RALEIGH — Students, parents, teachers, and school choice advocates gathered on the Halifax Mall in Raleigh to celebrate National School Choice Week 2024, which ran Jan. 21-27.
The event, hosted by Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina (PEFNC), took place on Jan. 24 and featured notable speakers such as Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden), State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, and Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover).
“If there’s one thing that we know about kids, it’s not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to their education,” PEFNC President Mike Long said as he welcomed attendees to the event. “We’re very grateful that the state of North Carolina has recognized that.”
PEFNC, a nonprofit headquartered in Raleigh, “advocates for quality educational options through parental school choice.” The organization has been a consistent dedicated supporter of the popular Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) and Education Savings Accounts for special needs students.
“This is a huge celebration for North Carolina’s leadership,” Long told North State Journal, noting that the General Assembly has expanded school choice to all families.
“We just don’t want economics to stand in the way of a great education for any child,” Long said.
Children from multiple schools cheered each other on during musical performances given throughout the three-hour celebration which kicked off with the students of Cornerstone Christian Academy leading attendees in singing the National Anthem.
Renee Griffith had been the Cornerstone’s principal for 27 years before becoming its executive director. The school is coming up on its 30th anniversary, Griffith told North State Journal with a broad smile.
When asked to sum up the success of students at her school, Griffith said her students were very bright but that all students in North Carolina are as well.
“They are energetic, they are creative and they are the future,” Griffith said.
Schools in attendance included five private schools; Cornerstone Christian Academy in Statesville, The School of Hope in Fayetteville, Wake Christian Academy in Raleigh, Burbrella Microschool in Burlington, and Kids Star Rising Christian Academy in Fayetteville.
The School of Hope caters to autistic children and was founded in 2017 by Rob and Amy Sparks following the passing of their son, Jarred, in 2011. Smiles and some tears washed over the crowd as they watched the students from the school use sign language while singing a song called “Big Dreams,” led by the school’s piano teacher.
Dressed in all-black formal attire, the voices of the Wake Christian Academy’s choral students rang out across the Halifax Mall as they performed the Christian hymn called “For the beauty of the earth.”
Berger’s remarks centered on the eligibility expansion of the OSP to all families in the state. He also mentioned the cap previously placed on the number of charter schools had been lifted, noting that the number of charter schools has “more than doubled over the past 10 years” and that private schools have seen “a 25% increase in enrollment in the past five years.”
“The numbers show what we have known for a long time; families want options when it comes to the education of their children,” Berger said. “Parents should not be restricted by their zip code and certainly should not be restricted by their income when it comes to educating their kids.”
Berger said the stories of how the OSP has impacted lives “speaks volumes,” and recounted a mother of two from Asheboro who she said the OSP “literally changed their lives her children.”
“It would be a disservice to parents if we did not provide them with the educational freedom to choose a school that best fits their child’s education needs,” Berger said in closing out his remarks. “We have made it a mission to expand school choice here in North Carolina, and I am excited to see school choice continue to grow in the past and in the years ahead.”
Truitt opened her remarks talking about her three children who attended public school and how she chose her ZIP code so her kids could attend those schools before calling out “state leaders” who talk about “focusing on public schools only.”
“I have to say that what I’m hearing more and more these days is an argument from some state leaders and others that really what we need to be focusing on is public schools only,” Truitt said. “And what I have to say about that is this: When we talk about public schools only, we are pitting public schools against those who public schools are meant to serve.”
Truitt continued, “Instead, what we need to talk about is not a system, but the people within the system… whom that system is designed to serve and that, my friends, is parents and their children – they are the customers of education in our state.”
In closing, Truitt underscored the need for focus to be on students, not systems.
“Finally, what I will say to you is that the more I hear the cries for investing in public schools, the more convinced I am that what the real choice should be is to invest in students,” said Truitt.
Following the series of speakers and performances, kids and adults alike posed with Stormy the Ice Hog, the beloved mascot of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
