EdNews Virginia | January 18, 2024
January 21–27 is “Virginia School Choice Week,” Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared. In a proclamation, the governor notes that “students have different needs and learning styles, and a one-size-fits-all delivery of education does not serve the myriad needs of all families.”
National School Choice Week (NSCW) aims to highlight the importance of opportunity in K-12 education. A charitable program of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, NSCW has been observed annually since 2011.
“School Choice Week is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools, policy makers, and organizations to raise awareness of the need for more educational options,” Youngkin’s 2024 Virginia School Choice Week proclamation reads.
In Virginia, School Choice Week 2024 will end with a dinner program held in Arlington on the 27th, featuring remarks from WMAL co-host Julie Gunlock as well as Derrick Max, president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy — to learn more, visit SchoolChoiceVA.com.
Last year, more than 100 gathered in Arlington to hear a variety of dynamic speakers on the transformative power of educational freedom. “I’m excited because our movement is growing,” EdReform Virginia Board Member Steven Mosley said during the event.
READ GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN’S OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION:
By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:
Virginia School Choice Week
WHEREAS, all children in Virginia should have access to a high-quality education; and
WHEREAS, Virginia recognizes the important role that a quality education plays in preparing all students in Virginia for success in life; and
WHEREAS, students have different needs and learning styles, and a one-size-fits-all delivery of education does not serve the myriad needs of all families; and
WHEREAS, Virginians should have options, including public, private, microschool, virtual, and homeschool to best educate their students; and
WHEREAS, Virginia is committed to investing in innovative learning options, providing resources for parents to make the best choice to meet their child’s needs, and reducing barriers that prevent access to the courses, models, and learning environment they want to pursue; and
WHEREAS, Virginia is building partnerships across the Commonwealth with communities, businesses, schools, parents, and students that are committed to educational excellence; and
WHEREAS, Virginia is raising education standards to elevate students to high performance levels through Regional High Schools, Governors’ Schools, and College Preparatory Lab Schools which foster partnerships between our higher education institutions and Virginia’s most critical employers to ensure all students are prepared for high-demand jobs or college; and
WHEREAS, School Choice Week is celebrated across the country by millions of students, parents, educators, schools, policy makers, and organizations to raise awareness of the need for more educational options;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize January 21-27, 2024, as VIRGINIA SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK in our COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.
