Friedman Foundation changes name to EdChoice
New name represents the future of the organization and its mission of unencumbered school choice for all families
INDIANAPOLIS – The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice today announced that it has changed its name to EdChoice, which encompasses the organization’s enduring commitment to universal school choice for every American family.
“Our new name, like our mission, is simple and bold: We are champions of choice who believe that empowering all families with full and unencumbered educational choice is the best pathway to successful lives and a stronger society,” said EdChoice President and CEO Robert Enlow.
WATCH A SHORT VIDEO EXPLAINING OUR NEW NAME
Enlow explained that Milton and Rose D. Friedman, who started the Foundation 20 years ago, always wanted the educational choice movement to live on without their names attached to it.
“Although we will no longer be using their name, we will never lose sight of universal school choice as the Friedmans’ intellectual legacy,” Enlow said. “We have been honored to be their legacy foundation for the last 20 years and to be the nation’s only organization solely dedicated to promoting their concept of educational choice.”
When EdChoice began as the Friedman Foundation in 1996, there were only five educational choice programs serving fewer than 10,000 students. Today, there are 61 programs in 30 states and the District of Columbia serving more than 400,000 students. That does not include the hundreds of thousands of families who practice choice by ZIP code, magnet schools, charter schools, inter- and intra-district transfers, home schooling, online and customized learning.
Moving forward, EdChoice will focus its mission in three areas as it works to advance high-quality choice programs across the United States:
Educate diverse audiences about educational choice and its benefits.
EdChoice is a national leader in school choice research, publishing dozens of studies, surveys, legislative analyses and blog posts each year to help the public, the media and key stakeholders understand how school choice is affecting families and students across the United States and internationally. The more people know about and understand educational choice, the more they can help advance the movement.
Train supporters and policymakers to advocate for high-quality choice programs.
For too long, parents have been told to sit down, be quiet and let the professionals handle their kids. Policymakers have similarly been bullied by those who seek to protect and preserve an educational system that has chronically failed many of those who most depend on it as their pathway to a successful life. EdChoice offers a selection of trainings to help school choice supporters learn how to advocate for high-quality programs that put students first.
Engage in activities that generate results for students and families.
Bringing new school choice programs to fruition takes a lot of hard work, and true educational choice faces long odds in places where allegiance to the past comes before serving students. EdChoice will be focused on engaging at the state level where it makes the most sense while supporting school choice efforts more broadly with our research, outreach and trainings.
ABOUT EDCHOICE
EdChoice is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing full and unencumbered educational choice as the best pathway to successful lives and a stronger society. EdChoice believes that families, not bureaucrats, are best equipped to make K-12 schooling decisions for their children. The organization works at the state level to educate diverse audiences, train advocates and engage policymakers on the benefits of high-quality school choice programs. EdChoice is the intellectual legacy of Milton and Rose D. Friedman, who founded the organization in 1996 as the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.
