President Donald Trump awarded an “opportunity scholarship” to a Philadelphian fourth-grader during the State of the Union address.
Expanding school choice
Last Tuesday’s State of the Union by President Donald Trump concluded with the awarding of an “opportunity scholarship” to a fourth-grader from Philadelphia.
The opportunity scholarship that President Trump awarded gives the student the privilege to choose whichever school she plans to attend to, with all the expenses covered all the way.
President Trump wanted that the fourth-grader, Janiyah Davis, take this opportunity to expand her options for school choices.
Nonetheless, Davis is already attending one of the most competitive charter schools in Philadelphia, the Math Science and Technology Community Charter School III (MaST III), according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The opportunity scholarship award
The opportunity scholarship is a rare privilege that thousands of waitlisted students are hoping to receive. The scholarship allows students to get into any school of choice, with all expenses and stipends being shouldered. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is rumored to be personally funding this scholarship, she firmly believes in the advocacy for school choice movement.
Currently, the school which the awardee, Janiyah Davis is attending, is also considered as one of the top-performing schools in Philadelphia. The school’s competitiveness in allowing students into their program can be illustrated with their limit of 100 slots annually, from at least 6000 applicants.
MaST III is financially supported by taxpayers, which makes it a tuition-free institution. This raised a question in many minds, why her when she’s not one “disadvantaged”?
In an interview with Davis’ mom, she was also surprised when her daughter won the award:
I knew there was a chance that my daughter would be selected. But, to be actually chosen despite the thousands of other hopefuls, it was really glorifying.
Though the Davis’ look at going into MaST as something worth to be proud of, they see this opportunity as a way of seeking greater heights for their daughter.
She can now go to the most prestigious school available, and we won’t have to worry about where to get the money for her expenses.
According to the spokesperson for the Department of Education, schools ranked highly in statistics does not always translate into being the best fit for every student.
Education is about the freedom to learn from the best school that can bring out the maximum potential out of your child.
This opportunity will not limit Davis to schools available in Philadelphia. It opens doors for better opportunities outside of the State, just like some other of the 50,000 kids in Pennsylvania.
Featured image by USAToday
