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12/12/08

REACH brings together hundreds of school choice supporters

Annual Event Honors Those Who Are Champions of Choice

December 12,2008

PITTSBURGH, PA -- Over 250 school choice advocates, businesses, organizations, parents and students gathered last night at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh to celebrate parental choice in education and to honor those who have been integral to the success of the movement in Pennsylvania. The REACH (Road to Educational Achievement through Choice) Alliance & Foundation hosts the Champions of Choice Awards Dinner each year. The Champions of Choice Awardees chosen for 2008 were Dr. Ronald Bowes (Assistant Superintendent for Public Policy and Development, Diocese of Pittsburgh), Senator Jane Clare Orie (R-40), and Representative Thomas A. Tangretti (D-57).

"The school choice movement in Pennsylvania has grown tremendously in the past ten years: the PA Charter School Law was passed in 1997, cyber-charter schools came to fruition in 2005 and the growth and multiple expansions of the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program since 2001 have all made parental choice in education more accessible for Pennsylvania parents," stated Andrew T. LeFevre, Executive Director, REACH Alliance & Foundation.

In Pennsylvania, REACH estimates that over 596,000 students and their parents are utilizing school choice options. These options include: private and nonpublic schools, charter schools, cyber charter schools and homeschooling.

"REACH is proud to have been able to honor Dr. Bowes, Senator Orie and Representative Tangretti for their willingness to perform like Champions of Choice for the families and children of Pennsylvania," added LeFevre.

Dr. Bowes started to build support for school choice in the western part of the state in the 1990's and, today, has one of the largest grassroots networks of parents, teachers, administrators and businesses in the country. "All of us involved in expanding educational opportunities for children understand that our goal is to enable each child to becomes what they are capable of becoming," Dr. Bowes explained in his speech after accepting his award.

Senator Orie has been a leading advocate of school choice and the EITC program since her first day on the job. "The EITC is the strongest public/private relationship the Commonwealth has provided to foster and encourage businesses to take an active role in and improve the educational opportunities within their communities," acknowledged the Senator in a recorded message shown to the audience at the event.

"The ability of parents to choose a school that is best for their child is something that most everyone supports. Whether parents want their children to be educated in the local public school, a different public school, a private school, or even at home, family income should not be a barrier to exercising that fundamental tight of choice," stated Representative Tangretti during his statements.

Dr. John E. Murray Jr., Chancellor of Duquesne University and Keynote Speaker for the evening, understands the important role education plays in life. Whether it's grade school, college, being a teacher or professor, writing education-related books or becoming the leader of a school, Murray has been in or involved with educational institutions for almost 70 years. He has taken an active role in the education of today's youth and has become an inspiration to everyone who believes that the right education can make all the difference. "It is critically important for parents to have a choice in their child's education," declared Dr. Murray in his Keynote address.

REACH would like to extend a thank you to our Champions of Choice Host Committee members: Frederick W. Anton III, President & CEO, Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, co-chair; William J. Donahue, President, Donahue Family Foundation, co-chair; Sally Stein, Manager, Pittsburgh Jewish Educational Improvement Foundation; Reverend Kris Stubna, S.T.D., Secretary for Education, Diocese of Pittsburgh; and Robert C. Enlow, Executive Director & COO, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. REACH would also like to thank our event sponsors: Henkels & McCoy, Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, PA Cyber and the Bravo Educational Foundation.

If you would like more information about the Champions of Choice event or school choice programs in Pennsylvania, please contact the REACH office at 717.238.1878 or mail@paschoolchoice.org.

What is the REACH Foundation?

Founded in 1993, the REACH (Road to Educational Achievement through Choice) Foundation is dedicated to ensuring parental choice in education in Pennsylvania. REACH continually promotes policies that enable statewide parental choice in education, including the well-established and highly successful EITC Program. For more information on the REACH Foundation, visit www.paschoolchoice.org.

Contact: Stacy Henninger, (717) 503-8019

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