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About 10 days ago, I had the honor of going to a graduation party for David Thomas. It was at the home of Fred and Shannon Cerise, and it was a celebration of a success story.

The story began in 1997 when Jim Geiser, then head of Big Buddy, was going door-to-door sharing the news about the opening of a new school, Children’s Charter School. Alean Wells made the decision that this was the right choice for her son, David. He entered the second grade the year the school began and continued through the fifth grade—and became part of the first graduating class.

Like Cerise, I was recruited to be part of the board of Children’s Charter School. When Geiser first introduced me to David, a young man with lots of energy and a dry wit, he said, “Rolfe, this is David Thomas. He has a lot of potential. Depending on his choices, he could end up as president—or in prison.”

I knew what he meant, and the thought had a profound impact on me.

David was smart, and Geiser and the teachers at the charter school—at the time a school made up of portable buildings with a student body that was 95% black and at-risk—invested much into him. He also met Cerise, who along with his wife founded Boys Hope of Baton Rouge. David would become part of Boys Hope and Fred Cerise would become his mentor.

Cerise told me, “What is remarkable about David is his willingness to work hard to take advantage of the help offered him. That’s not a given in many situations, especially with young kids. David recognized early on that education was his ticket to a brighter future, and he has never let go of that. He worked weekends for tuition to put himself in a challenging academic setting, and he excelled there. That’s a very mature decision for a young man to make.”

Not only did David study hard and graduate from Redemptorist High School with a 3.95 GPA, but he managed to play football, basketball and run track. He also has worked at Harrington’s restaurant and at Raising Cane’s and is a lifeguard at the YMCA. Now, don’t get me wrong. Like any teen growing up, he has had bumps along the way. But he has stayed on the right road and kept moving forward—and it has paid off.

In April, David learned he had been named a Gates Scholar. The Gates Millennium Scholars Program attracted 13,000 applicants from across the country. David was one of 1,000 students selected. His letter said, “We commend you on your strong leadership, community service and academic achievements that have distinguished you as a leader for America’s future.” According to Redemptorist Principal John Fabre, David is the school’s first Gates Scholar. [He was assisted in his application by guidance counselor Jane Leclair and Cerise.]

This distinguished scholarship, which can be used at any college in the United States, applies to undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels, including the field of public health—which is good, because David has plans to be a doctor.

David has already been accepted at Baylor University, Belhaven, Springhill and Centenary and is waiting to hear from Rhodes College.

Geiser, who now lives in Georgia, has kept up with David over the years. He says, “David is a special young man. He has fought the odds and now has the great opportunity to become whatever he chooses. He deserves great credit for what he has achieved.

“The other side to the ‘David story’ is how a community must work together over the long term to impact the challenges facing many children. Much of David’s current success is due to the involvement of many people and organizations that stayed with David over the long term. First, David’s mother provided him with a mother’s love and reached out to others to get involved with her son. Children’s Charter School, Boys Hope and Redemptorist are only a few of the organizations that worked together with David over the past 10 years.

“David is the model that shows that perseverance and hard work pays off—no matter what your circumstances.”

I, like so many others mentioned above, am very proud of David and what he has accomplished. As I have watched him grow up, we have shared some fun times: at the Sugar Bowl, at basketball games, learning to drive, at Healing Place Church, swimming at my house—and having lunch with Buddy Roemer and discussing financing a used car [something he still hopes to acquire before leaving for college].

But I am also excited about his future and the role model he can be.

The fact is, David’s story all began when one of those people, Jim Geiser, knocked on Alean Wells’ door and offered her the choice of her son getting an education at a new charter school. She took a risk—and from the smiles on her and David’s faces at the graduation party, I think they are glad they had that choice.

A choice for everyone

After reading the story of David above, why would you want to deny other moms the same choice that Alean Wells had for David? If your son or daughter were trapped in a failing school, wouldn’t you want to have the choice of a charter school—or even a scholarship to attend a private or parochial school?

After a decade of battles, we now have limited charters in Louisiana. But as we continue to push for more choices, including Gov. Bobby Jindal’s scholarship plan for New Orleans, we see the same resistance to change. I applaud the black leaders who see this as an opportunity, such as Rep. Austin Badon, who authored H.B. 1347, “for the children.” The bill would provide scholarships to eligible students that could be used to attend participating schools. Last week the bill passed the House, 60-42, and it now goes to the Senate.

And that’s what it is about: children and choice. Not turf. Not power. Not jobs. Not unions. Not feeding the monopoly. And not the status quo. It’s about empowering the next Alean Wells to give her son a chance to be a Gates Scholar, if she chooses.

As another black leader, Rep. Michael Jackson, said, “I think that this gives families an opportunity to make a valid choice for their children.”

So when I hear so-called black leaders like Rep. Patricia Smith or Rep. Karen Carter Peterson pretend to be representing those moms or children trapped in failing schools, I want to vomit. They say, “We want to help our people,” but they don’t. They are kowtowing to the unions.

Peterson is being a puppet for Leslie Jacobs, a former BESE member who is still mad she didn’t get reappointed and dislikes State Superintendent Paul Pastorek. [Let’s hope Sen. Ann Duplessis doesn’t listen to Jacobs.]

But Smith, who we can all thank for helping ruin our local EBR school system [and run off KIPP Academy when they came to apply years ago], had the audacity last week, during the debate over scholarships in the House, to say, “I urge you not to sell out the children of our state.” The Advocate said she “compared supporters of the bill [60 of her colleagues] to Judas, saying they were betraying children …” Well, if they are Judas, Smith is Satan in the flesh.

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