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What is the purpose of the Austin CEO Foundation?
The Austin CEO Foundation believes all parents should have the option of choosing their child’s school and that all children deserve a great education. The online Education Options Resource Center provides parents with one central place to find information about public, private, charter, and home schools. We never recommend a school or school type. Instead we do provide parents with one central place to find easily navigatable links to research their school of choice.
How can the Austin CEO Foundation support public schools (or charter, virtual or home schools) and private schools? There are many wonderful public schools and teachers. We support a parent's right to choose their child's school. Connie Sadowski our Parent Advocate choses to put her four kids in Austin ISD elementary, middle and high schools.
As with kids and clothing one size can't fit all: No matter how hard a school tries, some kids just won't fit. Options make all schools more successful. School choice encourages schools to work harder to keep students. Students are encouraged to try harder because they now have a choice.
Students who are successful in public schools will stay. The key is successful kids. Anywhere school choice has been successful, no more than 5% of the students leave for other options.
The time has come to recognize the government can't maintain a monopoly in education and be successful. Walmart and Target are both very important to families.Walmart does not offer Target items and we don't want them to merge to one store. These competitors offer different brands, similar but different; Parents, what do you prefer?
Why do you do this, what's in it for you? According to the Alliance for Justice Nonprofits bring about change. Read more here "Some of the most extraordinary achievements in recent decades—for the environment, social justice, community renewal, consumer protection, public safety, and civil rights—have come about because nonprofits were willing to take their rightful place at the policymaking table. Less than five years after it was founded by victims’ families, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) persuaded Congress to pass a law mandating that every state raise the drinking age to 21—vastly reducing the number of alcohol-related fatalities."
What are Austin CEO Foundation parents saying? Click here to read parent testimonials.
Will you help me choose my child's school?
The purpose of the Austin CEO Foundation is not to give you suggestions for schools, instead we provide you with information about public, private, charter, virtual and home schools in your area so that you can make an informed decision about your child's education. Download a customized Define Your Ideal School worksheet to help in your search. We believe a parent that has the opportunity to choose their child's school is more directly involved in the success of their child because they have invested the time to investigate education options. School choice gives schools, parents and students an investment in that school--choice creates a new desire to achieve excellence.
How are education policies made?
Education laws are made at the State level. Read more here.
What ACTIONs can I as a parent, teacher, student take? Click on our action page and our links page.
How can I resolve a problem with my child's education? Maintain a respectful tone at all times, avoid becoming emotional. Your child is watching you. Be prepared to provide solutions to problems, so research best practices. We have found this manual to be very helpful.
Can I apply now for a scholarship to help me choose my child's school?
Scholarship enrollment period is now closed. Please subscribe to our enews to receive updates on next enrollment period. Scholarships for children attending a private school are $1,000, public school tutoring or enrichment are $250, home school materials are $500.
A scholarship up to $1,000 seems low?
Austin CEO is a private foundation. Our sole source of funding comes from generous individuals and businesses. We have chosen a maximum of $1,000 in order to spread our resources to as many families as possible. Our scholarship is tuition assistance, a helping hand. We want the families to have a stake in this endeavor. We encourage parents to volunteer in the child's school. If the parents are also contributing to the cost of education, we believe they will be more involved in their child's education. Parents may seek additional financial assistance; many schools have their own scholarship program.
Is Austin CEO Foundation encouraging children to leave public schools?
The Austin CEO Foundation is encouraging parents to find the best school for their child. There are many wonderful public schools and school teachers. We do not recommend any particular school to a parent, whether it be public, private, charter, virtual or home school. We want to encourage parents to be “education consumers and shoppers”. We believe that schools, like children, are not "one-size-fits-all". We are providing families with financial assistance so that they have wider array of choices in order to find the best school to meet the unique needs of each child.
What if parents want to choose a PUBLIC SCHOOL, which is willing to enroll the child for a transfer fee or tuition charge? Will the Foundation accept scholarship applications in these cases?
Yes. If a public school is chosen by the parents and accepts the student, the Austin CEO Foundation will gladly process the application subject to the same terms and limitations as any other application. A school does not have to be a private school to participate in this program.
How do children qualify to apply for an Austin CEO Foundation grant?
1) Students must be residents of Texas and attend a kindergarten for 4 year olds through twelfth grade school.
2) Students must be between the ages of 4 and 18 for the current school year.
3) Families must be unable to fund their educational choice for their child or have difficulty in doing so without this financial assistance.
All schools cannot serve special needs children, can they?
Yes. Just as children are not all the same, neither are schools. Public schools must serve every child. A charter, virtual, home and private schools have the freedom to focus its program on students with special needs. While one school focuses on special needs children, another private may focus of gifted and talented kids. Through this diversity of educational environments, parents are more likely to find the right place for each child.
What if a child already attends a non-public school?
We will provide scholarships to students currently enrolled in any school option.
Who gets a scholarship? Are grades important?
Our scholarships are given on a lottery basis. This is not an academic scholarship. The only academic requirement is that the student continues to be in good standing with the school. Each month, the school must report to Austin CEO Foundation that the student is in good standing based on the school's standards and requirements.
Can a school also contribute to helping a family pay for the child's education? Certainly. If a school wishes to offer a scholarship, we welcome the additional assistance. We do not, however, encourage schools to accept the Foundation's contribution as payment in full. We want the families to have a stake in this endeavor. If the parents are also contributing to the cost of education, we believe they will be more involved in their child's education. We encourage parents to volunteer in their child's school. It sends a message to their child that they find his or her school important.
Will this program create a mass exodus from public schools?
No. There are many good public schools and school teachers. Anywhere K-12 scholarships are operating a maximum of 5% of children have left their public school. A school that is educating kids has happy parents. If a school does not educate kids well, parents are going to seek other options. Portable scholarship programs like ours make all schools better, both public and private. When schools have to earn the trust of parents, all schools get better.
How do I get more information?
Enrollment period is now closed, subscribe to our enews for next enrollment period and K-12 news alerts. www.ceoaustin.org/subscribe
Additional Q&A Sources
Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
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