MANSFIELD - A Mansfield mother and school choice advocate is scheduled to deliver a primetime speech during the third night of the Republican National Convention.
Tera Myers will speak before Wednesday's headliner, Vice President Mike Pence, who will formally accept his renomination as Trump’s running mate. His wife, Karen Pence, also will speak.
Major TV networks, such as ABC, CBS, NBC Fox News, CNN and MSNBC will cover the convention's biggest speeches, which take place from 8:30 to 11 p.m.
Myers' son, Samuel, has Down syndrome. She successfully lobbied for state lawmakers to pass the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship in 2011, according to a preview of tonight's schedule.
One year later, Samuel and 12 other students with special needs were the first to attend the JP program at Mansfield Christian School and received an education tailored to their individual needs.
In that same year, Myers started the Unique Learning Lab for children with special needs at the private Christian school, according to previous reporting. While directing the program, she also taught social and life skills classes.
She was appointed in April by the Richland County Board of Commissioners to the board of Richland Newhope/Richland County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
The News Journal was unable to reach Myers for comment ahead of her speech.
Myers also is a member of Mansfield Alliance Church and is a "Mentor Mom" at Berean Baptist Church MOPS Program, or Mothers of Preschoolers. She serves as a state and national parent advocate for Education Freedom and is a consultant for Washington D.C.-based American Federation for Children.
Myers and Samuel attended a school choice-themed roundtable in December 2019 with Trump and Pence, thanking them for their support on what she referred to as education freedom.
Myers, according to a transcript of her remarks, detailed how she fought for the JP scholarship's passage and how it benefited Samuel.
"We were able to take part in starting a program, a functional learning program in our community," Myers said. "And there are hundreds of students that have benefited, and I just want to say thank you for helping with that fight."
"Teachers are being held hostage, in my opinion, in the public system, by not being able to give the opportunities that they could give with the resources that are available simply because unions are grasping and holding on tight to those funds," she continued. "And that was one of my main platforms when I was trying to get things passed for children like Sam, saying we should be allowed to make those choices — we, the parents. We know the children better than anyone else. And given that opportunity and those resources, we’ve been able to make a better education."
Shortly after her visit to the White House, Myers penned an opinion piece that appeared in the Washington Examiner, in which she described how she fought for her son.
The topic of school choice figured prominently during the convention's first night.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said in his speech that he champions school choice to ensure children receive a quality education.
"I don't care if it's a public, private, charter, virtual or home school," he said. "When a parent has a choice, their kid has a better chance. And the president has fought alongside me on that."
Last year, the Trump administration introduced the Education Freedom Scholarship program, a federal tax credit that would fund scholarships to private schools and other educational programs.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who joined Trump and Myers at the roundtable in December, has championed the the proposal ever since taking office, according to USA TODAY.
"For decades, countless children have been trapped in failing government schools," Trump said at the time. "In my administration, these children are forgotten no longer. Just like I said I was going to do it for different groups of people, and we did it."
mtrombly@gannett.com
419-521-7205
Twitter: @monroetrombly
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