National School Choice Week 2018 is here and there is much to be excited about during this year’s celebration.
From a modest proposal in South Carolina to expand the state’s “State Scholarship Program” to more ambitious plans in Nebraska, where three school choice bills currently stand before the legislature, school choice continues to make progress around the country.
So what is National School Choice Week? Founded in 2011, National School Choice Week (NSCW) is a unique celebration and independent, non-partisan public awareness effort. NSCW believes parents are uniquely suited to make important decisions about their children’s futures and works to raise awareness about different education options for families. NSCW does not favor any one type of school choice over another but rather celebrates all K-12 options and their unique contributions.
Since it’s inception, NSCW has grown into the world’s largest “celebration of opportunity in education.” NSCW’s decentralized nature means that, rather than having one major event, thousands of independent events happen simultaneously, each united by their commitment to highlighting the benefits of school choice. In seven years of existence, some 58,000 NSCW events have taken place around the world. This year, NSCW plans to host more than 32,000 events.
This should not be surprising. Polls have found consistent support for school choice among a majority of Americans. For instance, an early 2017 poll by Democratic polling firm Beck Research found 68 percent of voters supported the concept of school choice. A Gallup Poll in April found 59 percent of Americans favor “federal funding for school choice programs that allow students to attend any private or public school.”
National School Choice is a good time to be thankful for the many amazing options that are now available for children and celebrate the students and their families who make school choice possible.