National School Choice Week

National School Choice Week (NSCW) is a recurring awareness event, founded in 2011 through the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. It consists of a series of school choice events in the last week of January each year. It claims to “support the success of America’s children, by raising broad and equal awareness of the traditional public, public charter, public magnet, private, online, and home education options available for children and families.” History National School Choice Week launched in 2011 with funding from the Gleason Family Foundation. As an organization it maintains that it does not promote one form of educational choice over another, but the idea that parents should have choices around education. National School Choice Week consists of events in schools, state capitals, and other public meetings featuring the movement's signature yellow scarves. According to the National School Choice Week website, "more than 170,000 NSCW events have been planned across the country" since 2011. Examples of National School Choice Week events include appearances by former WNBA basketball player Lisa Leslie and U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor at Friendship Chamberlain Elementary School in Washington, D.C. in January 2014. In 2013, the Jonas Brothers performed at the National School Choice Week kickoff in Phoenix. In 2015, National School Choice Week opened with a nationally televised event in Jacksonville, Florida, including speeches by NFL player Desmond Howard, Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, and a video greeting by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.