More Resources White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today moderated a panel discussion on "Educational Options and America's Cities" at the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. The panelists included Stephen Goldsmith, chairman, Corporation for National and Community Service and former mayor of Indianapolis, Ind.; Nancy Grasmick, Maryland superintendent of schools; and Acting Secretary Roy Bernardi, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and former mayor of Syracuse, N.Y.

In opening the panel discussion, Secretary Spellings said, "As we heard from President Bush and others this morning, inner-city faith-based schools are closing at an alarming rate. I'm glad to have this opportunity to share some proven ways of supporting these schools, which I consider national treasures."

The summit highlighted the need to preserve the critically important educational alternatives for underserved students attending chronically underperforming schools. In his 2008 State of the Union Address, President Bush announced this summit as an opportunity to help increase awareness of the challenges faced by low-income students in inner cities and address the role of non-public schools, including faith-based schools, in meeting the needs of these students.

Safe, academically rigorous schools have a positive influence on community stability, employment, crime and much more. Protecting such schools is in the interest of the citizens and leaders of neighborhoods, cities, states and the nation. Today's summit addressed how state and local governments, business communities, philanthropists, higher education institutions and others can contribute to America's faith-based schools. At the federal level, the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program has helped over 2,600 students attend private schools, most of them faith-based, and President Bush proposed $300 million in the Pell Grants for Kids program to help low-income kids transfer to better-performing schools.

###

Top

Back to April 2008