School Choice Week began in California and across America this Sunday, with the goal of raising awareness about the options that parents have for their children's education.

The Week will feature 2,302 events and activities across the Golden State, including open house events at schools, school fairs, homeschool information sessions, and other celebrations.

Nationwide, 32,240 events and activities are being organized to raise awareness during National School Choice Week (Jan. 21-27, 2018), and nearly 7 million Americans are expected to participate. It will be the largest series of education-related events and activities in U.S. history.

The Week brings attention to the different education environments that are available for California’s 9.2 million children. For example, families in California can choose from traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling. The state's public school open enrollment policy is one of the nation's broadest and most accommodating. The state also offers tuition-free, public online schooling.

In addition, the counties of Glenn, Imperial, and Napa and the cities of Brentwood, Buena Park, Colton, Cupertino, Foster City, Garden Grove, Hesperia, Loma Linda, Mission Viejo, Oakdale, Oceanside, Salinas, San Jose, San Ramon, Tustin, Vallejo, Walnut Creek, Woodlake, Huntington Park, Indian Wells, Rohnert Park, San Buenaventura, Santa Clara, and Thousand Oaks have issued proclamations recognizing School Choice Week in their community.

“Our families know firsthand how fortunate we are to have the freedom to choose where our students go to school. Every child deserves an educational setting that best enables him or her to succeed. We support school choice!” said Michelle Goetsch, principal of First Lutheran School, a private school serving 113 students from preschool to grade 8 in Glendale, California.

Celebrated since 2011, National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort. The Week is nonpartisan and nonpolitical, and it is not related to any legislative advocacy campaign.

“Parents in California have a variety of options for their children’s education, and we hope that California parents will use National School Choice Week as a chance to evaluate education environments that meet the needs of their children,” said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week. “We are grateful that thousands of schools, homeschool groups, organizations, and community leaders are using this week to bring greater attention to the importance of opportunity in education. Because of their enthusiasm, there are more school choice events and activities this week in California than there are in 47 other states.”

To download a guide to school choice in California, or to learn more about featured events in the Golden State, visit https://schoolchoiceweek.com/states/california.

For information on events planned near you, please send us an email with information about your coverage area to pressoffice@schoolchoiceweek.com.

National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort designed to shine a spotlight on effective education options for children. National School Choice Week celebrates all types of school options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling. Learn more at www.schoolchoiceweek.com or highlight school choice on social media using hashtag #schoolchoice.