Maria Rodriguez

“I had to take my third and fourth graders out of public school because they weren’t learning anything with class online due to the pandemic. Their teacher was behaving very offensively to my kids. They insulted my kids, used inappropriate language with them and they didn’t give them a lot of attention, so they weren’t practically learning anything.”

“Some kids didn’t know how to use the computer that well, so the teacher would yell at them or put them aside or hold them back.”

“I filed a report with the principal about how the teacher acted. I told her they would need to move my child to another class, or I would change schools.”

“And one month before they finished the school year, they wanted my son to repeat his grade because he supposedly wasn’t advancing. But they never communicated with me that he was falling behind because everything was online.”

“I didn’t like the way they ran the school. One of my friends suggested I send them to a private school, which has a very good reputation. I switched my kids to St. Nicholas in October of 2020. It wasn’t until December of that year that the public school got back to me about moving my son to another class. But I told them, he was already studying in a new school.”

“I was able to get some tuition assistance, but not through Empower Illinois because I missed the application deadline. Thankfully, this year I was able to receive the scholarship for both of my kids, which covered almost all the tuition. It helped us a ton because we were falling behind a bit financially and it has been a difficult time.”

“But I love the way they teach my kids, guide them spiritually and mentally-emotionally, how they help them. It’s a completely different education. It’s a great opportunity for the children and the parents because our kids are learning more, and it’s at a completely different level.”

“It has been a great blessing for us because we are a low-income family, and we needed the help from the scholarships.”

“It’s a huge help for many families like us, that don’t earn a lot, but we want to help our kids to get a head start, to get an education better than what we had.”

“Regarding religion, they help us to show the kids a good path. The kids see how they are taught in those schools, and they value it. It’s a completely different culture, in terms of religion and morals.”

“I am so thankful everything they’ve done for our kids, for the schools, and that Empower Illinois is working so that there are more opportunities for more kids to have a private education.”

“It has been a huge, huge help. A huge blessing, honestly.”

Maria Rodriguez
Mother
Chicago, Illinois