Students, parents, teachers, and community leaders from traditional public, public charter, magnet, online, private, and home schools will gather at the Capitol to celebrate opportunity in education on Thursday, January 28.

The event, which will begin at 11 am in the second floor rotunda of the Arkansas State Capitol, will feature remarks by Virginia Walden Ford, along with parents, students, and leaders representing all the K-12 educational options available to Arkansas parents.

The celebration is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (January 24-30, 2016), which will be America’s largest-ever celebration of opportunity in education, with more than 16,000 events being planned.

“The Reform Alliance is honored to join with families and organizations around the country in spotlighting school choice this week,” said Sarah Collins Linam of The Reform Alliance. “We welcome the opportunity to celebrate the unique potential of Arkansas students and the educational choices their parents can make."

“National School Choice Week is not only a great opportunity to celebrate the options parents in our state have,” said Linam. “It’s also a platform to raise awareness among parents about the options available to them, of which they may not even be aware.”

Planners of the event include the Walton Family Foundation, Advance Arkansas Institute, Americans for Prosperity – Arkansas, A+ Arkansas, and Arkansas Parent Network. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is excited to be participating in the event.

Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child. Through thousands of independently planned events across the country, National School Choice Week raises public awareness of all types of educational choices available to children. These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.