Kami Davis

A lifelong Indianapolis resident, Kami Davis attended School 58 and Arlington High School when she was younger, but knew that IPS was not the best fit for her son Isaiah.

Isaiah (now age 10) was attending School 57 in IPS and was not doing very well. “His grades were C’s, D’s and F’s. His behavior needed improvement and his self esteem was low. Students picked on him. No positive involvement, no motivation,” Kami recalls.

After talking to officials from the CHOICE Charitable Trust (a privately-funded scholarship program), Kami applied for the program and soon enrolled Isaiah in the Jewel Christian Academy, a K-5 school located just down the street from their home. The new environment was remarkable. His grades went from C’s and D’s to A’s and B’s.

Kami believes that education is very important—“whether it is IPS, township schools, Christian or Catholic, they are all very important. But what you put into it is what you get out of it. Some facilities are not right for different children.”

Helen Jones Day

One of the big issues facing Helen Jones Day and her husband Robert Day has been the financial challenges of getting their six children through school while ensuring that they receive the type of education that their family values.

Both parents attended Indianapolis Public Schools and Helen once worked at IPS, but she wanted her kids to be involved in a private school atmosphere. She knew of Holy Angels Catholic School and its reputation as two of her cousins attended there, but she was not sure they would be able to afford the school’s tuition.  A meeting with Sister Jerry, then the school’s principal, led her to the CHOICE Charitable Trust where she was able to access school choice scholarships.
Her daughter Ayana presently attends Holy Angels, located at 2822 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street. The school offers a pre-K program and serves grades K-6. Ayana is the third child in the family to attend Holy Angels. Erick is now a freshman at IU and Precious attends Cardinal Ritter High School.

Helen and Robert say their children’s education at Holy Angels has been wonderful. The Days note that their children have been involved in a lot of different activities, including black history, arts, crafts, dancing, cheerleading and economics. Helen’s oldest son Erick, was 6th grade class president and Salutatorian, and received numerous scholarships.

They are firm believers in school choice. “You are making the decision. I feel that all parents should have a say so where they go to school. It’s up to you to say.”

Monica Poindexter

For Monica Poindexter, the CHOICE Charitable Trust provides a wonderful opportunity for her daughter Mia, 9, a fourth grader at Holy Angels Catholic School.  “Without it, there is no way I could afford it (Holy Angels) with the type of income I have.“

“The class size allows the teacher to individually work with the children and not necessarily small clusters of groups. Last year, Mia was having trouble with some new math concepts they were rolling out. I was able to call and email her teacher. He was absolutely wonderful about coming in early or taking some time during lunch,” Monica continues.

Last year was Mia’s first year taking the ISTEP exams, which are first given to students in the third grade. “Her scores were wonderful,” explains Monica. “She is now reading at the 6th grade level and her math skills are in the 5th grade range. Her scores were off the chart.”
“Being able to choose where my daughter is able to attend school has been one of the best choices and decisions I have ever been able to make for her,” said Monica.

Susan Cox
Like most six year olds, twins Andre and Dominic Jackson pack a lot of energy.
But their grandmother, Susan Cox, and mother Megan Trueblood, seem up for the challenge of rearing the two energetic first graders, who attend St. Joan of Arc parochial school on the north side of Indianapolis.

St. Joan of Arc is “a wonderful school, my school of choice for my grandsons,” said Susan, who lives just one-half block from the school, and who walks the boys to school each morning. The school provides “a values-oriented curriculum and is academic-based.”  I am a “firm believer in neighborhood schools and the sense of community that we have.”

The two women are very grateful to the school choices provided by the CHOICE Charitable Trust and the scholarships they provide. “We would not be able to do this, given the cost of private school education,” Susan said.

“Choice is important. I visited quite a few schools, as did my daughter. There are a lot of wonderful schools out there, but this just seemed to be the right fit,” she said.

Jesus and Yadira Gonzales
Jesus and Yadira have been married for 15 years, and immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Their four daughters were all born in America.

The Gonzalez children, Melvin, 13; Ashlee 12 and Sirlene, 7 all attended IPS schools before receiving the scholarship assistance from the CHOICE Charitable Trust. The family is firm in their beliefs that their children are receiving a better education, but also strongly value the environment and opportunity at the Oaks Academy.

Jesus likes the personalized atmosphere that Oaks offers.  “Teachers in public schools don’t have the time to spend [individually] with each student, or to be with one child at a time. They don’t have time to do that in public schools, to provide more personalized attention,” he says.

The tuition charges would have made attendance at the school unaffordable had the children not been eligible for the Choice scholarships. “Without it, we would not be going to the Oaks Academy,” says Yadira.