South Bend Residents Take A Stand For Reform During National School Choice Week Whistle-Stop Rally at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --(Business Wire)--

The nation's first cross-country, whistle-stop train tour in support of school choice - The National School Choice Week 'Special' - will make a key stop in South Bend, Ind., on Wednesday, Jan. 30, and school choice supporters are preparing to celebrate.

More than 300 students, parents, teachers, elected officials and community members will participate in a rally and reception at McKenna Hall at Notre Dame University at 5 p.m. on Jan. 30. The event will celebrate National School Choice Week 2013 and spotlight the transformational benefits of Indiana's new Choice Scholarship Program.

"Indiana has demonstrated to America that courageous reformers can provide children with access to quality schools," said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week. "Our whistle-stop event in the Hoosier State will spotlight the reforms that Indiana has so successfully implemented, while highlighting the need for even greater reforms to benefit all children in Indiana and across the country."

Speakers at the event will include Campanella and Virginia Walden Ford, a school choice pioneer who was among the second wave of students to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, and who helped create the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Progam.

National School Choice Week is planning the event in cooperation with the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, Institute For Justice, K-12 and School Choice Indiana.

This is the third annual National School Choice Week. Planned by a diverse, bipartisan coalition of citizens and organizations, National School Choice Week 2013, runs from Jan. 27 through Feb. 2 and will feature more than 3,500 events spanning all 50 states.

Supporters of National School Choice Week believe that states must do more to expand access to challenging and motivating educational options, from high-performing public schools to public charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, digital and online learning and homeschooling.

The National School Choice Week 'Special' is scheduled to travel through the following cities, each of which will host whistle-stop-themed events with parents, students and dynamic speakers:

Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) (Friday, Jan. 25)
Albuquerque, NM (Saturday, Jan. 26)
Topeka, KS (Monday, Jan. 28)
Kansas City, MO (Monday, Jan. 28)
Chicago, IL (Tuesday, Jan. 29)
Milwaukee, WI (Wednesday, Jan. 30)
South Bend, IN (Wednesday, Jan. 30)
Toledo, OH (Thursday, Jan. 31)
Cleveland, OH (Thursday, Jan. 31)
Erie, PA (Thursday, Jan. 31)
Buffalo, NY (Friday, Feb. 1)
Rochester, NY (Friday, Feb. 1)
Albany, NY (Friday, Feb. 1)
New York, NY (Saturday, Feb. 2)

Track the tour's progress, and check out exclusive photos and videos, online at www.schoolchoiceweek.com/train. Follow the tour on Twitter (News - Alert) at @SCWSpecial, and Tweet about the tour with the hashtags #SCW and #whistlestop.

www.nationalschoolchoiceweek.com
@schoolchoiceweek
will@schoolchoiceweek.com