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Article_A Step Up in education

Feature News | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

A Step Up in education

Parents learn how to apply for state scholarship funds

Attendees listen to Marlene Desdunes, an advocate for Step Up and an alumna of St. Mary Cathedral School and Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School. Desdunes is also a teacher in Miami Dade County Public Schools. Next to her principal Douglas Romanik of Archbishop Curley Notre Dame.

Photographer: Monica Lauzurique

Attendees listen to Marlene Desdunes, an advocate for Step Up and an alumna of St. Mary Cathedral School and Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School. Desdunes is also a teacher in Miami Dade County Public Schools. Next to her principal Douglas Romanik of Archbishop Curley Notre Dame.


Lilly Isaac, left, came to learn how to get Step Up scholarship money for her daughter, Victoria Isaac, right.

Photographer: Monica Lauzurique

Lilly Isaac, left, came to learn how to get Step Up scholarship money for her daughter, Victoria Isaac, right.

MIAMI | Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School hosted an information rally for the Step Up for Students scholarship program on June 3. Step Up helps students obtain income-based scholarships that can be used at schools in the Archdiocese of Miami.

The rally was to inform those in need about the program so they can apply next spring. The nonprofit Step Up for Students  manages the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program for low-income schoolchildren in grades K-12.  The program serves nearly 60,000 low-income students in over 1,400 private schools.  

Some at the event said the faith-based part of education was important to them. Nataly Campo wants her two children, 1 and 7, to have an opportunity to learn about God.  

"They don’t talk about God in public school," said Campo, a St. Louis Church  parishioner.  "We didn’t have that opportunity in Peru."  

Principal Douglas Romanik of Archbishop Curley Notre Dame speaks to the Cozart family speaking about their two middle school students.

Photographer: Monica Lauzurique

Principal Douglas Romanik of Archbishop Curley Notre Dame speaks to the Cozart family speaking about their two middle school students.

Douglas Romanik, principal at Archbishop Curley Notre Dame, says he knows of many people like Campo.

“In this deanery, which encompasses St. Rose, St. Mary’s, there is a strong immigrant population that desire a Catholic school education," he said.  "Many immigrant Catholics are working two jobs to try to send their children to school."

According to Romanik, a Catholic education for grades K-8 is about $5,000 a year and as high as $10,000 for high school.  "The scholarship gives families the opportunity to defray the expenses and get a leg up on some much-needed financial assistance,” Romanik said.

Welllida Cherie, who came with her baby William, was gathering information for another son who is currently in first grade in a public school. She would like to enroll him in a private school to get more one-on-one-teaching.

Photographer: Monica Lauzurique

Welllida Cherie, who came with her baby William, was gathering information for another son who is currently in first grade in a public school. She would like to enroll him in a private school to get more one-on-one-teaching.

To illustrate how the Step Up for Students scholarship program has impacted those in the community, two videos were shown.  

"If it weren’t for this school, I would probably be on the corner with a baby trying to make ends meet," said one woman who was a beneficiary of the program, adding that everyone else in her family had dropped out of school.

"There is such a great need in our time and in our community," said Marlene Desdunes, attending the rally.

Desdunes graduated from St. Mary Cathedral School  in 1984 and Archbishop Curley High School in 1988.  Although she now teaches in the public school system, she volunteers to champion the cause of Step Up for Students.  

"Those formative years were the best of my life," Desdunes said. "It made a huge difference and had such an impact on me. I think every Roman Catholic should take advantage of what our church provides for us."

Lilly Isaac brought her 13 year-old daughter, Victoria, to the rally.  Isaac, a parishioner at St. Martha Church, is a widow and cannot afford private school or even health insurance.  She believes an education with an emphasis on Catholic faith and morals in a small-group setting is best for her daughter.

Willida Cherie read about the Step Up for Students rally in a newspaper and attended to see if her 7-year old son, Zion, could have a shot at attending a Catholic school.  Cherie has no other source of income and is a single stay-at-home who also cares for Zion’s sister, 6-month-old Janai.  

Although Cherie is not a Catholic, she is open to learning more about the faith.  She believes a Catholic education will help her son focus on education, cultivate his faith and build moral character.  

To promote the rally, representatives visited eight churches on May 31. The event was also announced in 11 church bulletins.  Despite this effort, the turnout was poor at this rally: 10 people in four families, in a room set up for at least 50 people.  And because the program depends on funding, there is always a risk that it could be eliminated.  

Romanik was chosen to spearhead the initiative by Donnie Edward, the associate superintendent of schools.  Romanik said he's willing to host one every month; he already hosted one in April, and another is planned for August.

Enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year is closed, but everyone is encouraged to familiarize themselves with the process.  If scholarships awarded for the 2015-2016 school term are not claimed, they’ll be allocated to people on the waiting list.  

Those who would like to receive notifications on the Step Up for Students scholarship program may text the word "schools" to 52886.  Recipients will be alerted if funds become available.  

Attendees listen to Marlene Desdunes, an advocate for Step Up and an alumna of St. Mary Cathedral School and Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School. Desdunes is also a teacher in Miami Dade County Public Schools.

Photographer: Monica Lauzurique

Attendees listen to Marlene Desdunes, an advocate for Step Up and an alumna of St. Mary Cathedral School and Archbishop Curley Notre Dame High School. Desdunes is also a teacher in Miami Dade County Public Schools.

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