Instruction and learning changes that occurred because of the COVID pandemic gave parents and students a new view of education.

“People are saying, ‘Huh, my eyes are open now — I didn’t realize, I didn’t know, I didn’t understand the choices,’ and we’re able to showcase that at our annual event,” said Deborah Hendrix, organizer of Colorado Springs’ School Choice Fair.

This year’s fair will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Colorado Springs Events Center, 3960 Palmer Park Blvd.

More than 80 vendors representing public schools and districts, charter schools, private schools, online academies, homeschool associations and organizations that support education will hand out materials, talk about what they offer and answer questions.

“The whole premise is to have all of this in one space and provide the chance for parents and students to be able to explore educational opportunities in El Paso County,” said Hendrix, who runs Parents Challenge, an organization that provides scholarships and support programs for low-income students to attend schools of their choice.

The fair is free and open to the public. Complimentary backpacks filled with school supplies will be handed out, and three laptops will be included among door prizes given away.

Carnival games, face painting, balloon artistry, a scavenger hunt, a bouncy house, food and other attractions will be available.

This year’s sixth annual event returns to an in-person format; last year’s was an outdoor, drive-through parade for families, due to COVID rules.

Choosing a school for your child, as simplistic as it can sound, is not at all simple, Hendrix said.

El Paso County has 15 public school districts and numerous public charter schools, religious schools and private independent schools. Also, many public schools have focuses, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), the arts, alternative  education, career and technical education, gifted education and education for students who have dyslexia or autism.

“It can be overwhelming to figure out what do I do, where do I go, why are there so many choices,” Hendrix said. “Choice is good, but families have to be able to navigate the scene.”

The fair is being held in tandem with events in other cities during National School Choice Week, which runs Jan. 23-29.

The national nonprofit says on its website that it will partner with 463 schools and organizations in Colorado to raise awareness of K-12 options.

In a Survey Monkey poll National School Choice Week conducted this month, more than half of 2,715 parent respondents of children ages 5 to 18 said they were considering, or had considered in the past year, choosing a new or different school for one of their children.

Coming out of the pandemic, parents still are having to make important decisions about their children’s education, Hendrix said.

The homeschool movement that has grown exponentially in Colorado is retaining some of the students who switched to the model during the pandemic.

Colorado has 10,502 homeschooled students this school year, compared with 15,773 in 2020. However, the current number is still higher than the 2019 total of 7,880 homeschoolers, according to enrollment data the Colorado Department of Education released Wednesday.

Online learning also is retaining popularity. Statewide, 31,382 students registered in online educational programs this year — a slight decrease from 2020 when 32,034 were counted, according to state statistics.

And the Colorado Charter School Institute, a network of public charter schools, has increased enrollment every year since 2015, including during the pandemic. Pupil count grew by 3,672 students from the 2019-20 academic year to this year’s tally of 21,947 students.

“So many students and parents were at home during the pandemic that many decided they wanted to do something different,” Hendrix said.

All schools were forced to pivot and adopt new formats that accommodated pandemic restrictions, she said, which widened the equity gap for students who did not have access to the internet or enough devices in their homes to access lessons and do homework.

Schools have opened enrollment for students to register for the fall semester, and as parents look ahead, it’s a good idea to think about what they really want from education, Hendrix said.

“Many kids are trying to play catch-up now, schools are struggling with finding enough teachers, parents’ needs are a concern, and it’s more important than ever to find the best fit for your child,” she said.

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Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.