Local groups to celebrate National School Choice Week

Several schools in Hamilton County will be participating in Tennessee's School Choice Week next week. Thanks to official proclamations from Mayor Andy Berke and Gov. Bill Haslam, area schools and communities will join in the national celebration of school choice options.

Tennesseans have planned 640 events around the state, hoping to spark conversations about the educational options parents have, or want to have, for their children, according to a news release.

The local home-school group, Classical Conversations of Chattanooga, a Christian organization that provides curriculum, resources and support to parents who home-school their children, is holding an event on Friday, Jan. 26, from noon to 1 p.m. at Brainerd Presbyterian Church celebrating school choice week. The event will provide information for parents interested in learning more about home-schooling.

"Parents in Chattanooga, like parents everywhere, simply want the best for their kids," said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week, in a statement. "We're grateful to Mayor Berke for issuing this proclamation, raising parents' awareness of the educational options available for their children. Every kid is unique, and parents know their kids better than anyone else. We hope to empower parents in Chattanooga and across the country to find the school or educational option that they know is best for their own kids."

In Tennessee, parents are not limited to local public schools - they can choose to send their children to private or parochial schools, public charter or magnet schools, online schools, or home-school them.

More than 40 private schools are considered active in Hamilton County, according to state Department of Education data. Hamilton County also has three charter schools - the Chattanooga Charter School of Excellence, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy and Ivy Academy.

This fall, Chattanooga Preparatory School, an all-boys charter school in partnership with the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, is set to open its doors.

Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent, nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child, according to the news release.

More than 32,000 School Choice Week gatherings will take place nationwide - including rallies, roundtable discussions, receptions, coffeehouse meet-ups, movie screenings, festivals and school fairs.

For more information on School Choice Week and to find a map of participating schools, visit schoolchoiceweek.com.

Contact staff writer Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.

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