The U.S. education system is not meeting the needs of all our children, especially those who are economically disadvantaged. For too many families, income level and ZIP code determine the quality of education available to their children. The need to give all children access to a good education, a chance for a better future, has never been greater. Launched in 1998 by philanthropists Ted Forstmann and John Walton, the Children's Scholarship Fund has offered thousands of low-income children across the country the chance to attend private school, children who would have otherwise never experienced the benefits of a private education. In Opportunity and Hope, prominent journalist Naomi Schaefer Riley chronicles the lives of 10 scholarship alumni who--because of the educational opportunities afforded them--were able to turn less than perfect childhood circumstances into successful lives and careers. The stories of these children, representative of thousands of others and their families, are nothing less than inspirational. They are proof that all any of America's children need to achieve their dreams is a chance, and someone to believe in them. They are also a testament to the power of private schools, including many inner-city faith-based schools, and they are evidence that given the chance for the right kind of education, anyone can achieve the American dream.
About the Author: Naomi Schaefer Riley is a regular columnist for the New York Post. She also edits the Wall Street Journal's weekly Houses of Worship column. Ms. Riley was, until recently, the deputy Taste editor of the Journal, where she covered religion, higher education and philanthropy for the editorial page. Her writing has also been published in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, among other publications. She is a regular guest on Fox Business's Varney & Co. Ms. Riley is the author of The Faculty Lounges... And Other Reasons You Won't Get the College Education You Paid For (Ivan Dee, 2011) and God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America. Her book on interfaith marriage in America is titled: "'Til Faith Do Us Part. She has ghostwritten two books, Startup Weekend: How to Take a Company From Concept to Creation in 54 Hours and Living the Call: An Introduction to the Lay Vocation.