School Choice Week in QCUSD: Empowering Education Options
Every January, schools across the country celebrate National School Choice Week (NSCW), a program started by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation in 2011 to raise awareness of the different options families have when it comes to educating their children.
This year, the Queen Creek Unified School District (QCUSD) celebrated its first National School Choice Week. Throughout this special week, teachers, and staff took time to express gratitude to the families who have made the choice to be a part of QCUSD. Additionally, schools opened their doors and invited families to explore their campuses and learn more about what they (and the district) have to offer.
To jump-start the week's festivities, NSCW boxes were delivered to schools with supplies to help celebrate. These boxes included ‘I Love My School’ stickers, wristbands, and other accessories for students and staff to showcase their school spirit. Schools held spirit weeks to bolster a sense of enthusiasm and pride in their school. These spirit days included Sports Team Day, School Colors Day, and Teacher Tuesday where students dressed up as their favorite teacher.
To top off the week, all QCUSD schools hosted an Open House Night, welcoming families in the community to visit their neighborhood school and learn about what the district has to offer. Student volunteers led tours of their campuses and shared first-hand experiences of attending a QCUSD school.
“I love my school because it’s a positive learning environment and I come every day ready to learn, " says Nolan Y. from Jack Barnes Elementary (JBE). “Students should come to Jack Barnes because they can learn a lot from the A+ Excellence curriculum and with AVID.”
Families who attended also had an opportunity to meet school principals and teachers and learn about curriculum and school culture. Robyn Wallum brought her two children with her to Silver Valley Elementary’s (SVE) Open House Night, her oldest son already attends second grade at SVE and her younger daughter will be attending next year as a kindergartener.
“We’ve been in other school districts and I really feel like this is a great district and a great school,” says Wallum. “There’s a lot of open communication and the curriculum is great. This is my son's first year here and he's progressed so much.”
See how your school celebrated School Choice Week by checking out their social media pages. Find your school on our Connect With Us page!