the mind of a true visionary and
genius. I mean, you can go through and all products and
services that create this private sector. Those are done
through the minds--first of all, the God-given minds--but the
creativity and the aspirations of individuals. And without
these types of scholarship programs there would just be 1,645
students that do not have quite as much hope. They may not
aspire. They may not go on to graduate, whatever, cum laude, or
a graduate program, and they may never invent this for the
benefit of all of us.
So again, you can never tell, but it is individuals,
operating with that freedom and hope and ability to aspire and
create and innovate, that we would lose without programs like
this.
Mr. Abraham. I mean, just to add on, I really liked, what
Senator Scott said while he was up here. When parents have a
choice, students have a chance. I think both parents and
students benefit equally. I know that my parents were happy to
see me just being thrilled to go to the new school that we all
of a sudden had a choice to be able to go to.
To say like what a world without OSP looks like is a world
where maybe parents are sending their kids to a school where
every day they are like I know it is not necessarily the best
fit for them but I hope that the best will happen. In the case
with OSP, you can see in the parents' expressions that they
know that their child is at the right place.
Chairman Johnson. Any other questions or comments?
Ms. MacLeay. Thank you for your time today. My name is
Ashley MacLeay. I am here with Independent Women's Forum, and I
am the at-large representative to the D.C. State Board of
Education.
Thank you for your comments, and we have heard lots of
benefits today from Senator Scott as well as yourself. Do you
have any comments or response to those naysayers, those in
Congress or the D.C. Council or the Washington Teachers Union
(WTU), who may not support this program under the guise of
accountability?
Chairman Johnson. Principal Smith, I have a response as
well, but go ahead.
Mr. Smith. You can go first.
Chairman Johnson. With freedom comes responsibility, and so
it is really the responsibility of each parent to make the
evaluation. Is this a school that is going to suit my
children's needs? I mean, is it accredited? Is the principal a
loving, caring human being? Are the teachers? Are the
administrator?
So you can either put your faith in government to make that
choice for you--again, one of the questions I ask crowds all
the time is, show of hands--how many people think the Federal
Government is efficient and effective? Nobody raises their
hand. They just laugh, OK. How many think it is pretty broken
and dysfunctional? OK. So let us not have the Federal
Government make that choice, or even the local district
government. Why not let parents make that choice. I think they
care about their children more than anybody else does. So I am
happy to put that decision factor, that evaluation of is this
an accredited school to my standards, I would rather give that
choice to the parent than I would to any form of government,
quite honestly.
Principal Smith, do you want to chime in on that as well?
Mr. Smith. I am a product of public schools. My educators
were great. They were fantastic. They pushed me beyond measure.
But I do not remember my parents being as involved. They could
not be. There were things that we did within the public school
sector, as public science students that my parents were not
truly invested.
The parents that I see coming here every single day have a
say. They come in and they fight for the education that each
one of their scholars deserves. I think that a naysayer that
says that this program is not needed is disregarding every
parent and the role that they play in the education as a first
teacher, as a first educator for the scholars that we teach. I
think that we have to give the opportunity for our parents to
make that choice to be the number one educator, to give them
what they need. Because when they graduate from St. Thomas More
and they graduate from any of these Catholic schools or any of
these private schools that the SOAR Act supports, their parents
will always be their educator, and we need them to be a part of
it.
Ms. MacLeay. Thank you very much.
Chairman Johnson. Thank you.
Ms. Harris. All right. My name is Dia Harris and I am from
Archbishop Carroll High School. My question is, if somebody did
not know what the OSP program, like how would you explain that
to them?
Chairman Johnson. Yisehak, you actually participated. Why
do not you answer the question?
Mr. Abraham. Sure. Go Carroll. Go Lions.
So your question is how would I describe what OSP is to
somebody who has never heard of it. It is like a Golden Ticket,
if I had to exaggerate.
Again, if you are going to a school where you know, it is
not the right fit for you, and, the only reason why you cannot
go to another school is because of circumstance, because of the
area of the city you live in, or, how much money your parents
have it is almost a huge equalizer. It grants people
opportunities and, gives you a fair shot at success.
Ms. Harris. Thank you.
Chairman Johnson. You mentioned the word opportunity. We
are all created equal. We do try and guarantee equal
opportunity. You cannot guarantee equal outcomes but equal
opportunity. So I like that answer. It is the Golden Ticket, is
opportunity that helps ensure that.
Get up on your tippy-toes.
Mr. Bonds. I am Calique Bonds and I am in the sixth grade
at St. Thomas More Catholic Academy, and this is for Principal
Gerald Smith. I want to say thank you for leading us St. Thomas
More scholars. And I want to ask a question. What led you to
your career right now?
Mr. Smith. I am getting grilled today.
It is a very funny story. I was brought here by God, and as
cliche as that may sound. I graduated from Drexel University
College of Medicine. I came here and taught at a summer program
and was only going to teach for the summer. I was given the
opportunity to teach, fell in love with teaching, and was
inspired by the minds of each and every one of the scholars
that sit here and those that are going on my first. The second
class that I ever taught is graduating this year. And I
remember the conversations that we had of the success that lied
right beyond these doors, for each and every one of them. I get
to see them. Hopefully I will get invitations to see them walk
across the graduation stage and become a part of society, to
change it, to make it more just, to make it more humane.
So what has led me here? God led me here. I did not listen
a lot, but when I started to listen, here we are. I have the
opportunity to now be a face and an advocate for a scholarship
that is going to give you guys the opportunity to change your
lives to.
Chairman Johnson. So Mr. Smith, real quick in preparation
for this hearing I read a piece that Principal Smith wrote, and
I was struck by the humility of one of the opening lines in
there, when you talked about you were--I do not know the exact
word but scared when you got this opportunity. Just talk a
little bit about the--kind of the enormity of the
responsibility when you first were given the opportunity to
become principal of this school, what your reaction was to it.
Mr. Smith. So I called my teachers educators because
Senator Scott talked about it. We are life-long learners and
educators are life-long learners. And I love to educate. I am
at my best self when I am in the classroom, on a board,
educating my scholars.
And I got the call from Father Moore to say, ``We want to
make you principal.'' And it sounds great in the first moment,
but then I hung up and I was like, oh, principal. So it was
scary in the sense of what does that look like? How do you
become the head educator? How do you become the head role
model? How do you become the model of Jesus Christ in
everything that you do? And that was the challenge.
And so for me it was only scary at the beginning because
after that it became a lot of prayer, a lot of discernment, a
lot of opportunities to have conversations with Christ, to
really focus on what the ultimate goal of Catholic education
was. What is the ultimate goal for scholars that have chosen to
be here, that could go anywhere for free, but will work beyond
measure through this scholarship, through the opportunity, to
become great?
So I had to get rid of the fear and become very humble and
understand my role as a leader within this part.
Chairman Johnson. I hope you do not mind me asking that
question but I think it is very important for your scholars
that are sitting here to understand that the head guy, your
principal, experienced that level of fear with a new challenge.
That is not unusual. That is going to happen throughout your
life. Life is not easy, and I think being led by someone with
that kind of humility--and, quite honestly, that level of fear,
understanding that the gravity of the responsibility he is
taking on being your principal is, I think, pretty interesting,
if nothing else. But again, thank you for your service.
Mr. Smith. Thank you.
Chairman Johnson. Any other questions or comments? Ma'am,
do you have a question or comment or are you leaving? OK.
Mr. Smith. No, she is coming up.
Chairman Johnson. Are you coming up? OK, good. I was not
sure.
Ms. Stewart. Good afternoon, everyone. I am an old parent
to OSP. When I first heard about OSP my son was graduating from
elementary school, and I had gone through the process only to
be hurt because the program had went away. Congress had took
the money away. And so I was left scrambling, trying to find a
junior high school as well as a high school for my son.
Needless to say, I did well. He is 23 years old, living in
California. He is a Marine. But his senior year I received a
letter saying that the money had come back and the OSP program
had started up again. And now I have this 3-year-old daughter
who could partake in the scholarship. And so once again I went
through the process, and Katlynn was granted the OSP
scholarship money. And so now I was left with trying to find a
school, which St. Thomas More was our selection.
And since then she has blossomed. Katlynn has advanced from
second grade to fourth grade. She loves her school. She loves
her principal. She loves her teachers. I love the staff. It
just works for us. So thank you to the program and certainly
thank you to St. Thomas More family.
Chairman Johnson. Thank you for your comment.
[Applause.]
That comment does remind me. There was somebody in the
audience that was going to ask a question. Can I prompt that
person? Maybe she has already left. Because I would rather not
make the point myself.
Well, she must have gone.
The point that was raised was why only reauthorize this for
just 5 years. Why not do it permanently? I would love to do
that. I have already asked my staff have we already drafted the
bill? I mean, we have, with a 5-year authorization. But when
you see the strong bipartisan support, when you see the support
from the D.C. City Council, this may be an opportunity.
I would encourage all of you, so that we do not have that
issue of funding potentially going away. Opposition may be
raising its ugly head again. There is no reason, from my
standpoint, not to reauthorize this thing permanently, and I
would love to do that, but we are going to need your help and
we are going to need your voices to make that advocacy.
Oh, they just called votes which means I have to leave.
But again, I want to thank everybody--our host, our
witnesses, the audience participants, again, the school
administrators, Father Moore, Mr. Smith, all of you that are
involved in this very special place. Thank you very much. God
bless you.
And with that the hearing is adjourned.
[Applause.]
[Whereupon, at 4:56 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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