Public schools course through Virginia Walden-Ford鈥檚 veins.
As an African- American child growing up in Little Rock, Ark., at the height of the civil rights movement, she was the daughter of 糖心动漫vlog. Her father, William H. Fowler, was a principal and later an assistant superintendent of the city school district. Her mother, Marion Armstrong, was the first black teacher to work at an all-white elementary school there.
The famed Little Rock Nine were the first African-American students to integrate Central High School, in 1957. But Walden-Ford and her twin sister were among a group of about 130 black students who were handpicked to desegregate the city鈥檚 high schools on a larger scale in the late 1960s.
Now, at age 50, Walden-Ford is the executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice, a nonprofit parent-information organization that helps parents find options outside the public system. She sent the youngest of her three children to private school. He then graduated from a District of Columbia charter school in 2000. Her two teenage stepsons also attend charter schools here.
The transformation from making civil rights history in public school hallways to becoming a school choice advocate was not easy for this strong-willed woman.
鈥淚 was not only raised in public schools, that was my father鈥檚 life,鈥� says Walden-Ford. 鈥淲e were committed to that.鈥�
Yet Walden-Ford came to a crossroads with her youngest child, William, that forced her to compromise. He was promoted annually despite his dismal grades, she says, but she was committed to 鈥渟ticking it out鈥� in the public schools.
鈥淚 felt guilty,鈥� she acknowledges with a hint of an Arkansas drawl.
By 9th grade, however, William started hanging out with hoodlums on the verge of heading to prison. One night, Walden-Ford, by then a single mother, found him handcuffed to her front porch by the police. The only option that seemed available was 鈥淪outhern school choice"鈥攕ending William to live with her parents in Little Rock.
As a teenager, Virginia Walden-Ford helped integrate public schools. But when her son got into trouble, she felt forced to leave them behind.
A neighbor stepped in, though, helping to pay for the teenager to attend a local Roman Catholic school. William became a different person, his mother says.
As William was starting his senior year in 1999, the scholarship money ran out. It was two years after charter schools opened in Washington. Walden-Ford enrolled William in Booker T. Washington Public Charter School for Technical Arts, where he earned A鈥檚. After a year of community college, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines. The 19-year-old is a private first class stationed in Aberdeen, Md.
Without school choice, Walden-Ford believes, her son 鈥渨ould be in jail or dead. I couldn鈥檛 control him.鈥�
More than 30 years after graduating from Central High, Walden-Ford now tries to reconcile her family鈥檚 long-term commitment to public education with her passion for school choice.
Armstrong, Walden-Ford鈥檚 mother, accused her daughter of deserting the public schools and wouldn鈥檛 speak to her about school choice for years. Walden-Ford says her mother confronted her, arguing: 鈥� 鈥榊our daddy fought hard for the public schools. How dare you leave?鈥� 鈥�
Armstrong says there was 鈥渘ever any question鈥� that her daughters would attend Central High School. Their father, who died in 1985, wanted his children to receive the best education possible. And, Armstrong says, he was monitoring the school鈥檚 progress with integration.
鈥淭here was no way we would send our child to private schools,鈥� declares Armstrong, 79, now retired in Little Rock after teaching for 28 years. All five of her daughters graduated from public schools. 鈥淲e just didn鈥檛 believe in private schools.鈥�
That commitment was firm, despite the fact that every school day from 1966 until her graduation in 1969, Walden-Ford was the target of racial slurs. 鈥淚 got called 鈥榥igger鈥� so much it would make your head spin,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淣ot just the kids鈥攖he teachers, too.鈥�
Many African-Americans, she believes, are driven by the tradition of public schooling, rather than what鈥檚 best for children today. Two of Walden-Ford鈥檚 sisters, who used to teach in public schools, now work at charter schools in Detroit and Kansas City, Mo.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 fight to enroll our children into a bad public school,鈥� she asserts. 鈥淲e fought for quality education.鈥�
Today, more than 10,800 of the District of Columbia鈥檚 68,000 students attend 37 charter schools. Peggy Cooper Cafritz, the school board president, believes charter schools should serve as an arm of districts for 鈥渒ids who need something special,鈥� rather than as competitors.
Walden-Ford says she understands that the system needs time to make improvements. But, she argues, parents need alternatives in the interim鈥攅ven if those options aren鈥檛 flawless.
That鈥檚 why Walden-Ford is dedicated to fielding 100 calls a week from parents desperate to find a better education for their children.
She scoffs at critics who label school choice supporters as fanatics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just a group of people living the horror of seeing a child not being educated,鈥� she said.
