DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING – Latasha Bennett is the first witness to testify. She explains that she has two children. One is a scholarship student in elementary school. Her younger child is entering kindergarten and can’t get a scholarship. She explains that she is disabled and unable to work and she expresses concern about not being able to afford private schools. She states that she already lost a child to dc public schools. Her nephew (at student at Ballou high school) was gunned down and killed in 2004. She wonders if he might still be here if he had received a scholarship.
She describes having her younger daughters scholarship withdrawn by the department of education: she says she was devastated. She asks Secretary Duncan: How is it acceptable for my child to attend a school that isn’t good enough for yours?
She asks President Obama and Mayor to support this successful program. She says her childrens dreams depend on having a proper education.
Next up: Tiffany Dunston, a student from Syracuse U who attened arch bishop carrol using an opportunity scholarship.
