by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
Renee Bryant-McCray was faced with a tough decision about where to send her two youngest children to school this year. Both had completed the pre-school program at the Way to Wisdom Learning Center. A mother=s instinct told Ms. Bryant-McCray that her children needed to stay together and close to home.
Sending her children to their district school, Rosemont Elementary, would require an act of faith. Other parents said Rosemont students were Abad children,@ that they fought each other and brought neighborhood problems to school.
Ms. Bryant-McCray knew, however, that Coppin State College had agreed to assume the management of Rosemont Elementary School in a historic partnership with Baltimore=s School Board. She believed that Coppin State=s President, Dr. Calvin Burnett, would create positive change at Rosemont.
She hasn=t been disappointed. Dr. Burnett is a man with a vision which I share. We believe that any student willing to study hard can succeed if given the opportunity to do so..
At Rosemont Elementary, this vision of success has become the school's mission. Almost sixty Coppin students read to Rosemont children and tutor them. Dr. Burnett allows Rosemont=s students to study at the Maryland Center for Thinking Studies at Coppin and provides tuition-free classes for Rosemont=s teachers.
Rosemont is becoming a dignified place of learning and health. Coppin students and faculty have replaced carpeting, painted and planted shrubbery. The college=s nursing students provide free health care services, social work majors offer counseling and Rosemont=s children now attend plays and basketball games on Coppin=s campus.
As a parent, I know the importance of staying involved in my children=s education. This year, Rosemont Elementary formed a PTA, and Renee Bryant-McCray - a mother putting her faith into action - is the new PTA President.
She has learned that all parents do not yet share her dedication. In a school of 438 students, PTA meetings have yet to yield a crowd larger then 22 parents. The Rosemont PTA will survive and contribute, however, helping to improve test scores and provide quality breakfasts to the children. Other parents will notice the improvement and realize the need to become involved.
We all should commend the Coppin-Rosemont Initiative for offering children in West Baltimore an expanded opportunity to learn. A visionary college president, a mother with faith and a group of dedicated teachers and parents are acting together to offer children a better future.
Every child can succeed in America=s schools if given the opportunity to do so. This year, the Congress must reauthorize - and fully fund - the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. At Rosemont Elementary School in Baltimore, and across the country, Adisadvantaged@ children need and deserve ESEA's Title I funding if the promise of equal opportunity is to become a reality in American life.
The debates over re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act are not simply arguments about means - about block grants vs. targeted programs. The outcome of Congressional deliberations about the appropriate federal role in public education will determine whether America truly is committed to guaranteeing equal educational opportunity to every child.
Schools which serve disadvantaged children - schools like Baltimore=s Rosemont Elementary School - currently receive 60% of the $14.5 billion in Title I federal aid. A fully-funded federal education bill, for example, would strengthen Baltimore's efforts to assure that all children are instructed by certified teachers.
No American child should be Adisadvantaged@ by an underfunded elementary school. Increased federal funding for education must become our paramount national priority. Dr. Calvin Burnett, Ms. Renee Bryant McCray and the children of America deserve no less.
Title I funding of Coppin State=s vision will confirm that America=s children are No. 1.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.