National School Choice Week: January 22 – 28, 2012

By Linda Dobson

Since the organizers of National School Choice Week were kind enough to include homeschooling among possible effective choices, I thought it would be good to let the homeschooling/unschooling community know that it’s coming up fast! As an advocate – and advocate of advocates (!) – I think it’s a great opportunity to get out the word about homeschooling, support groups, resources and more.

How National School Choice Week Organizers

Describe the Event

National School Choice Week provides an unprecedented opportunity, every January, to shine a spotlight on the need for effective education options for all children.

Planned by a diverse and nonpartisan coalition of individuals and organizations, National School Choice Week features special events and activities that highlight support for school choice programs and proposals. The effort is a collaboration of more than 200 partner organizations, which each use the week to advance their own messages of educational opportunity while uniting with like-minded organizations across the country.

National School Choice Week believes that parents should be empowered to choose the best educational environments for their children and supports a variety of school choice options — from encouraging increased access to great public schools, to public charter schools, magnet schools, virtual schools, private schools, homeschooling and more.

As of early Monday morning, January 16, 2012, 244 events are scheduled throughout the United States. I don’t know if he’ll be attending any events, but organizers announced they have the full support of good ol’ Bill Cosby:

Bill Cosby Supports National School Choice Week

“I strongly support National School Choice Week because all children in America should be able to access the best schools possible,” Cosby said. “We have a moral and societal obligation to give our children the opportunity to succeed in school, at work, and in life. We cannot meet that obligation unless parents are empowered to select the best schools of their children. I encourage everyone who wants to see a transformation of American education to get involved in National School Choice Week.”

Cosby, who has an Ed.D., has always sought to educate through his comedy, television work and books. These include the first “Cosby Show,” where he played a high school teacher, the landmark “Cosby Show,” featuring the Huxtable family, and the Fat Albert and Little Bill series. As Mr. Cosby says in the opening Fat Albert title, “You better watch out, you may learn something.”

“We are thrilled to receive Dr. Cosby’s full support for National School Choice Week,” said Michelle Bernard, president of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy and a National School Choice Week planning partner. “Dr. Cosby is helping to shine a bright spotlight on an issue that effects us all: the need to provide all American children with the education they need to achieve their own American dreams.”

Tweet Bill a thank you for supporting our shared cause @BillCosby and mention @SchoolChoiceWk and #SchoolChoiceWeek…

See also “Are You Prepared for Homeschool Advocacy Season?“

The event website offers a list of resources to help people organize an event. One that might be useful during this week and beyond is a link to state-by-state [education] statistics. The link above leads to a post with a few helpful advocacy suggestions for your success.

So what are you waiting for? Contact your homeschooling friends and have a great time organizing and presenting information about the most terrific “school” choice – homeschooling!

 Link to this page

 Link to this page