by Andrew Campanella
Today, I can finally share something that’s been in the works for the better part of two years: Conoce tus Opciones Escolares (Know Your School Options), a new school choice awareness program created to support Spanish-speaking families in finding schools and learning environments that best meet their children’s interests, talents, needs, and challenges.
Led by my colleague Krissia Campos Spivey, Conoce offers the nation’s largest online portfolio of Spanish-language school navigation resources, including roadmaps customized to each state and every type of school choice therein, deep dives into the distinctions between every type of learning option, a step-by-step process to choosing a school, and tips all along the way.
With a brand-new website, new social media channels, and close involvement with the increasing number of events planned during National School Choice Week that offer bilingual information, you’ll be seeing quite a bit from the entire Conoce tus Opciones Escolares team in the coming weeks and months.
In our work to raise awareness about education options since the start of National School Choice Week in 2011, we’ve naturally extended the scope of our work to provide parents the tools they need to explore and choose schools. Doing so in our nation’s two most common languages just makes sense.
When we started creating school choice guides in Spanish two years ago, we knew we were just getting started meeting an important need. The launch of this program could not come at a more urgent time. Data released last week as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) demonstrated the worst drop in student reading and math performance in two decades, with a widening achievement gap for children of color. What’s more, we know that Hispanic high school students are dropping out at disproportionate levels.
We’re excited about what Conoce will offer families, educators, and community organizations as it grows. If you haven’t already, you’ll want to check out opcionesescolares.com.
