The slight rise in New York City test scores this year may
impress some bureaucrats, but for a $15 billion-a-year school
system it falls far short of what some private schools achieve
with far less money. Placing blame on any one factor for the
continuing failure of city schools is a waste of time. We should
instead be concentrating on seeking solutions to help those
students most in need of rescue from those failing schools.
Children who come from healthy, functional families, with parents
who have their priorities straight about the importance of a good
education, will make it in any school. Good students in the inner
cities who come from fractured homes can still qualify for
scholarships to private schools and other options available for
them to succeed. There is, however, an extremely worthy program
that is a lifesaver for those children whose grades do not
qualify them for most inner-city scholarships. It was brought to
my attention by Edward Cox.
I met Mr. Cox - who is President Nixon's son-in-law and a
potential challenger to Hillary Clinton in next year's Senate
election - at a dinner last year. I must confess that I did not
recognize him until some time later. What impressed me about him
was his enthusiasm about Student Sponsor Partners. Mr. Cox was
chairman and remains a member of the board of directors for SSP.
This unique program pairs individual at-risk youth with a
supportive sponsor and provides tuition for the students in a
nurturing environment at a private high school.
Mr. Cox referred me to the executive director of the program,
Christopher O'Malley - who bears a remarkable resemblance to the
actor Timothy Dalton. Mr. O'Malley explained how Student Sponsor
Partners operates, and, after learning the stunning details of
its success, I couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration and
annoyance that I had no idea that something like it even existed
and has for nearly 20 years.
Student Sponsor Partners (http://www.sspnyc.org) was founded in
1986 by Peter Flanigan, who - when honored last year by the
Manhattan Institute with the Alexander Hamilton Award - remarked:
"Most of America's children are free, but tragically many of
its most needy and vulnerable children remain in educational
bondage. ... For our inner-city, largely minority, poor children,
that is precisely the fate to which we as a society condemn them.
They must go to schools that, in all too many cases, they know
simply do not educate."
Instead of waiting for politicians to draft legislation allowing
vouchers or tax credits for private school choice, Mr. Flanigan
set out on a mission to rescue city children from this
educational bleakness and to provide them with tools for a
brighter future.
He recruited like-minded individuals, who donated their time and
money to serve as personal mentors of at-risk children through
the four years of high school. Student Sponsor Partners
youngsters are three times more likely to graduate from high
school than their peers attending New York City public schools.
More than 90% go on to college, and Student Sponsor Partners
graduates garnered $12.1 million in college scholarships and
grants last year. The program, which began 19 years ago with 45
students and 45 sponsors, now has more than 1,600 sponsors
serving 1,300 students in 20 schools.
While Student Sponsor Partners is nonsectarian, it works
primarily with the city's Catholic high schools, because these
parochial schools offer an affordable college preparatory
curriculum for educationally and economically disadvantaged
students.
Two graduating students were speakers at a recent event to raise
money for the program. Ricardo Watson of Cardinal Hayes High
School and Nathalie Uwera from my alma mater, Cathedral High
School, talked about their experiences with the program and their
now brighter future. Ms. Uwera, an immigrant from war-torn
Rwanda, spoke with gratitude for the program and her love for the
mentor who stood next to her at the podium. Kimberly Ayers
Shariff, an attorney for Black Entertainment Television, beamed
with pride at Nathalie's achievement and future college plans.
There are countless New Yorkers like Mr. Flanigan, Ms. Shariff,
Mr. O'Malley, Mr. Cox, and all the sponsors and donors to Student
Sponsor Partners who quietly share their successful lives and
assets with the less-fortunate of our city.