Keshia Knight Pulliam Hartwell, the Atlanta actress best known for her role on “The Cosby Show” and newly married to NFL veteran Ed Hartwell, has teamed up with a number of celebrities including Deion Sanders, Vivica A. Fox, Louis Gossett Jr., Laila Ali, Kathie Lee Gifford and Jalen Rose advocating National School Choice Week.
She appears in a video (above) and penned a guest column for the AJC.
School Choice Week is held every January nationwide. Supporters will rally Wednesday at the Georgia Capitol. In our state, AJC “Get Schooled” columnist Maureen Downey says, the main push is charter schools. Gov. Nathan Deal has proclaimed January 24–30, 2016 as “School Choice Week” in Georgia. Keep up with that and other topics under the Gold Dome this session at the AJC’s Political Insider blog.
Here is Pulliam Hartwell’s guest column:
“The simple truth is this, no child in our state or in our country should be denied access to excellent educational opportunities simply because of geography or lack of financial resources. Yet, thousands of children and families wake up to that sad reality each and every morning.
Because of this social injustice, I have decided to use my voice and platform to advocate and support National School Choice Week. When it comes to our children and their educational opportunities and options, I refuse to just idly stand by and not do my part.
It is really simple. All children and families especially those who happen to come from low-income or working-class families deserve to access a school that best meet their learning needs. There is not a one-size fits all way of educating our children. I support any quality and accountable educational option and opportunity for our children. Some children flourish in a traditional public school, but others might need a scholarship tax-credit or an education savings account or a voucher or virtual schooling or home schooling. All of these options should be readily available to our children. It should not be something only accessible for the well-to-do or the socially connected.
I realize that not all children are as fortunate and blessed as I am when it comes to being able to attend great schools from the time that I started school to the time that I graduated from Spelman College. My parents never had to face the daunting specter of placing me or any of my siblings in schools that didn’t best meet our learning needs. I cringe when I think of hardworking parents, who through no fault of their own, are limited in their educational choices merely because of their address or not having the means financially to pay for private school or up and move into a school district where the schools are high-performing.
Finally, I will say this. Our country is too great and our state is too great to not have a greater sense of urgency when it comes to educating our children. It is our responsibility and moral obligation to help our children and one of the ways that we can unite and accomplish that is by supporting educational choice.”
