Press

For Immediate Release 

Contact Michael Schaus, 702-222-0642

LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Policy Research Institute has announced it will once again offer a $2,500 Professor R.S. Nigam & NPRI Freedom Scholarship to a graduating Clark County high school student who demonstrates a passion for economic liberty and individual freedom.

The scholarship is open to all graduating Clark County high school students — whether they attend a public, private, online or home school — who plan to attend college in the fall of 2016.

This year students interested in applying for the scholarship are asked to write a two-page essay on this topic:

Improving education, by making it unique for the student:
Not every student learns at the same pace, or by the same methods. Unfortunately, K-12 public education in America is usually based on a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Reflecting on your own experience, how would you provide parents and students with more control over the type of education they receive? 

“The Professor R.S. Nigam & NPRI Freedom Scholarship gives up-and-coming thinkers the opportunity to consider free-market solutions to real-world problems,” said Swadeep Nigam, who funds the scholarship program in the name of his father, an advocate of freedom and a professor of business in India and Nevada.

“We live in a marketplace of amazing innovation and creativity,” said Michael Schaus, communications director for the Nevada Policy Research Institute. “This scholarship question gives students the opportunity to reflect on how they would put free-market innovations to work solving real public policy concerns.”

All applicants must have a grade point average of at least 3.2 and complete an application, which includes the above essay question.

To be eligible, a student’s parents must have earned less than $125,000 in income in 2015, and the student must plan to attend a four-year degree program in business, economics, political science, public administration or a related field, at an accredited college or university.

Professor R.S. Nigam was a director of the Delhi School of Economics at the University of Delhi, a visiting professor at the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a senior fellow at the University of Wisconsin, in addition to academic engagements in Europe, the West Indies and Asia, including North Korea.

“This scholarship gives us an incredible opportunity to help a Clark County graduate pursue their dreams, while honoring Professor Nigam,” Schaus said.

Essays and applications are due to NPRI by May 1, 2015.

View full details of the scholarship and applicant requirements here  Scholarship Application 2016-2017.

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For Immediate Release 

Contact Michael Schaus, 702-222-0642

LAS VEGAS — At a school choice open-house scheduled for Tuesday, February 9^th, 2016, Pastor Ron Thomas of the Reconciliation Apostolic Ministries will proudly announce his support for Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about the program,” Pastor Thomas told the Nevada Policy Research Institute. “And the truth is, there is a lot of opportunity for minority communities with ESAs.”

Thomas has been a pastor for the past 20 years, and is also an officer with the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Although the NAACP has not supported ESAs, Thomas said he personally felt it was important to speak out in support of the reform.

Sen. Scott Hammond, the author of SB302, will be featured, as will be a number of parents who have already enrolled in ESAs. According to Thomas, the evening open-house was conceived as a way to bring information about ESAs directly to parents, without any buffers.

Hosting an event to highlight the value of school choice is only the beginning for Thomas, who says he’s prepared to come out in full support of ESAs — despite the political forces pressuring him to remain silent.

“There are just a lot of special interests that have a lot of power in the community,” Thomas said. “But I refuse to have — and I believe I can say it this way — an unholy political alliance with anyone. When it comes to the education of our children, it should be focused on the children.”

“ESAs are about giving students opportunity. It’s not about politics,” Thomas said.

The Reconciliation Apostolic Ministries is partnering with the Conservative Alliance and the Nevada Policy Research Institute to bring information regarding school choice to communities that are especially poised to benefit from the reform.

The event, scheduled for 6:00pm Tuesday Evening, will be the first of many opportunities for the community to ask questions, and learn about the details of ESAs.

“The truth is, every parent deserves the chance to take control of their children’s education,” explained NPRI Communications Director, Michael Schaus. “A child’s education shouldn’t be determined by their zip-code, or their parent’s tax bracket. That’s why ESAs are so important to communities throughout Nevada.”

The event is open to the public, and will be located at 911 G Street, Las Vegas, 89106.

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For Immediate Release

Contact Michael Schaus, 702-222-0642

January 27, 2016

LAS VEGAS — More than 2,000 students, parents and educators arrived at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas for the state’s largest school choice rally on Tuesday morning, showing overwhelming public support for the preservation of Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts.

Despite the current injunction against ESAs — which is temporarily pausing the implementation of the nation’s most inclusive school choice reform — public support for the program is as strong as ever, according to Nevada Policy Research Institute Communication Director Michael Schaus

Following the rally, Schaus released the following statement about the importance of preserving school choice:

At their core, ESAs are about empowering individuals — parents, students and teachers — rather than the special interests that feed upon the government monopoly of one-size-fits-all education.

The status quo isn’t working. It is letting down too many students, and too many families. School choice is about giving parents, regardless of their background, opportunities that were previously only accessible to a select few.

In short, school choice programs — such as Nevada’s ESAs — democratizes quality education. ESAs allow parents, who otherwise don’t have the resources, the opportunity to take control of their child’s future.

And as we saw by the crowds that rallied on Tuesday morning, parents are hungry for that opportunity.

A diverse group of Nevada individuals and organizations worked together to organize Tuesday’s event, which celebrated all forms of school choice.

RISE Resource Center, Nevada Homeschool Network, Nevada Policy Research Institute, NevadaESA.com, Academica Nevada, and The LIBRE Institute were all represented as partners of the event.

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