White House Summit on Inner-City and Faith-Based Schools

President Bush Calls Inner-City Faith-Based Schools a Critical National Asset.

America's inner-city faith-based schools are facing a crisis...between 2000 and 2006, nearly 1,200 faith-based schools closed in America's inner cities. The impact of school closings extends far beyond the children that are having to leave these classrooms. We have an interest in the health of these centers of excellence; it's in the country's interest to get beyond the debate of public/private, to recognize this is a critical national asset that provides a critical part of our nation's fabric in making sure we're a hopeful place.

Yesterday, President Bush hosted a White House Summit on Inner-City and Faith-Based schools in Washington, D.C, to increase awareness of the alarming school closure rate of inner-city faith-based schools that have provided much needed educational opportunities for disadvantaged children for decades. The event brought together educators, policymakers, philanthropists, business and community leaders, parents and students to develop local strategies to keep the doors of inner-city faith-based schools open to America's disadvantaged students. For many inner-city children across our nation, America's faith-based schools provide an option for a better future.

The summit highlighted the need to preserve the critically important educational alternatives for underserved students attending chronically underperforming schools. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings moderated a panel discussion on "Educational Options and America's Cities." Other panels highlighted the impact faith-based urban schools have had in the education of youth in America's inner cities, the challenges faced by faith-based urban schools, community solutions to keep faith-based urban schools strong, and innovative public policies that help under-served communities.

In his remarks the President recognized that many children can find a bright future in faith-based schools and noted, "The closings place an added burden on inner-city public schools that are struggling. And these school closings impoverish our country by really denying a future of children a critical source of learning not only about how to read and write, but about social justice." At the federal level, the President called for reauthorizing and expanding the Opportunity Scholarship Program in Washington, DC, and for Congress to enact his Pell Grants for Kids proposal for $300 million to help low-income children now enrolled in troubled public schools to go to schools of their parents' choice.

The President also called upon state and local governments to respond to this crisis. He noted that, "more than 30 state constitutions that include so-called Blaine Amendments, which prohibit public support of religious schools and have their roots in 19th century anti-Catholic bigotry." Furthermore, the President stated, "And so state lawmakers, if they're concerned about quality education for children, and if they're concerned about these schools closing, they ought to remove the Blaine Amendments..."

One particularly interesting program that the President mentioned is the Pennsylvania program that gives tax credits to businesses for contributions for pre-K through 12 scholarships for low-income children. He noted these tax credits are, "an innovative way to use the tax code to meet a national - in this case, state - objective."President Bush spoke of innovations to address the problem, such as the Cristo Rey Network of schools, now in 19 cities; Memphis, Tennessee, where businesses have given money that allowed Catholic schools to reopen as Jubilee schools; and the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education which prepares college graduates to work as teachers in under-served Catholic schools. The President closed by saying, My hope is that we're laying cornerstones for new schools here or revived schools; that we take the spirit of the Holy Father and extend it throughout the country, and work for excellence for every child; to set high standards, and when we find centers of excellence...to think of policy that will enable them to not only exist, not only survive, but to thrive. It's in our nation's interest. It's an important summit for America

For additional information on the White House Summit on Inner-City and Faith-based Schools, visit the website at: White House News Releases http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080424-2.html%20. To view the U.S. Department of Education's press release on this event, visit: Secretary of Education Participates in White House Summit http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/04/04242008.html

Grace and Peace,
Ed