Washington Scholarship Fund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 21, 2007
CONTACT: Ed Greenberger
(202) 466-7391

Department of Education Study Shows Families Very Satisfied With D.C. School Choice Program

• Families extremely satisfied with their children's educational experiences
• Too soon to draw conclusions from "early look" at academic achievement data, though some indications of improved math scores
• Program continues to serve District's most educationally and financially disadvantaged children

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new U.S. Department of Education (DoE) study on the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program indicates that parents of scholarship students are overwhelmingly satisfied with their experiences in the program and with their schools of choice.

" My child has made a drastic change for the better since attending [her] school and the classroom sizes are perfect for a child who needs help focusing," said Tiesha Lawrence, the mother of two students participating in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. "The staff is great, the curriculum is excellent. My children really love this school."

The study compares the satisfaction and academic achievement of students and families awarded scholarships through the scholarship program to that of those who applied for scholarships but did not receive them.
According to the report, using a scholarship significantly increased parental satisfaction with their child's school in every measured area. Seventy-four percent of scholarship parents gave their children's schools an 'A' or 'B' grade.
The DoE report also includes preliminary academic achievement data for students participating in the program. This "early look" at students' academic progress reveals no statistically significant positive or negative changes, though there are indications that some scholarship students are improving in math. The report's authors caution that data for this report was collected only seven months after the students enrolled at the schools of their choice during what was a transitional year for them, and therefore "may not reflect the impact of the program over a longer period of time." The DoE study is consistent with previous studies on school choice programs, which show that it often takes more than two years for participating students to show academic progress.

" All experienced educators understand that a student who is making the transition from an underperforming public school to a private school needs at least two years to fully adjust to his or her new academic environment and to begin to shine," said Bruce Stewart, head of Sidwell Friends School, which participates in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, America's first federally funded K-12 scholarship program. "At this early stage, we first need to focus on the deep parental satisfaction with the program, and this study shows that parents couldn't be more pleased. I have every confidence that sharpened student performance will not be far behind."

This study comes one month after a Georgetown University study showing that parents of students in the program are becoming more active consumers of education, more involved in their children's education, and are communicating better with their children. Last month's study also showed that most parents with students in the program are very satisfied with their experience due to the transformation of their children's attitudes about learning and increased self-esteem.

" The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program's families have risen to the occasion and are doing everything in their power to provide their children with the best possible education," said Joseph E. Robert, Jr., chairman of the Board of Directors of the Washington Scholarship Fund (WSF), the organization administering the program. "These students are thriving – both in and out of school – and we expect even better things to come for our families."

The DoE study also shows that the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, as intended, is serving the District's most economically and educationally disadvantaged students and families. At the time of application to the program, the average applicant's household had nearly three children supported by an annual income of $17,536, nearly $21,000 less than the income limit for a family of four . The average student entering the program had SAT-9 reading scores in the 33rd percentile and math scores in the 31st percentile.

Demand for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program remains high. WSF has received approximately four applications for every available space since the program's inception. Further, the program's participating schools are as or more diverse than any other publicly funded school choice program in America: two-thirds of the District's non-public schools are participating in the program, and more than one-third of the participating schools (35%) are not religiously affiliated.

In the program's third academic year (2006-07), more than 1,800 low-income D.C. students were enrolled in 58 participating District of Columbia schools. Scholarship students receive up to $7,500 per year to pay for tuition, transportation and school fees at participating D.C. schools. The federal legislation that created the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program also provides additional funds for D.C. Public Schools and D.C. public charter schools.

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About Us
The Washington Scholarship Fund, founded in February 1993, is committed to providing low-income Washington, D.C. families a choice in where they send their children to elementary, middle, and high school and to helping fulfill the promise of equal educational opportunity for all. During the past 13 years, WSF has provided nearly $31 million in scholarships to more than five thousand students through the federally funded D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program and the privately funded Signature Scholarship Program.