White House Easter Egg Roll Excludes Private, Parochial and Home School Students from Ticket Giveaway

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it would be distributing 3,000 reserved tickets to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll to D.C.-area public and charter school students. The White House Easter Egg Roll will take place on April 5th, 2010 with the theme "Ready, Set, Go!" helping to promote healthy lifestyles for children. Why were children who attend private or parochial schools excluded? What about all the home school children in the D.C. area? Why were they not included in the White House Easter Egg Roll ticket giveaway?

At a press conference held by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty announcing the White House Easter Egg Roll ticket giveaway, a parent whose child attends a DC-area parochial school raised the question concerning the exclusion. According to CNS News, Mayor Fenty responded by saying, "These tickets are from the White House to public schools, and we're appreciative, but there may be other things unrelated to this press conference. That's a great question."

Children who do not attend public or charter schools in the D.C. area may also attend the White House Easter Egg Roll but they would have had to enter their names in a lottery for the remaining 27,000 tickets. Unfortunately, the deadline had passed at the time of the news conference making it impossible for private school students the opportunity to still attend unless they had entered back in February. Lottery winners were notified on March 4th.

CNS News also quoted Robert Brannum, a D.C. resident whose son attends St. John's College High School. Brannum was disappointed that private students were excluded from the White House Easter Egg roll. Brannum raised the point that he pays taxes to support the D.C. public school system even though he chooses to send his son to a parochial school. Brannum stated, "There are students in the District of Columbia who attend private schools, parochial schools, or even (are) home schooled, and their parents pay taxes and they should be able to participate in some of the benefits of being citizens of the District of Columbia." I do not live in the D.C. area, but my two children attended private Christian schools growing up on the West Coast. If this had happened to us, I'd be up in arms as well. What purpose does it serve to exclude these children from the White House Easter Egg Roll ticket giveaway?

Obama has received negative press for not supporting programs that help low-income and minority students attend private and parochial schools. In the early days of his presidency, Obama terminated the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program which was a voucher program allowing the area's low income and minority students to attend private and parochial schools. Obama agreed to allow the students currently in the program to continue but would not authorize funding for new students. Excluding private and parochial students from the White House Easter Egg Hunt appears to be another slam. Interesting still is the fact that after touring the public schools in the D.C. area, the Obamas chose to send their children, Sasha and Malia, to the prestigious (and private) Sidwell Friends School. Tuition for the 2009-2010 school year at Sidwell is $29,842 for lower grade children.

The White House Easter Egg Roll dates back to 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes was in office. This year's event will include: live music, sports courts, cooking demonstrations and storytelling.

White House Easter Egg Roll
April 5, 2010
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC
(202) 456-7041

Sources:
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/63267
http://www.whitehouse.gov/easterEggRoll
www.sidwell.edu/