At the White House Summit on Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools, Bush said inter-city schools provide students an excellent education, a statement said.

"In neighborhoods where some people say children simply can't learn, the faith-based schools are proving the nay-sayers wrong. These schools provide a good, solid academic foundation for children. They also help children understand the importance of discipline and character," Bush said, according to a White House transcript.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 2000 to 2006, nearly 1,200 inner-city faith-based schools closed, displacing 425,000 students.

"The closings place an added burden on inner-city public schools that are struggling. And these school closings impoverish our country by really denying a future of children a critical source of learning not only about how to read and write, but about social justice," Bush said.

To prevent more faith-based schools from closing, Bush urged Congress to fund $800 million in

scholarships for 21st Century Learning Opportunities that allow parents the opportunity to enroll their children in after-school and summer school programs at faith-based schools and other community organizations.