Former Florida Tax Credit Scholarship student explains what education choice means to her

Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland, Florida, is one of many private schools in the state that participate in Florida’s robust education choice scholarship program.

Editor’s note: This commentary marks the debut of reimaginED’s newest guest blogger, Ashley Elliot, a member of the 2019 cohort of the American Federation for Children’s Future Leaders Fellowship program.

 School choice can be a hot-button political issue for some, but for me and students like me, it’s a celebration of being able to access an education that meets our needs. It’s a promise that children of all backgrounds can find a school that works for them.

The last several years have been especially challenging for students and families. It’s during times like this that I’m reminded of my own struggles within the American education system.

It’s been almost six years since I graduated from high school. Many don’t see high school graduation as an overwhelming achievement, but I stopped believing it was something I was capable of when I was 12 years old.

My circumstances growing up were anything but desirable. My parents struggled with drug addiction. The Florida Department of Children and Families placed me in a foster home when I was born. I was fortunate that my grandmother adopted me and my siblings.

We had love and care in our home, but we struggled. We lived below the poverty line. Our house was falling apart. Sometimes the electricity was turned off, we fought over food and resources, and many of my Saturdays were spent selling homemade bracelets outside of a fish restaurant to help make ends meet.

On top of that, we lived in a school district where economically disadvantaged kids were zoned for schools with the lowest graduation rates in the city. In addition to working hard to put food on the table and keep us fed and clothed, my grandmother was forced to look for schools outside of our zone so we could have a fighting chance at a decent education.

I started having academic and behavioral problems in middle school. Most of my teachers shrugged me off as a bad kid. I switched to an alternative school, but it seemed that most of the teachers had given up on me as soon as I walked in the door.

It was not until one teacher started mentoring me and helped me transfer to Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland that things began to change. I was able to attend thanks to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship. Without the scholarship, I would have had no chance to escape the schools that were failing me.

Floridians are fortunate to live in a state with a wide variety of school choice. Some states do not have one single program. My siblings and I were able to find schools that fit our needs, and each one of us was able to graduate. I soon will be applying for a master’s program, something my middle school self would not have been able to comprehend.

My story shows just how far we can come if we are given the chance to achieve our dreams.


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BY Special to NextSteps