It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, colleague and tireless advocate for disadvantaged students, Cheryl Hillen.

Cheryl began her advocacy for quality k-12 educational options for all students back in the early 1990s. Even after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, she never stopped fighting to end the vicious cycle of generational poverty.

As Director of Corporate Relations for AAA, Cheryl communicated the need for businesses to invest in the economically-disadvantaged communities they serve. Her work remains a critical factor in AAA’s continued success and growth.

Prior to her work with AAA, Cheryl founded Project Education and served as Director of Development at the Alliance and Advocates for School Choice (2004-2008); Vice President at Children First America (2000 – 2004); Director of Development at Citizens for a Sound Economy (1990 – 2000); and Vice President at D.C.-based government relations firm, Valis Associates (1986-1990). Prior to that, she worked on political campaigns and on Capitol Hill.

Cheryl was originally from West Virginia and attended the University of Kentucky where she majored in political science. She is survived by her children, Marga Franklin and William “Woody” Franklin, mother, Nancy Hillen, sisters, Cathy Hillen-Rulloda and Cindy Hillen and brother, Alex Hillen, along with a large, loving family of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins

We re-dedicate ourselves to continuing Cheryl’s legacy. Our loss is heaven’s gain. We will forever miss her.

Please read her full obituary here.

The Nevada Department of Education has released its annual student achievement data report for students in the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program and the results are positive overall.

Although the number of students whose test scores could be tracked longitudinally over three years was limited because different schools may use different assessments, 68.4 percent of those that could be compared showed positive learning gains (defined as a maintained or raised score year over year). For those students whose test scores could be tracked over two years, the results were also positive overall (65.7 percent). Read the state’s full report here.

These results confirm what other studies have shown (here), the longer the time period that students participate in these scholarship programs, the more they benefit from them.

AAA Scholarship Foundation is proud to be an approved Nevada Scholarship Granting Organization. For more information about the Nevada Educational Choice Scholarship Program, please visit us at www.aaascholarships.org.

An update to the 2017 Urban Institute study of The Effects of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on College Enrollment and Graduation by Matthew Chingos, Tomas Monarrez, Daniel Kuehn has been released and the results are conclusive: “…students who enroll in private school through the [Florida Tax Credit] program are more likely to go to and graduate from college than their public school peers.”

The update also confirmed their earlier findings that the longer a student participates in the program, the higher the likelihood that they will attend a four-year college and earn a bachelors degree when compared to their public school counterparts. The studies are unique in that the public school comparison samples were made up of students who attended the same public schools as the scholarship students (before their participation) – making the results robust.

AAA Scholarship Foundation is proud to be one of only two administrators of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. To find out more about AAA or any of the six scholarship programs we administer, visit us at www.aaascholarships.org.

 

Jaylen Hardy and Savon Graham
Lake Mead Christian Academy
Clarke County, NV

 

Ahsaki Hardy sits amongst many other enthusiastic parents as she watches her children, Jaylen and Savon, receive honor roll once again. She knows this wouldn’t have been possible without the financial stability provided by a scholarship from the AAA Scholarship Foundation which allowed Ahsaki to send her children to a school tailored to their learning needs.

Knowing that they’d face countless obstacles, Ahsaki made the courageous decision to move her family from Massachusetts to Nevada, not really knowing what to expect. She was in desperate need of a climate change but she also wanted to move to a place that her family could eventually call home. Ahsaki worked as a family support specialist, which was the family’s only source of income. Her children’s father was unable to work due to an injury, which would later result in surgery and the family losing their secondary source of income.

 

Ahsaki was focused on work, making sure there was food on the table and caring for her children’s father so she hadn’t really noticed how reserved Jaylen, her oldest son, was acting when he would arrive home from attending third grade at his zoned public school each day. She asked him the normal questions such as how was school, did he need any help with his homework, and so on, but he didn’t allude to anything being wrong. It wasn’t until report cards were sent home that Ahsaki learned that Jaylen’s grades were starting to drop, which was out of the ordinary for her intelligent young son.

 

Ahsaki made it her mission to find out what, if anything, was going on at school that was causing Jaylen’s grades to suffer? After some gentle prodding, Jaylen finally broke down and confessed that an upperclassman had been picking on him. Alarmed, Ahsaki asked question after question, and learned that it had started on the school bus where Jaylen was being teased and called names, and continued into the classroom, as well as into after school care. “I don’t like this school anymore,” said Jaylen. Ahsaki was heartbroken and wanted to put a stop to the bullying immediately; however, because of their financial situation, she felt like her options were limited. That night, as she lay in bed absorbing all the information she had learned earlier that day, she knew she needed to make a change. If she didn’t pull her son out of this school now and put a stop to the harassment, who knew where it would lead? To make matters worse, her youngest son, Savon, was getting ready to start school for the very first time, and the last thing Ahsaki wanted was for him to enter that type of hostile environment.

 

Ahsaki had heard of a few private schools in her district and decided to visit Lake Mead Christian Academy. Right away she noticed that the classroom sizes were much smaller than at Jaylen’s previous school, where he was one of 35 students in a classroom with one teacher. This school also had a tracking system, which notifies the teachers if any students are falling behind in a subject or aren’t quite grasping the concept as quickly as their peers. The teachers can then intervene early and provide those struggling students with enhanced guidance. Ahsaki admired this about the school as it showed her that the administration truly wanted their students to succeed.

 

Ahsaki desperately wanted Jaylen to attend Lake Mead Christian Academy, as well as enroll Savon there so that he would not only be with his brother, but would also be protected from the bullying that Jaylen has experienced. As they approached the end of their tour, Ahsaki informed the administrator of their current financial situation and told her that she would do anything to send her children there. The administrator told her that they had a few students already benefitting from the AAA Scholarship Foundation and encouraged her to apply for a scholarship to see if her family qualified. To her relief, they did!

 

Now in the seventh grade, Jaylen genuinely loves going to school and expanding his academic horizons. He takes advantage of every activity the school has to offer, including basketball, choir and even Speech Meet, which is a spelling bee-type competition with a twist – students can pick a speech, poem or passage from a book to deliver. Students do not compete against each other, rather, they are judged on how well they deliver their selection. This practice helps students develop techniques to speak audibly, confidently and expressively – crucial skills they will need for their day-to-day lives. As for Savon, he is now in the third grade and is passionate about reading and participating in the school’s theatre program, where he landed the lead role in The Little Engine That Could.

 

Jaylen and Savon are aware of the sacrifices their mother makes every day to allow them to attend this school, and they couldn’t be more grateful. As for Ahsaki, seeing her children happy makes it all worth it. “This scholarship has helped my family so much,” says Ahsaki. “It has taken an emotional and financial strain off my shoulders knowing I have help to pay for my children’s education from the AAA Scholarship Foundation. I tell everyone I meet that is in my same financial situation to apply for an AAA scholarship. Thank you so very much!”

 

 

About AAA Scholarship Foundation
The AAA Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships solely to qualifying low-income, disabled and/or displaced students. The typical AAA Scholarship student is an ethnic minority living with a struggling single parent/caregiver in a high crime community. More than 85 percent of AAA scholarships are distributed to children at or below 185 percent of poverty. Many children are either below grade level, failing at their previous school or both when they receive a scholarship. Parents, who find their children in these circumstances and are concerned about their future, look for viable options. They seek an atmosphere that challenges their child and will reverse inadequate learning, social patterns and the potential lifelong negative impact. They wish to change their child’s learning environment, acquaintances and the unfortunate predictable outcomes associated with school failure.

AAA Scholarships are funded in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Nevada by corporations that redirect a portion of their state tax liability to the AAA Scholarship Foundation in exchange for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. The AAA Scholarship Foundation is one of the only approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit scholarship organizations exclusively serving qualifying low-income, disabled and/or displaced students through these tax credit scholarship programs in multiple states. AAA Scholarship Foundation provides your company with the convenience and efficiency of a single-solution for participating in multiple state tax credit scholarship programs. For more information, or to learn how your corporation can participate in the program, visit www.AAAScholarships.org, or contact Kerri Vaughan at kerri@aaascholarships.org or 888 707-2465 ext. 730.

For a pdf of this spotlight, click here.

2018-2019 Scholarship Application Meetings Scheduled for Arizona Parents

Join AAA Scholarship Foundation for our upcoming informational meetings for the parents of potential 2018-19 income-based scholarship recipients.

Parents will receive information about our scholarships, a paper application, tips & tricks on how best to complete the application and a raffle ticket to participate in a free raffle.

All meetings will include both English and Spanish sessions. Adults only, please – no child care will be provided.

• PHOENIX MEETINGS: Monday, March 5th at 6:30 pm – OR – Tuesday, March 6th at 6:30 pm
• TUCSON MEETINGS: Thursday, March 8th at 6:30 pm

Please RSVP no later than Thursday, March 1st:

Call: 888-707-2465 ext. 735 – OR – Email: rsvpAZ@aaascholarships.org
Include your name, meeting date, number attending (maximum 2 people per household) and contact information.

Once your RSVP is received, our staff will call or email you to provide the address of the meeting.

The folks over at American Federation for Children, EdChoice and ExcelinEd have put together a memo to answer questions on how the 2017 tax law changes have provided families the opportunity to use their children’s 529 Savings Plans to help pay for qualifying k-12 education expenses.

Not all expenses qualify and not all states participate so it’s important to talk to your tax adviser to be sure you understand the law before making any decisions.

We hope this information is helpful! Click here to access a pdf of the memo.

Recent newspaper articles have claimed that the growth of Arizona’s successful and effective Low-Income Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program is unsustainable at its current growth rate. Below we discuss the four main claims and provide the facts that prove that they are unfounded.

Claim #1) Unless capped, the allowable credits will exceed the amount of taxes owed by corporations.

Fact: The credits are approved by the Arizona Department of Revenue based on the taxes owed by corporations. The approved credits can only be taken against the amount of taxes actually owed subsequently, they can never exceed the amount of taxes owed by corporations.

Claim #2) Income taxes are the only corporate tax against which the credits may be applied.

Fact: The credits may also be taken against insurance premium taxes. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimates over $504 million in insurance premium taxes were collected into the General Fund during 2017.

Claim #3) Credits will “swallow up” all of the eligible corporate taxes in the year 2027 unless the 20 percent annual increase is capped.

Fact: Even if one assumes no increase in the amount of tax liability due to economic growth, the maximum credits that can be approved for the year 2027 will represent less than 44 percent of all eligible corporate taxes (income and insurance premium taxes). The credits approved for the current fiscal year represent less than 9 percent of eligible corporate taxes.

Claim #4) Corporations may have reached the limit (“natural water level”) of what they’re willing to take in credits.

Fact: All of the available credits were taken within 6 months of becoming available – half the time allotted for the process. There are many reasons that corporations may not participate immediately once credits become available, including:

• Given the option, many corporations choose to strategically time their remittances to correspond with their normally required estimated tax payments. Corporations must remit their funds to a Student Tuition Organization within 20-days of having their application approved. Now that sufficient credits are available after the opening day of the cap, corporations will naturally take advantage of this timing opportunity and apply for credits when it best matches their cash flow needs.
• The due diligence process for large corporations is lengthy, multi-layered, and crosses many departments (tax, public affairs, government affairs, foundations, community engagement, etc.) subsequently, it takes time for corporations to participate the first time.

The unwavering support of the Arizona Low-Income Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program from corporations proves that there is great demand from the business community for these credits. They see the Program as a viable solution for providing real educational opportunities to an underserved population who will one day lead their companies, work in their stores and factories and be consumers of the goods and services they provide.

The Program was designed to save taxpayer dollars by limiting the maximum cost of educating a student benefiting from it to an amount less than the cost of educating that same student in a public school. Instead of limiting the growth of a Program that saves taxpayers money, we encourage Arizona legislators to grow it at an even faster rate by adding additional types of taxes to the eligibility pool.

Scholarship stacking is the unregulated practice of allowing students to receive multiple tax credit scholarships from different scholarship organizations so that the resulting benefit to the student is greater than the maximum scholarship value set by law.

The Arizona Department of Revenue has confirmed to us that they believe the intention of Arizona legislators in including a maximum scholarship limit for the Arizona Low-Income Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program was to “save” taxpayer money by setting the cost of educating a student in the Program to something less than the cost of educating the same student in a public school (the 2017-2018 maximum value of a scholarship is $6,600 for students in grades 9 – 12 and $5,300 for students in grades k – 8).

This intent is not unusual. Legislative supporters of tax credit scholarship programs in the other states have successfully used the same argument to pass similar laws – they save taxpayer money. Unfortunately, the Arizona law was written in a way that leaves the administration of these scholarship limits open to interpretation.

It is our belief that scholarship stacking puts this successful and effective Program (and the tens of thousands of students who benefit from it) at risk unnecessarily by allowing those who oppose it to point to stacking as a waste of taxpayer dollars. Subsequently, it is our policy to interpret the law in the same spirit that the Arizona Department of Revenue has told us it was passed – the maximum scholarship value in the law is the maximum per student per year.

It is our mission to provide access to students with economic disadvantages to the best educational setting for their learning needs and we believe that the best way to do that it to strengthen the program – not weaken it. To that end, we encourage the Arizona legislature to raise the annual scholarship value per student, allow it to be used for required books and fees at eligible schools (along with tuition as it is today) and to either regulate the practice of scholarship stacking or prohibit it altogether.

The future of this Program – and all the students who rely on it – is bright. Let’s keep that light shining for them and for the great state of Arizona!

For banks there is an added benefit to participating in the tax credit scholarship program through the AAA Scholarship Foundation, as examiners at the bank regulatory agencies have approved dollars transferred to fund scholarships through this program to qualify for positive consideration under the CRA investment test.

Each of our financial institutions that has enrolled in the tax credit scholarship program, and has been examined, has received positive consideration under the CRA investment test. This qualified investment would be considered as a “charitable contribution.” The regulation states that a “qualified investment is not disqualified because an institution receives favorable treatment for it (for example, as a tax deduction or credit)…”

In addition, bank contributions can be allocated to the bank’s specific assessment area(s) to insure that the bank’s investment is serving their geographic footprint.

Since the community development purpose of this program is to serve low-income children (only those that qualify for the national free or reduced lunch program), below are the demographics of the children served (this information is updated every quarter):

Average Family Size: 4

Average Family Income: $23,559*

Single Parent Home: 60%

*This income needs to be compared to the area median income (“AMI”) of the specific county to determine whether it’s at or below 30% (extremely low), 50% (low) or 80% (moderate) of the AMI to insure qualifying as a CRA investment.

For additional information please contact Kerri Vaughan, Managing Director • AAA Scholarship Foundation • www.aaascholarships.org • Cell: 786-367-0823   • Office: 888-707-2465 ext 730 • kerri@aaascholarships.org

Click here for a printable version of this document.

Georgia Income-based Scholarship

For more than 15 years, the AAA Scholarship Foundation staff has been working in the school choice movement to help eligible low-income students afford to attend the schools that best fit their learning needs. Our belief always has been, and will continue to be that “access to quality education should not be dependent on a family’s zip code.” AAA is a customer-service driven, student-focused organization. We work to maximize the dollars available for scholarships by keeping our overhead low and focusing our efforts on our core mission, helping students succeed.

In 2010, the AAA Scholarship Foundation started administering tax credit scholarships in Georgia specifically for low and middle income families with higher accountability requirements than required by law. In order to prove their eligibility, households must complete AAA’s online application and provide supporting documentation. Each household must meet both the state and AAA’s requirements. The application for this scholarship is available as soon as March 2016.

Despite efforts, elementary education throughout the United States has plateaued in the past several years instead of progressing. Average reading and math scores are not steadily increasing the way they have in the past, and Georgia specifically has been performing below the rest of the nation when it comes to reading and math proficiency. With the help of AAA Scholarships, we believe that parents know their children best and we trust they can decide on the best school choice to benefit their kids.

For AAA Scholarship Foundation, making academic achievement accessible for low-income families is our goal and we do this by passionately advocating for the under-served, under-represented and academically disadvantaged members of our communities.

For more information on how our scholarship foundation is helping low-income families and those with children experiencing learning disabilities, or physical disabilities in Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Nevada, visit our website.