Students, parents, teachers, and community leaders will rally in Des Moines in support of school choice on Tuesday, January 26, organizers announced today.

The event, which will take place at 10 a.m. at the Iowa State Historical Museum, will feature student and parent speakers representing a wide array of educational options: public schools, private schools, homeschooling organizations, and virtual schools. Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds will speak in support of educational options around the state.

The goal of the rally is to celebrate the school choices available to families in Iowa and to raise awareness among parents about the options available in their neighborhoods.

The rally is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (January 24-30, 2016), which will be America’s largest-ever celebration of opportunity in education, featuring more than 16,000 events nationwide.

"We are thrilled to see families representing every type of school choice, along with our governor and lieutenant governor, come together in support of school choice,” said Trish Wilger of Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education. “National School Choice Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the choices available to parents in our state and raise awareness about them."

“School choice means student success,” said Tracy Bonday, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Des Moines. “School choice is about finding the school that makes a positive difference in a child’s life, and there’s no better time to explore those options than National School Choice Week.”

Event organizers include Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education, Iowa Advocates for Choice in Education, Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Des Moines, Connections Academy, Friedman Foundation, and Foundation for Excellence in Education.

National School Choice Week (January 24-30, 2016) will be America’s largest-ever celebration of opportunity in education, featuring more than 16,000 independently organized events across all 50 states. 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 – from traditional public schools to public charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling.