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In the spring of 1999,
6,600 families responded to an invitation to apply and the
first Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund (NOSF)
scholarships were awarded to 817 children that fall. At
that time there were very few choices for parents if they
wanted to send their child to a private school rather than
their designated public school.
NOSF and its partner, the
Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF), were
committed to empowering families in need with the
opportunity to choose a K-8 school that best met their
children’s needs regardless of their ability to afford it.
With the success of NOSF,
other school choice opportunities followed. In 2005 the Ohio
Department of Education EdChoice voucher was introduced.
This program provided vouchers to students enrolled or
planning to enroll in failing public schools.
The state continued those
efforts in 2013 with the EdChoice Expansion voucher, once
again providing students of lower income families the
opportunity to attend private schools rather than their
public school. Together, these programs pay up to $4,650 for
grades K-8 and $6,000 for grades K-12. Last school year, a
total of 2,398 vouchers were used by students living in
Toledo.
NOSF has awarded a total
of 15,400 scholarships worth $13.2 million for students
since 1999. For the 2018-2019 school year, 750 students are
using an NOSF scholarship to attend a private school or for
homeschool expenses for grades K-8.
As part of its 20th
year of awarding scholarships, the Northwest Ohio
Scholarship Fund, along with National School Choice Week,
are presenting a 2019-2020 School Choice School Fair for
Grades K-8.
At the fair, families will
be able to learn about the different educational options
available in northwest Ohio including private schools,
charter schools and homeschooling as well as tuition
scholarships. There will be representatives from 35 schools
in the area as well as School Choice Ohio and the Northwest
Ohio Scholarship Fund.
This free event is planned to coincide with the
history-making celebration of National School Choice Week
2019, which will feature more than 40,000 school choice
events across all 50 states. There will be a total of
21,255 schools of all types celebrating.
"National School Choice
Week is the perfect time for parents to search for new or
different schools for their children," said Andrew
Campanella, president of National School Choice Week. "By
planning a school fair and inviting all different types of
schools to participate, the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund
is bringing educational opportunity one step closer to even
more Buckeye State families. We could not be happier that
they chose to plan this helpful fair during National School
Choice Week, and we encourage families to attend and
discover their options."
The Northwest Ohio
Scholarship Fund is committed to helping parents have
educational choices through privately funded scholarships.
Parental choice in education empowers parents to learn about
the different educational options that are available for
their child including public education, private education,
homeschooling, online schooling, and choosing what is most
impactful for their child.
To learn more about
some of the educational choices for your child be sure to
attend the 2019-2020 School Choice School Fair on Saturday,
January 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Franciscan Center,
located on the campus of Lourdes University, at 6832 Convent
Boulevard.
For more information visit
https://tinyurl.com/SC-Fair-2019 or call the
Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund at 419-720-7048.
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