Hi, I’m Jeremy Spontak. My son is Joshua Spontak and he is a student at Bishop McCourt Catholic School. Josh originally went to a public school where they let him down academically. My son struggled academically for three years in a public school. I tried to hold Josh back because I thought, as a parent, that it would help him with his mental growth. The public school told me it wasn’t my choice. It was their choice and everyone was going to be pushed along.

They moved him on to the next grade after he failed every class the year before. I even took my son to the doctor to be tested. My son has a learning disability. We took the papers to the school and had them documented. The school did nothing. While my son was failing, the public school still let my son compete in sports. There was no tutoring, no extra help, and he wasn’t disqualified from sports.

Then COVID hit. The public school was closed for almost two years. They were doing the virtual stuff and most of the time there wasn’t a teacher present. My son needs structure and often time needs help. They had no structure for the kids. So in that two years, my son struggled again. This is now three years in a row he failed everything. His school just kept pushing him through to the next grade.

I noticed that Bishop McCort was in school, in person, the whole time. So I took the opportunity to go talk to the McCort admissions staff and see what my son’s options were. I never thought I would be able to afford it on my income, being a single father with full custody of both my children. But I was eligible for financial aid. That helped so much, and gave my son the opportunity to get a great education.

“His love for school has come back. He is just an all-around happier kid.”

Since my son has transferred to McCort, his grades have gone up dramatically. His class sizes are much smaller, they are in school every day and the school gives him extra help where he needs it. His love for school has come back. He is just an all-around happier kid. They gave my son structure and the ability to be able to learn with the smaller classrooms, and the 1-on01 teacher-student interaction has helped my son so much. Moving my son to McCort was the best decision I have ever made for my child. I wished more people would see the benefits of being able to choose a great school for their child. It brought life back to my son. Every student should have this option so that if their public school is failing them, they aren’t stuck.

Being able to choose the school that best fits your child’s education is huge. Some kids can not focus in a public school setting in virtual school. Some kids need more structure, some kids might need a vocational school to do a trade. But that’s why it is important to be able to choose the right to be able to send your child to whatever school you need.