De Meita Vincent
Parent of a 1st grader at Global Prepatory Academy & 9th grade Teacher at Purdue Polytechnic High School Indianapolis
School choice is very important to me, because it gives me the opportunity to look at my children individually, determine what school has a good program that's going to be a good fit for what I want them to obtain or achieve or pursue in terms of their interest, and then give them that educationally.
I think one of the biggest things is just knowing, as a parent, how I care for my personal children and just wondering if the school has that same interest at heart. It's interesting how you often have educators as well as administrators who are there and talk a good game, but at the end of the day, never do any more than they need to do for that particular child during the course of that day. I'm hopeful for my children, as well as my students, to be successful not only at their current level, but also way beyond and as adults. I'm hopeful that working in charter schools has paid off and that the impact that I've been able to impart to students as they've been in class and as we've talked and as we've cried together has certainly made a difference in their lives, and that they're paying that forward and working with their own children and being productive citizens. And I'm hopeful that our country, specifically the state of Indiana, will recognize the importance of education and start providing more funding so that school systems can wrap around and provide services and really, truly assist people. Because I think if we're able to meet those basic needs, that students are then going to be more productive, more successful, and then be able to pay that forward once they become adults.
