By Michael Birnbaum Washington Post
About a thousand people gathered outside the Capitol in support of the D.C. voucher program which is up for reauthorization by Congress. Chants of put kids first floated toward Senate office windows as students waved signs that said School Choice Now and Save Our Scholarship. Were still here and were not going away! said former education secretary Margaret Spellings who spoke in front of the crowd along with House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and others.
The federally funded voucher program provides scholarships to low-income District children to attend private schools. In the 2008-09 school year it spent about $12 million on 1716 students.
This year the program will be slightly smaller because it was closed to new students in the spring when its funding came in doubt.
Many attending the rally were young students and anxious organizers periodically shushed the crowd and told them to listen politely to what the speakers had to say. Many Catholic schools took the day off for the rally and other schools were represented as well.
One student worried about where voucher students would go if the program ends.
Students wouldnt have many good options said Ronald Holassie 17 a junior at Archbishop Carroll High School. He said the best public and charter schools in D.C. have waiting lists.
Youre talking about 1700 children receiving vouchers he said. Where are they going to go?
Students also talked about their old D.C. public schools which they found lacking.
You couldnt really get the attention in public schools said Jotresa Williams 15 a sophomore at Preparatory School of D.C. At her new school she said you get to learn more.
One speaker said the controversy over the vouchers was a symptom of a broader problem with the way Congress deals with education.
Bruce Stewart who retired in June as head of
Sidwell Friends School where Sasha and Malia Obama as well as two voucher students attend said U.S. public schools were lagging behind those of China and India.
You shouldnt consign these kids to mediocrity because of an accident of where they were born he said pointing to poor-quality public schools in low-income neighborhoods.
Democratic congressional leaders have said they want stricter oversight of participating schools if the program is to continue in any form.
President Obama has expressed support for continuing the program for students already participating but gradually winding it down by closing it to new applicants.
