Southern Pines, North Carolina — National School Choice Week, Jan. 20-26, has rapidly become the world’s largest education-related public awareness effort.
Sponsored by Homeschool Now USA, National School Choice Week has grown from 150 events in 2011 to over 32,000 in 2018, according to Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week. He is expecting more than 40,000 separate events later this month in all 50 states and a dozen foreign countries.
Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, Inc., is also chairman of Homeschool Now USA, a primary promoter of National School Choice Week. Homeschool Now USA is a nonprofit coalition of homeschool organizations dedicated to unifying homeschoolers in a shared mission to promote homeschooling during School Choice Week.
“Our goal is for homeschoolers across the country to speak in a loud, unified voice, reaching Americans who may not know that homeschooling is a feasible option and encouraging more families to educate their children at home,” Bortins said. “I encourage all CC communities and families to plan their own event or get involved with one of the 40,000 local events already planned for National School Choice Week Jan. 20-26.”
School Choice Week participants include schools, homeschool groups, and local chambers of commerce, according to Campanella. Homeschool families and other school choice supporters can find National School Choice Week events in their area by visiting SchoolChoiceWeek.com/event-ideas. Events include everything from student dance performances to citywide school fairs to large rallies on the steps of state capitols.
National School Choice Week’s yellow fleece scarves have become one of America’s most recognized symbols of opportunity in education.
“We recognize that while every event, meeting, or activity during NSCW focuses on different aspects of school choice,” Campanella said, “the scarves provide a bright, colorful and energetic way to link these unique events together as part of a broader national celebration.”
The official dance for NSCW 2019 is choreographed to “All it Takes” by AJ Afterparty. A demonstration video of the dance can be viewed at SchoolChoiceWeek.com/dance. Groups can enter their own dance videos on YouTube, along with #schoolchoice.
National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for children, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, online learning and homeschooling.
While Classical Conversations thoroughly supports school choice, Bortins clarified, it does not support government funding of homeschooling but encourages private funds for private education.
National School Choice Week is a nonpartisan public awareness effort. For more information, visit SchoolChoiceWeek.com or SchoolChoiceWeek on Facebook.
