Read all about it! The latest CSF newsletter is hot off the presses.

Some of the newsletter highlights include:

• A tribute to CSF Co-Founder Ted Forstmann;
• Updates from our partners across the nation;
• Photos from a recent CSF alumni event;
• A reminder about our Pamella Roland online auction, and
• A feature on St. George’s Independent School in Memphis.

All of us at Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF) were deeply saddened to hear that Joseph E. Robert Jr. passed away this Wednesday, December 7^th.

Joe was a dear friend to CSF. Serving on our board of advisors since the early days, Joe’s leadership of the Washington Scholarship Fund provided us with a strong partner in the nation’s capital for many years. Joe’s fighting spirit never wavered when it came to the education of needy children. He passionately believed in parental choice and was a key force in ensuring the continuation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, which this year is helping more than 1,600 children attend DC private schools. His staunch support of children’s causes, most especially through Fight for Children, the organization he founded, has made a difference in the education and futures of thousands of DC children and their families.

We offer our sincere condolences to Joe’s sons, Joe and Luke, to the rest of the Robert family, and to Joe’s many friends and colleagues in education circles and beyond. He was an inspiration to me personally, and the positive effect he has had on us all will continue to be felt for years to come.

In the midst of the sadness, I have loved reading all that has been written about our friend and co-founder Ted Forstmann since his passing on Sunday. His contributions to the world of finance, philanthropy, and education reform are well known by now. I feel very fortunate to have known him on a slightly more personal level through my work at the Children’s Scholarship Fund. As one friend summed it up for me today, “Ted cared about education and philanthropy way before all the stars started making pledges. He was a true pioneer with some steadfast values. And he had such clarity about what was fundamentally right.”

Perhaps that is the character trait that is most admired–his clarity and conviction about what was fundamentally right. He taught me that you have to get the first things right or things will eventually fall apart. From that conviction was born the Children’s Scholarship Fund. He wanted to change what wasn’t fundamentally right in education. Ted knew that parents are the first educators of their children and that if you empower them they will try to do the best that they can for their children. If you don’t honor that truth, things will break down. Of course he was right. He touched a chord with parents who overwhelmingly responded by applying for partial scholarships and telling him they were eternally grateful for the opportunity.

I often wrote Ted notes to pass along something that a child or a parent had said or something that had happened on a visit to a school. I remember writing to Ted in a note at one point telling him that he would not know on this side of heaven all the good he has done. Well, my mentor and friend, now you and John both know all the good you have done. Please watch over us, our work, and all our kids. We love you and we will miss you.

Just below Mr. Kirtley’s piece, you can also find a post by CSF President Darla Romfo on CSF and the promising students we support.

Please visit our main website, www.scholarshipfund.org, where you can read more about Ted’s life and legacy.

Mr. Forstmann has long argued that all the money dumped into public education budgets misses the element most crucial to the schools’ success: active parental involvement. His solution to getting them in the game has been requiring the parents to contribute between 25% and 75% of the scholarship award, based on need. That’s it. The parents can pick any private school they desire.

You can read the entire article here.

Empowering parents with the ability to choose good schools (as well as the information they need to determine the best school for their child) is absolutely vital, since they are the first educators of their children. It’s inspiring to see parents  mobilizing and using their “parent power” to become involved and fully engaged in their children’s education.

The consequence of allowing strangers to make educational choices for children is damage to the family and the broader society. The American Center for School Choice wants to bring this school choice debate to the center of our political spectrum around what is broadly recognized as a centrist and established American value—parents have authority for their children.

In July, we were happy to pass along the news that CSF had earned another four-star rating from Charity Navigator – our fifth consecutive four-star rating!

However, today we got even more good news. Charity Navigator has expanded its rating system to consider accountability and transparency as well as financial efficiency and fiscal responsibility – and CSF still comes out on top with a 4-star rating!

You can view CSF’s profile on the Charity Navigator website here. Charity Navigator is the country’s largest charity evaluator, rating more than 5,500 American charities, and a four-star rating is their highest possible rating.