Helen Jones Day of Indiana
Helen and Robert Day are proud to send their daughter
Ayana to a local private school; she is the third child in
the family to attend Holy Angels Catholic School.Helen Jones Day and her husband, Robert, were having trouble balancing the financial challenges of putting their six children through school and ensuring that they all receive a quality education.
Having both attended Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS)—Helen even worked for IPS at one point—the Days were familiar with the quality of education provided by the city’s public school system, which is unfortunately rife with problems such as a poor academic environment and low student achievement. Helen and Robert decided that IPS did not offer their children the kind of education they needed.
Helen knew of the Holy Angels Catholic School, a local private school, and was impressed with its reputation. However, she was not sure that she would be able to afford the tuition. After meeting with the school's principal, she was led to CHOICE charitable Trust, a program offering scholarship grants to Indianapolis parents.
Now their daughter Ayana is the third child in the family to attend Holy Angels. The others, Erick and Precious, attend Indiana University and Cardinal Ritter High School, a local college preparatory school.
During their time at Holy Angels, the Days have been involved in many different activities, such as black history, arts, crafts, dancing, cheerleading, and economics. Erick, the oldest, was the 6th grade class president and salutatorian. He received numerous college scholarships.
The Days are very pleased with the quality of education their children were able to receive through CHOICE. Even though they are not Catholic, they were impressed with the Catholic education system. In particular, they appreciated the enthusiasm of the teachers Holy Angels and the tutoring and after-school options available to their children. Robert says that these benefits provide “different avenues you could use to get help for your kids,” and he appreciates the fact that his children receive “more attention in private schools” than in public schools.
The Days are now firm believers in school choice. “You are making the decision. I feel that all parents should have a say in where [their children] go to school.” They acknowledge that if it were not for the CHOICE Charitable Trust they would not have been able to send their children to Holy Angels. “This has made the difference.”
Photo Caption: Helen and Robert Day are proud to send their daughter Ayana to a local private school; she is the third child in the family to attend Holy Angels Catholic School.
