Alabamians across the state will have the chance to attend one of 1,107 events between January 26 and February 1 as part of National School Choice Week (NSCW).
Those seven days have been declared by Governor Kay Ivey as Alabama School Choice Week.
In her proclamation, Ivey said, “[R]esearch demonstrates that providing children with multiple education options improves academic performance.”
NSCW, which started in 2011, aims to “raise public awareness of the different K-12 education options available to children and families while also spotlighting the benefits of school choice.”
The group maintains that it does not have an allegiance to any political party and is not pushing any specific legislative effort.
In most cases across the country, Republicans are more supportive to the idea of government programs that allow students other options besides their local public school.
One of the largest events during Alabama School Choice Week will be a showing of the Hollywood movie “Miss Virginia” on January 29 at the Historic Alabama Theatre in Birmingham.
“Miss Virginia” is the story of Virginia Walden Ford’s efforts to push the local government of Washington, D.C. into providing her son some other option besides his failing public school. It stars Uzo Aduba, who gained prominence playing the character known as “Crazy Eyes” on the Netflix Original show “Orange Is the New Black.”
Alabama’s port city will be home to the Mobile School Choice Fair, which promises balloon artists, face painting and a DJ in addition to the requisite representatives from schools and organizations. The event will be from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m on February 1 at the Mobile Convention Center.
“Over the past several years, Alabama has expanded access to school choice options for families,” said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week.
“As parents, students, and community leaders celebrate the importance of K-12 education during National School Choice Week, we encourage families to explore these new options and find the best learning environments for their kids,” he added.
A selection of the available events in Alabama can be found here.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
