Southern West Virginia School Fair, Family Fun Day to Celebrate Choice in K-12 Education

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Jan 13, 2023, 06:00 ET

BECKLEY, W.Va., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- K-12 education options are expanding rapidly in West Virginia and a free school fair and family fun day at the Tamarack Marketplace on Saturday, Jan. 21 will give parents easy access to learning about local options, new and old.

From microschools to soccer clubs, 40+ educational service providers and community organizations will host booths at the school fair, showcasing what makes them unique and answering questions from parents. In addition to featuring public and private schools, the fair will have a section dedicated completely to online and homeschool families. Community members will be able to learn about curriculum, service providers, educational materials, co-ops, and more.

Hosted by West Virginia Families United for Education, the event will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Tamarack Marketplace's Conference Center Ballroom. While parents sip coffee or sweet tea and "shop" schools, children can enjoy a photo booth, face painting, a DJ, balloon art, cookies, and a lively performance of the official School Choice Week dance.

Fun raffle prizes will be given away to families throughout the event, including gift cards, a gym membership, a set of AirPods, and school supplies. To celebrate teachers, three special raffle drawings will take place just for them: one for public school teachers, one for private school educators, and one for homeschool leaders.

This school year has been one of firsts for West Virginia education, with the state's first public charter schools opening for families and the state's new Hope Scholarship program being ruled constitutional, impacting more than 3,000 families approved for the program and opening the door for more. In addition, innovative options like learning pods and microschools are opening new education avenues for families.

The school fair is planned to coincide with the celebration of National School Choice Week (Jan. 22-28, 2023), which will feature tens of thousands of school choice celebrations across all 50 states. Simultaneously with the Beckley event, school fairs will be taking place in more than a dozen U.S. cities nationwide, including Las Vegas, Orlando, and Colorado Springs.

"I grew up here in southern WV. I've graduated my older two children from my homeschool and have two more to go. I'm thrilled to see our community come together to pull off something of this size for families who are used to settling for whatever is handed to us," says local organizer Jamie Buckland. "Parents have spoken. And we're here for it!"

Buckland is founder and executive director of West Virginia Families United for Education. They exist to guide families and support providers through the transformation of K-12 education in the Mountain State.

Tamarack Marketplace is located at 1 Tamarack Park Blvd.

National School Choice Week (NSCW) informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children, including traditional public, charter, magnet, online, private, and home schooling. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options in their communities. The Week is a project of the nonpartisan, nonpolitical National School Choice Awareness Foundation.

SOURCE National School Choice Week