Mayor Fenty and D.C. Public School Chancellor Michelle Rhee accepted the 3,000 tickets in an Easter basket from Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Children from the city’s J.O. Wilson Elementary School cheered and jumped up and down when they were asked if they wanted to go to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House.
 
There’s no guarantee that the children at the press conference will get tickets, however. Rhee said it was up to each of the public schools chosen by the Obama administration to decide which students will get the reserved tickets.
 
The Obama administration has been criticized for failing to support programs to help low-income and minority children attend some of D.C.’s top private and parochial schools, including the Sidwell Friends School where the Malia and Sasha Obama attend classes.
 
Early in his administration, President Barack Obama called for an end  to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which since 2004 has provided vouchers for thousands of low-income and minority children to attend private schools. Following widespread protest, Obama said the program would be funded to allow those children already enrolled in the program to graduate from the school of their choice, but that no funding would be provided to bring new children into the program.
 
On March 16, the Senate voted down a measure that would have reauthorized funding for the program.
 
The Easter Egg Roll dates back to 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes held the event after Congress banned egg rolling on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol building.
 
The theme of this year’s event is “Ready, Set, Go,” and the White House says it will “promote health and wellness.”
 
“All of the activities will encourage children to lead healthy and active lives and follow the First Lady’s ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative, a national campaign to combat childhood obesity,” the White House said.
 
The event will feature live music, sports courts, storytelling, egg rolling – and cooking stations.