Spending time together as a family is a major priority for the Cortez family, which is just one of the reasons that being awarded a MOScholars scholarship has made such a difference for them this year.
Leticia Cortez says that her family decided to pull her two children from public schools this summer after one of them came home with bruises that the school could not explain.
“That was like a confirmation, OK it’s time to pull the boys out and we did,” she said. “We took a leap of faith. We realized that the boys needed more attention than what they are getting and they are capable of more.”
The Cortez’s knew that homeschooling would not work for their family and they had heard great things about a local private school called Outreach Christian Education (OCE).
“We started praying about it with my husband,” Leticia said. “One of the things that I was kind of concerned about was if the boys’ needs were going to be met when it came to their IEP (Individualized Education Program).”
The Cortez’s were also really worried about how they would afford private school tuition for two children, following some financial setbacks during the pandemic.
“My husband happened to lose his job at the same time that we pulled the boys from public school,” Leticia said. “But because of the MOschlars scholarships, because of the funding, because of the assistance and blessing that has been to my family I know 100 percent that we made the right decision to pull them out. I wish we had made the decision to pull them out of public school a long-time ago because of the one-on-one they get with their teachers.”
Leticia said that as soon as her children started at OCE she knew that they would get the attention they needed.
“I have not even asked about their IEPs because they are doing so well,” she said. “Within three weeks the boys were just very different and very confident. They’re thriving and they’re coming home with good attitudes. They’re coming home positive they’re happy and they’re happy to get up in the morning and get into the routine and go to school.”
Leticia said before they were awarded the MOScholars scholarship there was a lot of concern about how paying for tuition would impact their family.
“It was hard,” she said. “We were stressing about, oh great now you’re gonna have to get a second job in the evening or I’m gonna have to and we’re going to have to balance out the time with the boys. We believe in the time that we invest in our children, the love, the affection, the attention it’s so much needed. So to be able to enjoy our dinners together because of our scholarship we don’t have to worry about a husband being away from our dinner time or not being there in the morning when they’re getting ready. So it is that precious time in those precious moments that we are grateful to have because of that scholarship.”
“We’re not afraid to work. We’ve been working since we were teenagers,” she added, “It’s just that now that you have children things are a little bit different and we know, we understand the responsibility that we have with our children.”
Leticia said she wanted to give a special thank you to every donor who is helping to make the MOScholars program a success.
“You’ll see the fruits of it in the future,” she said. “My boys are going to be the adults and the teachers of our future, of their generation, and carry on that faith and those values that we have that we hope to keep for a very long time in this precious country.”