Photo credit: Micheal Chamberlain/Watchdog Wire
(Des Moines, IA) Virginia Walden-Ford, a leading advocate for educational choice and fairness, will keynote the annual Education Celebration event on March 3rd at the Capitol, to discuss the important of promoting equal access to educational options for all Iowa families.
“We’re excited to welcome Virginia Walden-Ford to next week’s Education Celebration rally,” said Trish Wilger, Executive Director of Iowa Advocates for Choice in Education and the Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education. “She has witnessed first hand the positive impact that comes from ensuring all families have options when it comes to their children’s education and we look forward to having her in Iowa to share this message.”
Walden-Ford is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, where she was raised by two public school educators. She has since founded DC Parents for School Choice as a clearinghouse organization for parents in Washington, D.C. In 2003 she helped lead the effort to get School Choice legislation passed in the District of Columbia, organizing parents for a successful grassroots effort that led to the passage of the DC School Choice Incentive Act.
Walden-Ford is a National Board Member and a founding member of The Black Alliance for Educational Options. She also served on the DC Advisory Committee of the US Civil Rights Commission, The Education Breakthrough Network and the Booker T. Washington Public Charter School in Washington, DC. She currently serves on the Boards of The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation and the Premier High School in Little Rock.
Education Celebration is expected to draw parents, administrators, and community leaders from across the state. In addition to Walden-Ford’s keynote address, attendees are encouraged to meet with their legislators during their time in Des Moines. The keynote address and rally will begin at noon on Tuesday, March 3rd, in the Iowa State Capitol Rotunda.
The rally comes during a legislative session where action is expected on initiatives designed to expand educational options to all families, regardless of income level. Speakers will discuss the benefits of Education Savings Accounts, which would expand educational choice to families of all incomes.