What’s Your (School Choice) Story?

Sharing stories of educational choice is key to understanding its importance for Ohio families.  While the issue of educational choice may be debated, the experience and success of students who were given a choice are powerful.

Kristen Ostrosky and her children, Anthony (19) and Sara (16) have experienced what school choice can do for a family as well as for each individual student.  I recently got a chance to meet Kristen and was blown away by her story.  I asked if I could share her story and she was gracious enough to agree.

Tell us your story – Has school choice made a difference in your child’s education?  If so, how?

My story is one of those where someone would say, “This could never happen to me”, but it did. I married my high school sweetheart. We bought a house 2 years into our marriage, found out I was pregnant with our first child 3 years later and right before he was born, discovered my husband was being accused of embezzling from the company he worked for. The investigation went on for a LONG 4 years. During this time, my husband lost his job. This was very hard on us because his job was the main source of our income. I lost my job as well because I worked in the same industry, but for another company who didn’t want my situation to “tarnish” their reputation. We had a second child, our home went into foreclosure, my car was repossessed, and my husband was sentenced to 34 months in prison. He left me with a 3 year old and a 7 month old to take care of on my own. I now needed to find a way to take care of my kids on just my income–not an easy task. Without the Ed Choice program, there was no way that I would have been able to send Tony and Sara to these amazing private schools. Christ the King, St. Francis de Sales and St. Ursula Academy all have given and continue to give my children a sense of family and allowed them to grow into the amazing young people that they are today. I am forever grateful to this program.

Why do you feel school choice is important for Ohio families?

Raising children is a difficult job, especially when there seems to be so much uncertainty in our world. I want my children to be more successful than I am. I want them to grasp every opportunity that is available to them to better themselves and their futures. School choice is just that–“a choice”. Our children deserve to attend a school where they feel comfortable, whether it be academically, socially and/or spiritually. Education is one of THE most important choices that any individual can make. We need to keep this program available to Ohio families.

Why did you look for an educational path other than traditional public school?

Having attended Catholic schools myself, my goal was to give my children the same opportunities that my parents had given me.  I knew that sending them to Catholic schools would enrich their growth academically, socially, spiritually, and emotionally.

Why did you choose those schools?

We are parishioners at Christ the King (Toledo) and have been for a long time.  I researched the academical, spiritual and athletic opportunities that CK had to offer my children and decided it as the best fit for them.  They both chose the high school that they felt would help further their education and growth.  For Tony, that choice was St. Francis de Sales High School.  For Sara it was St. Ursula Academy.

What were the biggest challenges you faced when considering private education?

The biggest challenge for me was figuring out how I would be able to afford tuition.

Brag on your students!  Tell us about all of their accomplishments!  Where are they now?

My son went to Christ the King Catholic School for 9 years. He graduated in 2019. During his time at CK, he was consistent on making the honor roll (even taking Algebra in 8th grade), played basketball and baseball for several years and was also an altar server well into (and beyond) high school. Tony was accepted into St. Francis de Sales High School, earning a Merit Scholarship, and absolutely flourished. He took many Honors and some AP classes, and also took an engineering class through the College Credit Plus program at The University of Toledo his Senior year. He continued to play baseball through his senior year and also participated in 6 musicals throughout his high school career. He graduated with a 4.1 GPA, earned the Global Seal of Biliteracy certifying that he is proficient in 2 languages and is currently a sophomore at The Ohio State University majoring in Welding Engineering with a minor in Spanish Business.

My daughter also went to Christ the King Catholic School for 9 years. She graduated in the top 3 of her class in 2022. During her time at CK, she participated in T-ball, basketball and was a cheerleader. she also spent time as an altar server and was a student lector for school and weekend liturgies. Sara earned her black belt in karate at the age of 10. She demonstrates incredible focus and determination. Sara was accepted into St. Ursula Academy, earning The Presidential Merit Award for having one of the top 5 test scores on the High School Placement test, the Academic Merit Award for scoring in the 96th-97th percentile on the high school placement test and an Alumnae Award totaling in $5,500 in scholarship money. She is a member of the Architecture Club and earned the Nichole & David Faiella Memorial Scholarship in May of ’23, which is a $4,000 scholarship that is awarded to her that will be applied to each of her remaining years at SUA. Sara is taking classes at The University of Toledo through the CCP (college credit plus) program in which she is earning college credits as a high school student. She has attended 2 different Pre-college summer programs (The Ohio State University Pre college program in 2023 and The University of Notre Dame Summer Scholar Program in 2024) where she lived on a college campus for 2 weeks during the summer and studied architecture/design based classes. She has been a member of the St. Francis de Sales marching/concert & pep bands since 8th grade, and has participated in 4 high school musicals. She has participated in the Toledo YES Project for the past 2 years, and was recently inducted into the Toledo Area Youth Advisory Board. Sara will begin her junior year at SUA in August ’24

School Choice Ohio wishes to thank Kristen, Tony, and Sara for their willingness to share their school choice story!  Congratulations to Tony and Sara for hitting it out of the park with all of their hard work.  A special shoutout to Kristen for her determination in finding the right fit so that her children can shine!