While the issue of school choice may be a political matter for some, for low-income families in the Archdiocese of Louisville it’s about their children.
Come November, Kentuckians will have the opportunity to vote for an amendment to the state constitution that would allow the General Assembly to provide financial support for students attending non-public schools.
Labelled as Amendment 2 on the ballot, it will ask voters, in part, if they are “in favor of enabling the General Assembly to provide financial support for the education costs of students in kindergarten through 12th grade who are outside the system of common (public) schools.”
Carmen Gallegos, whose family attends St. Rita Church, said this would be a step in the right direction.
Her family is one of thousands in the Archdiocese of Louisville whose children have access to Catholic education thanks to financial assistance. Her family receives aid from the Catholic Education Foundation and St. Rita School.
Gallegos — whose family is Spanish-speaking — has two daughters who attend St. Rita. They are in kindergarten and first grade.
“There’s no way I could afford to pay for both of them, even working two jobs,” she said in a recent interview.
Among the reasons she wanted a Catholic education for them was the fear they would fall behind because English wasn’t their first language.
She’s seen that fear vanish, she said, noting that both children are speaking English, and the first-grader is reading.
“They were able to keep up. They are learning reading and writing in the classroom. They are learning everything they need,” she said.
She credits the teachers, in large part.
“It’s amazing how they keep up with each student,” said Gallegos. “They will have one-to-one time with a teacher in reading if the children need help.”
Though her children are young, she’s already looking ahead. She believes the education her young daughters are receiving will prepare them for college. If the amendment becomes a reality, Gallegos believes it’ll open a “path to college” and “It’ll help our kids have a better future.”
Rebecca Ramirez, also a member of St. Rita, has three children in the parish school — a sixth grader, a fourth grader and a third grader — and hopes to enroll a preschooler next year.
Like Gallegos, she has seen the fruit of a Catholic education.
“Financial aid is a wonderful thing. I could not afford Catholic school by myself as a single parent.”
Shannon Cammack, parent
The three oldest children attended preschool at St. Rita and “by the time they got to kindergarten and first grade, they could embrace the academics and not fall behind. … They are in the best place they can be academically,” she said, noting the school also provides an environment where her family is cared for.
Like many families, the Ramirezes have felt the effect of inflation, she said. The family has made sacrifices to keep their children in Catholic school.
“We don’t take big vacations or drive new cars,” Ramirez said. Financial assistance is what makes it doable, she noted.
The Catholic Education Foundation, school and parish — the three sources of their financial aid — have been a blessing, she said.
Shannon Cammack, another parent who’s seen the results of a Catholic education, agreed.
“Financial aid is a wonderful thing. I could not afford Catholic school by myself as a single parent,” Cammack said in a recent interview.
Her youngest child is an eighth grader at St. James School in Louisville, which he’s attended since kindergarten.
Cammack said more than 20 years ago, when her first child was ready for school, she didn’t think she could afford a Catholic education — even if there was financial aid available. He attended and graduated from traditional public schools and did well, she noted.
The desire for her children to have a Catholic education resurfaced with her second child. Her daughter Alexis Cammack — who is now in her third year of law school at the University of Louisville — attended Nativity Academy in sixth through eighth grade and later graduated from Presentation Academy.
“She’s a product of Catholic schools. She loved it; she loved the experience. I wouldn’t have been able to send her” without financial aid, she said.
The Cammack family is served by Community Catholic Center, which provides tuition assistance and advocacy for families living in West Louisville and the Portland neighborhood who desire a Catholic education for their children, according to its website.
Cammack said what the amendment is trying to accomplish is needed.
“There are so many families I know who want Catholic education. … We’ve been blessed,” she said.
