Winter blast doesn’t stop supporters from celebrating the benefits of school choice

National School Choice Week takes place the third week of January every year, giving parents, families, students, and others the chance to celebrate the fact that every child deserves to choose the type of K-12 educational option that works best.

Each state holds its own NSCW celebration and for the past few years, Michigan’s event has taken place at the State Capitol, giving supporters the opportunity to connect with their lawmakers in person.

This year’s celebration took place on Jan. 23, and as it often the case in January in Michigan, the date brought some bad weather with it. A combination of snow and wintry rain caused schools across the state to close that day, meaning that a couple large charter school groups that were planning to make the trip to Lansing had to cancel.

Dozens of others were able to make the trip, though, which meant that Michigan was still able to celebrate National School Choice Week in style. The event included some speeches at the House Office Building across the street from the Capitol, as well as an opportunity for the group to tour the Capitol and visit the floor of the House of Representatives.

More than a dozen state lawmakers and staff members were also in attendance, getting to hear directly from families, students, and educators why school choice – including the choice of a charter school education – is so important.

Among the speakers was State Rep. Jaime Green, who presented a state resolution to NSCW organizer Amy Dunlap of Michigan International Prep School, an online charter school. Rep. Green assured the crowd that she will always be a supportive voice for parents and students in Lansing.

One of the charter school parents in attendance was Latoria Williams, whose two daughters attend Michigan International Prep School. She told a camera crew on hand for the event why school choice has been such a blessing for her family.

“My two daughters both have two unique learning styles, and I felt like in the public school that they were at, it didn't really capture or cater to that learning profile,” Latoria said. “It was more like they were trying to get them to learn the way that that individual teacher wanted them to learn. And so I started researching online for the different options to kind of help them out and I found MIPS. The school is designed to help students in the way that they learn best. It’s important that parents understand all the options they have, because a lot of people don’t understand. That’s why having these choices are so important.”