EdChoice Scholarship recipient Walter Woodard presented testimony to the Senate Education Finance Subcommittee, yesterday. His testimony shares his personal educational journey and the impact the EdChoice Scholarship has had on it.

Governor Kasich’s income-based scholarship program proposal would give kids just like Walter the same opportunity to receive an education that fits their needs. With this proposed scholarship, families across Ohio could send their kids to the school of their choice, regardless of their income level.

Read excerpts from Walter’s testimony below.

Hello, my name is Walter Woodard, and I am one of the many that have been impacted in a positive way through the EdChoice Scholarship. After the second grade, I was put in a different school every year because I never could find one that was right for me. I was a kid being raised without a father, and I was diagnosed with ADHD. Things got very complicated and unbearable. I felt like no one truly understood what I was dealing with, and I had no one to go to with my problems. There were many times when I would come home from school with torn clothes, missing buttons and shoelaces and multiple bruises.

We never really understood what to do until one day we got a phone call telling us that the current school I was attending was on academic emergency and that I could possibly qualify for the EdChoice Scholarship. After looking at new schools, we found Tree of Life Christian and instantly it became my home. I got held back a year because I didn’t test high enough on the acceptance test. I attended my sixth grade year and have been there ever since. Now, almost five years later and one year away from graduation, my life has completely turned around in ways I cannot describe. I have found so many qualities within myself that I have never seen before. I also have been nominated multiple times by classmates and teachers to be on the student council and in various leadership roles.

There is no true way to describe how the EdChoice Scholarship has changed my life for the better, but what I can say is that without it I wouldn’t even be close to the young man that I have turned into. I am not only testifying, but I’m also encouraging everyone to go into the schools and see exactly what it is we are fighting for and how this scholarship truly helps people. By doing this, it may encourage everyone to fight even harder for education for everyone.

According to data from the Ohio Department of Education, students using scholarships to attend private schools are outperforming their public school counterparts on the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT).

The students who are receiving scholarships would have been assigned to attend the state’s lowest-rated public schools. The data compares their test scores with the test scores of their public school peers who come from all buildings, including those rated Excellent and Excellent with Distinction.

In four of the state’s largest school districts – Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton – School Choice Ohio compared the OGT scores of scholarship students with the scores of students in local public schools. Overall, in these four districts, scholarship recipients performed, on average, 11 percent better in math, 20 percent better in reading and 24 percent better in science.

Cleveland Metropolitan School District

• 59.9 percent of students received a grade of proficient or above in reading compared to 85.4 percent of Cleveland scholarship recipients, a difference of 25.5 percent.

Columbus City School District

• 48.5 percent of students received a grade of proficient or above on the state science assessment compared to 88.9 percent of EdChoice students in the district, a difference of 40.4 percent.

Dayton City School District

• 62.3 percent of students were rated as proficient or above in math compared to 81.4 percent of EdChoice students in the district, a difference of 19.1 percent.

Cincinnati Public School District

• 78.8 percent of students were found to be proficient in reading compared to 90.5 percent of local EdChoice students, a difference of 11.7 percent.

As these numbers demonstrate, when students are in a school that is a great fit for their learning needs and they are given the opportunity to improve, they can succeed academically.

This is why the proposed income-based scholarship program, included in House Bill 59, is important to so many families across Ohio. Parents are tired of seeing their children fall behind, even in non-failing school districts, and they want the ability to provide them with a quality education – they just lack the means to do so on their own.

Today, our Legislative Director Jason Warner testified in front of the Subcommittee on Education in support of House Bill 59, which includes the proposal for an income-based scholarship program. This scholarship would ensure that many more students across the state have access to a quality education.

Read excerpts from Warner’s testimony below.

Now more than ever, it is important that our educational system give everyone an opportunity to succeed. Students today need to acquire the skills necessary to be ready for college or a career. Studies show that the sooner we can begin to make this impact on students, the better prepared they will be in the long term for academic success.

House Bill 59 contains a strong slate of parental choice expansions that will help move our state in the right direction of preparing our students for future success. As Governor Kasich noted in his State of the State address on February 19, “Education unlocks the future.” The proposals contained in House Bill 59 will help to ensure that more students in Ohio have access to a quality education.

Because the EdChoice Scholarship is restricted to a failing schools model, there are still many families of students who are struggling in school districts that are not among the bottom 10% of public schools, but whose schools are still not a good fit for them. Families who lack the means to send their children to a private school or move to a different school district have to see their children trapped in a school that they know is not serving them and not preparing them to excel in the 21^st century.

The proposals contained in House Bill 59 will address these limitations and extend the opportunity of school choice to many more families throughout Ohio. Governor Kasich has proposed to extend the existing EdChoice Scholarship Program to include an income-based scholarship for lower-to-moderate income families to have the same opportunities many other families in the state already enjoy.

This is an essential progression in the evolution of Ohio’s educational choice movement. For the first time, we are recognizing that choice should not be limited to where a student lives, but also if the family possesses the financial ability to provide an education they believe is best suited to their child’s needs. This represents an important step forward in providing hope and opportunity to thousands of families across Ohio and we encourage your support of this expansion. 

Here at School Choice Ohio, we value our interns. The work they do is important and vital to our success.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to intern for School Choice Ohio? Here’s your chance to find out! Read about Hannah’s awesome internship experience below.

My two previous internships have been in event planning. For my first one, I worked at my church, and the second one was through school, so coming to School Choice Ohio where I would be working in a real office building, was a little nerve racking in the beginning.

I was hired on in January 2013 to help with National School Choice Week. Although my previous internships involved event planning, this event was on a much larger scale. I had the opportunity to contact people all around Ohio and communicate with them the different details regarding the event. My supervisor and I were on the phone countless times a day and hundreds of envelopes were sent around Ohio to advertise the event.

I also had the opportunity to work on the School Choice Expo. Through this, I was able to see the good that School Choice Ohio provides for others. I saw mothers come in crying and leave feeling a sense of relief that some of their questions had been answered. School Choice Ohio is able to educate parents on scholarships and opportunities for their children and provide hope for the future.

After working on events in January, I switched roles and became the Special Needs Community Outreach intern. I knew how much I enjoyed working with people, so community outreach sounded amazing, however I had no idea what to expect.

Not only did the internship come with some amazing opportunities and projects, but it also gave me the ability to work outside of my comfort zone. I remember the day when my supervisor told me that we were going to the Statehouse to advocate. I probably had a very uneasy smile and just nodded my head. I walked with my supervisor for a while and observed her talking to the senators and representatives, but then she told me to go by myself. Again, I am sure I had my uneasy smile and just nodded. I took a group of students to the next representative’s office and talked with him and everything was fine. I was able to share more about the scholarships, and he listened to me. How cool is it that a representative was listening to what I had to say?

I was not the intern that ran errands or got coffee for the office like you see in movies, but I was looked at as an equal. The office environment is incredible. Each employee has a passion for his or her work, and that joy fills the office. This environment made it exciting to come to work. I also learned so much! I was able to grow in my communication and event planning skills. I was given ownership of projects that were meaningful. I had a purpose here and I knew what I was doing was making a difference in the lives of families all around Ohio! If you have the opportunity, this is not an internship that you want to pass up.

Are you interested in interning with School Choice Ohio? Contact us, today! Please send a copy of your resume, a 1-page description of your skills/interests and the names and contact information of two references to SPechan@scohio.org.