Opportunity and Hope
Transforming Children's Lives through Scholarships
By (author) Naomi Schaefer Riley
Publication date:
01 May 2014Length of book:
156 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersDimensions:
235x162mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9781442226098
The U.S. education system is not meeting the needs of all our children, especially those who are economically disadvantaged. For too many families, income level and ZIP code determine the quality of education available to their children. The need to give all children access to a good education, a chance for a better future, has never been greater. Launched in 1998 by philanthropists Ted Forstmann and John Walton, the Children’s Scholarship Fund has offered thousands of low-income children across the country the chance to attend private school, children who would have otherwise never experienced the benefits of aprivate education.
In Opportunity and Hope, prominent journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley chronicles the lives of 10 scholarship alumni who—because of the educational opportunities afforded them—were able to turn less than perfect childhood circumstances into successful lives and careers. The stories of these children, representative of thousands of others and their families, are nothing less than inspirational. They are proof that all any of America’s children need to achieve their dreams is a chance, and someone to believe in them. They are also a testament to the power of private schools, including many inner-city faith-based schools, and they are evidence that given the chance for the right kind of education, anyone can achieve the American dream.
In Opportunity and Hope, prominent journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley chronicles the lives of 10 scholarship alumni who—because of the educational opportunities afforded them—were able to turn less than perfect childhood circumstances into successful lives and careers. The stories of these children, representative of thousands of others and their families, are nothing less than inspirational. They are proof that all any of America’s children need to achieve their dreams is a chance, and someone to believe in them. They are also a testament to the power of private schools, including many inner-city faith-based schools, and they are evidence that given the chance for the right kind of education, anyone can achieve the American dream.
In both her introduction and conclusion, New York Post columnist Riley (The Faculty Lounges) makes a case for enabling all parents, regardless of their economic status, to choose where they send their children to school. In the body of the book, the author relates the success stories of ten students whose parents were able to do just that through money received from the Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF). All of the accounts have common elements: the students are each from low-income (often recent immigrant) families with parents for whom education is a priority. Without a doubt, these narratives are inspiring and show how a solid education (and an engaged guardian) can positively influence the direction of a young person’s life. It is clear that Riley believes wholly in leveling the educational playing field and that her admiration for the accomplishments of the CSF is well placed. . . .VERDICT A feel-good text on the life-changing impact of private, particularly parochial, education. This work will appeal to proponents of education reform and those in favor of the voucher system.