A panel of education experts will address choice in education with parents, teachers, and local community leaders at a community event on Wednesday, January 27.

The Parents Advocate League is hosting the Orange County School Choice Celebration on January 27 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Irvine Civic Center. The event will include a panel discussion on education options in California and national trends in school choice. The event is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (January 24-30, 2016), which will be the largest series of education-related events in U.S. history.

The program consists of nationally recognized education experts and activist, including Larry Sand, a former teacher of over 30 years who currently heads California Teacher Empowerment Network; Lance Izumi, Koret Senior Fellow and Senior Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute and co-author of Not As Good As You Think; Lisa Snell, Director of Education and Child Welfare at Reason Foundation; and Brian McGrath, Senior Vice President for the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. The panel will discuss ways parents can support all choices in education locally, statewide, and nationally.

“We are so excited to participate in National School Choice Week by hosting this celebration. This event is targeted at parents who are trying to find the best educational environment for their child. We hope to empower parents and encourage them to participate in our local groups and organizations that promote school in Orange County,” said Julie Collier, executive director of Parents Advocate League.

Parents Advocate League is a nonprofit that focuses on educating parents to be advocates for their children's education. The league supports all choices in education and believes parents should be the final decision makers when it comes to school choice.

For more information, contact Julie Collier at julie@parentsadvocateleague.org.

This event is a private reservation and is not endorsed or sponsored by the City of Irvine.

A nonpartisan, nonpolitical public awareness effort, National School Choice Week shines a positive spotlight on effective education options for students, families, and communities around the country.

For more information, visit www.schoolchoiceweek.com or www.facebook.com/schoolchoiceweek.