Sierra CiaramellaAs the new school year approaches, Arizona families can access resources and share their stories through the new platform Love Your School.
State law allows Arizona students to apply for admission to any public school based on availability of classroom space.
In addition to public district schools, students have choices among charter schools, online instruction, homeschooling and private schools.
The ability to apply for any Arizona public school and the variety of options allows parents, guardians and families to find an education that is the best fit for their student.
Love Your School is geared to celebrate those school options.
“I decided to start it last December really just out of the strong desire to share about all of the really amazing things that are happening in Arizona schools,” said Jenny Clark, Love Your School executive director.
The Love Your School website and social media platforms launched Mon., July 29.
“We’re going to celebrate school options in a variety of ways- by offering printables and other fun resources for families, sharing school highlights and family highlights, and trying to offer- as we grow- as many educational resources as we can for families and educators,” Clark said.
The website will feature an interactive map that will allow users to locate and learn more about schools and school options in their areas of interest.
“We hope that will be the first step people can use because I’m constantly amazed by all of the new school options that are opening every year,” Clark said. “We hope that for those parents that are interested in looking at what their options are, they can use our interactive map to start that process.”
The website will also outline basic information about a variety of school-related topics to help people research options and find the best fit for their students.
In addition to providing resources, Love Your School will highlight parents, guardians and families who are thankful for their school and school option in Arizona.
As the platform developed, Clark used social media to find Arizonans who want to share a story about their appreciation toward their school.
“But, our hope is that through launching Love Your School we’ll be able to broaden our engagement through our actual Love Your School Facebook page and Twitter and Instagram, that we will reach more families beyond just our initial grassroots network,” Clark said.
She added, “We have a little call-to-action button like, ‘Hey! We want to hear your story. What is it?’ And, they can go to our website and share their story.”
Clark explained that the goal is to feature an Arizona family that wants to share their experience with Arizona education every week.
As an Arizona native and mother, the ability to choose a fitting education is a topic that hits home for Clark.
“I grew up in Arizona, I went to my local district school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, I went to U of A, and I love Arizona and I am a product of the public school system,” she said.
“I know other kids that could have benefitted from some of these options even back when I was growing up. And so, having been an Arizona native and now with a family I’m just really thankful for all the people that have worked so hard to create and provide options for Arizona families,” Clark said.
Learn more at: www.loveyourschool.org
Noemi Santaella
Joseph Kavetsky
Guest Contributor
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