AFC to visit radio row at Super Bowl with Champions for Choice Lisa Leslie & Marcellus Wiley

Washington, D.C. (Jan. 27, 2015) – The American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice, announced that it will visit “radio row” at the 2015 NFL Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona with Champions for Choice and former WNBA player and Olympic gold-medal winner, Lisa Leslie, and former NFL player and current ESPN analyst, Marcellus Wiley.
As National School Choice Week comes to a close, with more than 11,000 events taking place across the country, Leslie and Wiley will discuss the importance of school choice policies and the positive impact that a high-quality education can have on a child’s life.
A new national poll was released by AFC that indicates strong support for school choice across the country. Over two thirds of likely voters support school choice programs, and 76 percent support charter schools. School choice also has bipartisan backing with 81 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Independents and 60 percent of Democrats lending their support to the issue.

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Fast Facts
Over 360,000 students across the country take advantage of private school choice programs
– There are 41 programs in 19 states plus the District of Columbia
Arizona is one of the leading states for innovative school choice programs
– The state has 4 programs with over 43,000 students enrolled
Independent research supports the benefits of school choice
– Washington, D.C. – Students who use the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program have a 90 percent graduation rate, 30 percentage points higher than their counterparts in D.C. Public Schools
– Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Students participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program had a 76 percent graduation rate, 7.2 percentage points higher than their counterparts in Milwaukee Public Schools
– Florida – Students who participate in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program typically gain an additional year’s worth of learning in a year’s worth of time.
AFC’s national poll results
– 69 percent support school choice, including 45 percent who strongly support choice
– 76 percent support public charter schools
– 54 percent of those surveyed believe that giving parents more choices of schools will improve the education system
– 65 percent believe choice and competition among schools improves education
– 62 percent believe we need to make major changes to the ways that public schools are run
 

American Federation for Children is the nation’s leading school choice advocacy organization and works in states across the country to help secure additional, high-quality educational options for families.