Another Obstacle to D.C. School Reform

I moved from Indiana to the District to change and improve the lives of everyday people. When I first got here, I worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill. But I longed to help young people. So now, after two years as a girls basketball coach, facilitator, writer and motivational speaker, I want to teach in Washington's public schools.

I have applied for the graduate teaching program at a school in the District. Unfortunately, the District does not offer grants or need-based financial aid to graduate students. I was shocked and disappointed to know that my only options for funding the program are a federal $4,000 TEACH grant and as much as $20,000 in student loans to cover my master's degree. But I already have more than $15,000 in student loans. The District should offer work study, grants and need-based financial aid to residents pursuing advanced degrees who want to teach in the public schools.

I believe that I have a responsibility to give back to my community and share my experiences with young people. But I am on the verge of opening my own business instead of entering the graduate teaching program, for fear of obtaining more student loan and credit card debt. It would be a shame if others also opt out of teaching because of the costs of education. That is a lot of talent going to waste in the District -- talent that Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee sorely needs if she is to be successful in reforming the D.C. public schools.

D.C. leaders must step up to the plate and offer new programs that provide incentives to attract professionals to teach. I have two suggestions:

· Establish a loan forgiveness program for D.C. residents who attend undergraduate or graduate school in the District and are willing to teach in a D.C. public school for a period of time. Once the new teachers are hired, after every school year a percentage of their student loans could be forgiven.

· Offer work study, grants and need-based financial aid to D.C. residents pursuing graduate degrees. According to the Project on Student Debt, more than 40 percent of college graduates do not pursue graduate school because of loan debt.

Students in the nation's capital deserve the best facilities, the best teachers and the best curriculum. Anything short of that should no longer be tolerated. I hope that the District's leadership will propose legislation to attract talented teachers to a lifetime of education in the D.C. public schools. I just hope that I will be around long enough to join in.

-- Aisha Carlisle

Washington