F.A.C.E. to FACE   F.A.C.E. BULLETIN     October 15, 2008 Dear Friends, Please continue to do your part to encouraged parents to fill out and return the student spotlights/success stories and recruit parents to get engaged. These stories should be compelling... Please remember to fill one out also, especially if you spent time in the public school system prior... The Gainesville Sun, A middle ground on vouchers. An excellent column by Jon East... McKay Coalition Fall Conference is Monday, October 20th in Tampa. Thank you for Stepping Up For Students, Michael A. Benjamin Executive Director, F.A.C.E. Florida Alliance for Choices in Education A middle ground on vouchers Published Monday, October 6, 2008 The Gainesville Sun By Jon East A decade after vouchers were introduced to Florida as an alternative to public schools judged as failing, the political debate is beginning to mature. Some of us who believe that public education is a sacred trust can now see that not every private option is an attack. In some cases, and scholarships for low-income children is surely one, the intent is merely to give disadvantaged students another tool to succeed. Is it possible, nearly 10 years down the road, to find common ground? Emotions are still raw with many fine educators. Some recent reforms have treated public school teachers like scapegoats, labeling their schools failures. But what if our collective struggle to reach poor and disadvantaged students could lead us down a middle path? First, we accept the gravity of the challenge: less than half of all African-American students graduate from high school, and less than half of the state's 1.2-million low-income students score at grade level on standardized reading tests. Then we try to match each student to the learning environment that best fits his or her needs. One current option in that mix is the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships program, funded by companies that receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for their donations to state approved non-profit groups. Those groups, in turn, hand out tuition scholarships worth no more than $3,950. Last year, the average income for a household of four on the program was $24,489. Remarkably, the families also paid out of pocket an average of about $1,000 per child to participate. The program is limited to 25,000 students - or roughly one in every 50 of the state's low-income students. The 900 private schools that participate don't have all the answers. But they offer different learning environments that may match the learning styles for different students. In an education world increasingly focused on individual learning needs, "private" doesn't have to be the adversary of "public." And "uniformity," a constitutional term that education lawyers argue about, can't possibly mean there should be just one way to teach. Look around. Charter schools are private by every standard measure. School districts contract with private agencies for alternative or after-school programs and with private schools to serve children with special needs. Within most districts, students also have an array of options - arts and science and math magnets, fundamental schools, career academies, gifted programs, community college classes, online courses. All are aimed of fitting the needs of each student. I left a job writing about education to work for the group that oversees the corporate scholarship program, and some of my friends in public education think I've lost my mind. They argue that it robs money from public schools, though the state treasury saves about $3,000 for each student enrolled in the program. They say the required standardized tests are not enough to hold private schools accountable, while almost spitefully insisting on a standard, the FCAT, they otherwise eschew. To me, the old fight over private school choice is a distraction to our collective effort to lift up children in poverty. This year a third of all Democrats and a majority of the Black Caucus voted to expand the program. They agree that poor kids aren't public or private. They are simply in need, and they deserve all of our best efforts. Jon East, a former editorial writer for the St. Petersburg Times, is communications director for the Florida School Choice Fund, in Tampa.   "BUILDING SOLID FOUNDATIONS" McKay Coalition Fall Conference Tampa - October 20th DoubleTree Hotel 4500 West Cypress Street Tampa, FL 33607 A complete conference schedule and registration form is on the website www.mckaycoalition.com/conference.htm The Step Up For Students (Corporate Income Tax Credit) scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allows over 20,000 low-income Florida students to attend an eligible private school or out-of-district public school. One hundred percent of corporate contributions go directly to funding scholarships - not a single penny can be used for administrative costs.   The Step Up For Students (Corporate Income Tax Credit) scholarship program provides K-12 scholarships that currently allow almost 17,000 low-income Florida students to attend an eligible private school or out-of-district public school. One hundred percent of corporate contributions go directly to funding scholarships - not a single penny can be used for administrative costs.   School Year 08 - 09 Income Eligibility Guidelines Persons in Household New & Add-Ons (185%) Renewals (200%) 2 $25,900 $28,000 3 $32,560 $35,200 4 $39,220 $42,400 5 $45,880 $49,600 6 $52,540 $56,800 7 $59,200 $64,000 8 $65,860 $71,200 9 $72,520 $78,400 10 $79,180 $85,600 11 $85,840 $92,800 12 $92,500 $100,000 13 $99,160 $107,200       For each additional person, add $6,660 $7,200       Effective from June 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009

 

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