3410 S. Kessler

Wichita, KS 67217-1135

Phone: (316) 942-4545 or (316) 681-3667

Fax: (316) 681-3667

For Immediate Release: June 5, 2002

For additional information, contact Cindy Duckett (316) 942-4545; Kim Potochnik (316) 681-3667; or David Landwehr (316) 945-4827

Wichita, KS – A new opportunity for families of students in grades 1-12 to have a choice in the education of their children was announced in Wichita today. Children First: CEO Kansas, a privately funded, non-profit scholarship program, will begin accepting completed applications immediately.

To qualify, students must be: a resident of Sedgwick County, Kansas; entering grades 1-12; not have been enrolled in a private or parochial school for grades 1-12 in the 2001-2002 school year; and fall within the family income eligibility guidelines, based on the Federal School lunch income guidelines. Income guidelines are posted on the Children First: CEO Kansas web site and printed on the applications.

Scholarships will be awarded in a public lottery drawing to at least 14 students whose applications with supporting documents are received on or before July 20, 2002.

Depending on family income, the value of the scholarship will be 25%, 50%, or 75% -- up to a maximum of $1,500 (whichever is less) of the annual tuition costs to attend a school of choice.

"We are offering a helping hand, not a hand out," said Cindy Duckett, Director of Children First: CEO Kansas. "We believe that school choice is a crucial component in helping each child to reach their fullest potential. The power to choose should not be limited to only those who can afford to pay for it. We intend to assist parents who are sacrificing to give their children greater educational opportunity."

Duckett said that there are many reasons for families to want to exercise the option of school choice. "For some families, safety and discipline concerns are an issue. Others will be seeking higher academic standards. Some believe that their children can learn better in a setting where more individualized attention can be given, and some find it appealing to be able to choose a school that will reinforce values that are taught in the home."

Children First: CEO Kansas is bringing a school reform template to Kansas that is already in place in scores of other states and districts throughout the nation.

Citing a recent research paper based on results from already existing programs published this spring in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, Duckett said that many choice initiatives have shown an added benefit in forcing public schools to improve due to competition. That report revealed that privately financed scholarship programs in Washington, New York City, and Dayton, Ohio showed that African-American students who received scholarships scored 6.3 percentile points higher on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills than did other students who applied for but did not receive scholarships. The greatest gains were in Washington, DC, where 93 percent of scholarship recipients were African Americans whose test scores were 10 percentile points higher in math and 8 percentile points higher in reading than the scores of students in a comparable control group who wanted scholarships but did not receive them.

"Still," said Duckett, "we expect to receive at least some criticism from the entrenched defenders of the status quo who fear that the current system of educational funding will ‘look bad’ when most choice schools will provide an excellent education using many less dollars than taxpayer funded schools consume. Change can be frightening, and we do understand that, but the research clearly shows that the standard arguments against choice – against empowering families – have no basis in reality."

In 1999, The Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF) announced a nationwide program to award partial scholarships to help lower income families send their children to their school of choice. CSF is similar to – but much larger in scale – than Children First: CEO Kansas.

CSF received 1.25 million applications from all 50 states and nearly 22,000 communities for the 40,000 scholarships that were awarded – or about 30 applicants per award. Those scholarships averaged about $1,100 a year per student. Eligible families had to have household incomes of less than $22,000 and now must pay an average of $1,000 per year for supplemental tuition costs.

"Frankly," said Duckett, "we expect to be similarly inundated with more applicants than we have scholarships to fund. Our scholarship cap is higher and our income guidelines are more generous than the CSF initiative. Every program like ours that has been established has encountered that type of overwhelming response. I’ve been in some of the schools recently and they are excited. I’ve taken calls from parents already and they are thrilled. Our donors have been generous and they are looking forward to positively impacting the lives of local children and families. Our contributors are the real heroes in this effort and we appreciate every one of them so very, very much!"

As Children First: CEO Kansas takes applications throughout the weeks ahead, Duckett said that additional contributions will also be accepted and appreciated. "We will award additional scholarships if additional funds become available," she said, "and every scholarship awarded will make a real difference in the lives of real children and real families."

Contributions can be made on the web site or mailed to: Children First: CEO Kansas, 3410 S. Kessler, Wichita, KS 67217-1135. All donations are tax deductible.

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