I was born and raised in Indianapolis and I regret to say that I dropped out of the public high school that I attended. Throughout my teenage years, my parents longed to give me the opportunity to go to a private school in our area of town, but that dream was never realized because the tuition rates were simply too high.
Today, I’m the mother of four children and I share my parent’s dream of sending my own kids to a private school. I think the smaller setting and teachers’ personalized approach that it offers create a great learning environment for my children. Now, thanks to the new voucher program, I’m thrilled to say that all of my kids are enrolled in the Lutheran schools that my parents wanted me to attend.
My children range in age from five to 16 and each of them are benefitting from the new voucher program. My five-year-old daughter has Sensory Processing Disorder and when she was diagnosed, I had to stay home and care for her. As a stay-at-home mom with a special needs child, I didn’t think that private schools would be an option for us financially, but now they are.
The voucher program has opened doors for us that we could not open ourselves and our experience at Calvary Lutheran School and Lutheran High School has been great. My kids like all of the opportunities that are available to them. I like all of that too and I also appreciate how easy it was to make the switch from their previous schools.
The change has made a big difference already and I especially see that in my teenagers. My 14-year-old daughter is now passionate and active in class and she is making more of an effort to participate and do her homework. My 16-year-old daughter is getting her grades back up and she is excited to get up and go to school. She appreciates her new opportunities and she has opened up more and shown greater confidence. I just love where they are at.
The changes that I’ve already seen in my kids make me hopeful and excited about the future. I know that we made the right decision to switch schools and I’m sure that my kids will all graduate and have high confidence and self esteem.
I am so thankful that I got the choice that my parents never had. My kids are now in the school of my choice and that’s the way it should be. Parents should decide what is best for their kids and the new voucher program gave me the right to do just that.
