PROVIDENCE — Bishop Hendricken High School students Jullion Pope and R. Christopher Conti have the confidence, intelligence and faith-based foundation to make their presence felt in the halls of the State House.
But the two Cranston teenagers would not have these opportunities if it were not for the Rhode Island Scholarship Alliance program. Tuition at the Catholic school in Warwick is $9,875 this academic year and school president Brother Thomas R. Leto said "the two boys would not be here" if it wasn't for the scholarship money they receive from the alliance.
The two Hendricken students and dozens of Catholic school students attended a rally at the State House last Wednesday, which endorsed the scholarship program, The students met with and handed letters to their state representatives and senators addressing the importance of the scholarship program.
"In two years RISA has helped close to 300 students," said Kate Nagle, the executive director for the Rhode Island Scholarship Alliance. The program allows eligible businesses to receive a tax credit in exchange for contributions, and reached $1 million in tax credits for the fiscal years of 2007 and 2008, according to the alliance.
The program allows Ocean State corporations to invest in qualified scholarship granting organizations for tax credits, Legislation creating the scholarship program was approved by the General Assembly in 2006.
A two-year contribution yields a 90-percent tax credit amounting to $100,000 annually on contributions, according to the scholarship alliance.
The Financial Aid for Children's Education of Rhode Island (FACE of Rhode Island) received $155,000 for Diocese of Providence Catholic schools this academic year.
FACE has given teens such as Pope, a freshman at Hendricken, and Conti a chance to maximize their potential in and out of the classroom. Pope, a parishioner of St. Mary Church in Cranston, hand-delivered a letter to Rep. Charlene Lima, D-Cranston. "It helped us and now we'll help people in the near future that come to any private school to get a better education," said Pope.
Conti, a junior at Hendricken, said, "I think now they'll [state legislators] believe they're not just voting on something, but they're actually going to affect peoples' lives and it really helps them to vote toward our sides in keeping the money coming." Pope and Conti are two of 62 Catholic school students in Rhode Island who receive grants from FACE.
Eligibility for scholarships is based on a family's financial need. Family income has to be less than 250 percent of the poverty level for eligibility, said Nagle. For example, an income of $53,000 for a family of four is a "benchmark,” she continued.
Meanwhile, Rep. Lima was excited that Pope and Conti were present at the State House and invited them on the House Floor before it went into session.
"It's extremely important what this young man [Pope] did and I'm proud of him and this gives us the information and tools so that we can fight for these issues in our district. This gives us the ammunition to fight for our constituents," said Lima after she received Pope's letter.
Gov. Donald Carcieri emphasized how important the scholarship program is for students in Rhode Island as he addressed about 80 of the scholarship recipients in the State Reception Room. "The more opportunities we can give our young people the better off we will be as a state," said Carcieri.
Samantha Poch, a seventh-grader at the Community Preparatory School in Providence, told the State House audience how grateful she is for the scholarship program. "A lot of families are struggling financially and without the scholarship program, school would not have enough diversity or be as fun."
Gov. Carcieri added, "We have a lot of Catholic schools in the community but for me this is about giving young people the opportunity to go to school that they wouldn't have otherwise.”
Close to 90,000 families qualified for the scholarship program in 2008, Nagle said.
Carol Costa, assistant director for Stewardship and Development — Catholic Education in the Diocese of Providence, said the scholarship program is vital.
“The last round of contributions we received $155,000 for FACE with money able to award grants to 62 students. We helped students from cities to suburbs such as Portsmouth and Middletown." Costa is a board member of the scholarship alliance and assists FACE.
"With the last round of tax credits you can calculate pupil costs, which equates to $682,000 in savings for the state of Rhode Island. The program has raised $423,000 for 2009-2010 school year and corporations could be assured every dime awarded goes to students in the diocese," she said.
"The total impact from tax credits are millions in savings. A healthy private system helps a public school system,” said Costa.
Meanwhile, the $155,000 FACE provides to 51 Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Providence has provided an educational foundation for Holy Ghost sixth-graders Marilyn Vardales and Kamila Garay.
Vardales, 11, and Garay, 12, said their families probably wouldn't be able to afford the $3,050 yearly tuition at Holy Ghost without scholarship grants. "I love this school and I always wanted to graduate from Holy Ghost," said Garay.
