No parent should have to choose between protecting their child's future and believing in the promise of public education. I have faced that choice from three sides: as a student, as a parent, and as a nonprofit leader.
In the 1980s, I was living in a group home in New York City when Student Sponsor Partners placed me at Cathedral High School, where I was one of the only Latina students. The school expected a lot of me, and a mentor made sure I never faced those expectations alone. It changed my life.
Years later, choosing a school for my son, I felt the pull Ms. Hannah-Jones describes between my values and what he needed.
Today I lead Student Sponsor Partners, and every year I meet hundreds of families facing that same decision.
All three have taught me the same lesson: individual families cannot carry the responsibility for repairing structural failures. The choice is this hard because our schools remain deeply segregated, with good options rationed by zip code and income. Scholarships and mentors can change that for some children; only public commitment can change it for all. Every child deserves a school worth choosing.
Debra De Jesus-Vizzi, MSW, LCSW
New York City
The writer is executive director of Student Sponsor Partners, which sponsored her as a high school student from 1977-1981.
