Hispanic Families Are Accessing K-12 School Choice Options in Record Numbers; New Program Launches Providing School Information to Parents in Spanish
— Conoce tus Opciones Escolares will be a hub of unbiased information about the district, charter, magnet, private, online, and home education options available for their children. —
MIAMI, FL — September 19, 2022 — (NOTICIAS NEWSWIRE) — An unprecedented volume of guides, videos, tips, and resources in Spanish is now available for Hispanic parents who want to explore the K-12 school choice options available for their children. Today, the National School Choice Awareness Foundation launched Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, a new nonprofit program empowering Spanish-speaking parents with practical and unbiased information about traditional public, public charter, public magnet, private, online, and home education.
The program’s launch coincides with the release of a national public opinion survey indicating that 59 percent of Hispanic parents actively searched for new or different schools for their children over the past year.
“Parents have a lot of questions about how they can choose the right school for their children. We know how important family is, which is why language should never be a barrier for parents to know their school choice options,” said Krissia Campos Spivey, project director of Conoce tus Opciones Escolares. “Nearly 30 percent of Hispanic families say they want school choice information provided in Spanish.”
The cornerstone of the Conoce tus Opciones Escolares program is opcionesescolares.com, where parents can find information about how to choose every type of school in their state, answers to common questions, longform videos, and more, including:
• Narrative roadmaps to school choice options in each U.S. state;
• Explanations for how parents can access different types of schools;
• Tips for successfully starting and completing the school search process; and
• Culturally relevant videos, e.g. contrasting U.S. and Latin American education systems
Over the next year, the program’s impact will expand to include additional publications, content-sharing partnerships with nonprofit organizations, and special events.
“I am honored to lead a program that addresses the urgent need to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic students in the United States,” Campos Spivey said. “The high school dropout rate for Hispanic students is 65 percent higher than it is for white students, and the disruptions to K-12 education over the last two years have made the racial achievement gap even worse. When I think about the future I want for my sons, I know this project will help parents successfully access school choice options for their children.”
About Conoce tus Opciones Escolares
Designed to empower Hispanic parents to successfully find schools and learning environments that best meet their children’s needs, Conoce tus Opciones Escolares (Conoce) provides the nation’s largest online portfolio of Spanish-language school navigation resources for families. Conoce is a charitable program of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation (NSCAF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. NSCAF also organizes National School Choice Week, the largest annual series of events and activities focused on K-12 education, and develops and disseminates English-language school navigation resources at schoolchoiceweek.com.