A sea of scarlet red bumper stickers in the parking lot outside the Arizona Capitol advocates for the “Red for Ed” campaign, which seeks better funding for education and teachers. But not 100 yards away, around 100 parents and students gathered on the lawn capitol building Tuesday morning to support diversity in schooling options and Arizona’s education opportunities under a cute pink and blue banner reading, “Celebrate!”
The party included healthy snacks, kid-friendly activities like a lego pool, cornhole match, drawing desk and other arts-and-crafts. Kids and families had the chance to stand in front of a backdrop and take pictures holding banners that read, “Love My School!”
Jenny Clark, the organizer for the Love Your School movement, said the goal is “to celebrate district, charter, private, online, home-school, and ESA.” The Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is an Arizona policy which allows students to opt out of public school in lieu of these alternatives.
According to Clark, the gathering was not designed to address the current “Red for ED” political climate or advocate for policy change, but instead acted as a field trip for students of all kinds of school options to socialize and celebrate their opportunities.
“We’re just a new fresh start,” Clark said. “Our focus is just on celebrating the good things that are happening in Arizona education and making sure that families know what their choices are.”
Leslie Ckonjevic, whose children (12 and 9 years old), traveled from Tucson to attend the event. Her children were each home-schooled until they were able to find a private school which met the functional needs of her 12-year-old son. For a household of nine people, finding her son’s private school provided some much-needed alleviation of stress, she said.
“We ended up finding out about the programs and enrolling them, and it’s been life changing,” Ckonjevic said. “It’s been perfect for him because he gets a small group environment. It’s important for him to get feedback from peers, but in a way that he’s thriving in, versus in public school, where he was just shutting down.”
John Perkins, who also attended the event, said Arizona’s education system benefited him in providing a flexible curriculum for his home-schooled 7-year-old daughter, who often does her schoolwork while accompanying Perkins to work.
“We wanted to be able to raise our child the way we wanted,” Perkins said. “Homeschooling, you can mold it exactly to what fits them.”
While Perkins’ daughter may not attend class with peers her age, John said he feels confident that she gets the social interaction she needs by attending church and social events like “Love Your Schools”. She takes the opportunity for field trips like these to both learn and play.
“We take her on these trips, where she’s able to engage with kids like her,” Perkins said. “At Love Your School, they’re supporting kids who do need more help, who don’t belong in a one-size-fits-all learning curriculum.”
Contact the reporter at bmfloren@asu.edu
