School choice supporters and area students will share poetry inspired by quality education options at a special showcase event during National School Choice Week.

The event, planned for January 25 at 6:30 p.m., will feature students reading their winning poetry about school choice as well as readings by first St. Louis Poet Laureate Michael and nominated St. Louis Poet Laureate Jane Ellen Ibur as well as special performances by TreG and AndroBeat. Over 100 people are expected to attend the event at the The Stage at KDHX (3524 Washington Avenue).

The event is designed to spotlight educational options for Missouri students and tell student success stories in conjunction with National School Choice Week (January 21-27, 2018), which will feature more than 32,000 events across the country.

“We have to reimagine everything about education including where, when and how children are educated. We can't simply continue to sort children by age and move them along through a process that assumes all children learn in the same way at the same rate,” said Peter Franzen with the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri, the lead organization planning the event. “School choice means a child is free to attend a school that works for him or her. Right now there is far more focus on institutions when the only thing that should matter is whether or not children are learning. This is why we are bringing students together during National School Choice Week to celebrate them and the choice they have made in their education.”

Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child. Through more than 32,000 independently planned events across the country, National School Choice Week raises public awareness of all types of educational choices available to children. These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.