National School Choice Week

As 2015 draws near, millions of school choice supporters are making plans to raise awareness about the importance of greater opportunities in K-12 education.

Individuals, schools and organizations across the country have planned an unprecedented 10,100 events for January 2015 to bring attention to the issue. The events are timed to coincide with National School Choice Week 2015, which runs from January 25 – 31. (www.schoolchoiceweek.com).

Events, which are independently planned and independently funded, will include information sessions, roundtable discussion, movie screenings, rallies and other special events. The goal of National School Choice Week is to shine a positive spotlight on all types of effective education options for children, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, homeschooling, private schools, and online academies.

According to Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week, the growth in enthusiasm for school choice can be attributed to simple supply and demand.

"More American families than ever before are actively choosing the best educational environments for their children, which has galvanized millions of additional parents – those without options ¬– to demand greater choices for their own children," Campanella said. “National School Choice Week will feature both of those themes, providing a platform for people to celebrate school choice where it exists and demand it where it does not.”

National School Choice Week started as an annual celebration in 2011, with 150 events. Since then, as more schools, individuals and organizations learned about the Week, it has grown exponentially.

“National School Choice Week 2015 will be more than 60 times larger than the first celebration in 2011, because people see the Week as an opportunity to start thousands of individual conversations about educational choice in a positive, forward-looking, fun, nonpolitical and nonpartisan way,” Campanella said.

National School Choice Week 2015 will officially begin on Friday, January 23 with an Official Kickoff in Jacksonville, Florida.