Parental Choice Symposium Will Prepare Leaders as Opportunities Grow in States

Now that 2011 has been dubbed "the year of school choice" because the number of private school choice programs in the United States jumped significantly, 2012 may be your time to prepare for the debates, challenges, and opportunities as school choice (or parental choice) policies gain even more momentum.

The Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) will host its annual Parental Choice Symposium, the premier seminar for future leaders in the parental choice movement, on June 15-20. A dynamic agenda will include visits to Wisconsin and Florida—states with two of the most expansive choice programs in the country—for the 15-20 individuals selected to participate. The participants' tuition, travel, and other costs will be covered by a full scholarship, so interested parties are urged to file their applications soon.

"School choice is happening across the United States, and it is time to form your opinions on the issues surrounding this important topic," says Anna M. Jacob, an ACE Teaching Fellows graduate who attended last year's symposium and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in education policy at the University of Arkansas.

Jacob adds, "The most valuable part of the symposium for me was the opportunity to debate, reason, and reflect with my peers—many of whom shared my experiences teaching in Catholic schools—on our society's moral obligations to protect families' prerogatives to select what they deem to be the most appropriate school for their child."

Those encouraged to apply for this six-day workshop include members of ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools, graduates of all ACE formation programs, and other Catholic school leaders and supporters from around the country.

The symposium, sponsored by ACE Advocates and by ACE's Program for K-12 Educational Access, is divided into two portions—an academic portion and an immersion portion, which allows participants to engage the work being done on the ground. They will interact with some of the preeminent figures in the school choice movement, including Dr. Howard Fuller, a catalyst behind the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.

See the full schedule of events and a link to the application.

In a 2008 address to Catholic educators, Pope Benedict XVI declared, "Everything possible must be done, in cooperation with the wider community, to ensure that [Catholic schools] are accessible to people of all social and economic strata. No child should be denied his or her right to an education in faith, which in turn nurtures the soul of a nation."

The Wall Street Journal called 2011 "the year of school choice" because several new private school choice programs were created, and even more were expanded. Legislators around the nation have proposed similar measures, making ACE's 2012 Parental Choice Symposium a good investment in each participant's future role at the leading edge of parental choice and educational access.