Hundreds rally at the Minnesota Children's Museum for National School Choice Week

More than 500 teachers, parents and students gathered in support of national school choice at the Minnesota Children's Museum.

The event was one of the hundreds of events being held around Minnesota this week as part of National School Choice Week.

There are thousands of more events being held around the country.

National School Choice Week is all about raising awareness to the education options available to students.

"I think a lot of times families don't realize that you have a choice where you get to send your student, where they will learn best, and sometimes that might not be the neighborhood school," said Carmen Poppert, a first-grade teacher. 

Poppert teaches at Risen Christ Catholic School in Minneapolis.

She says transparency is key.

"Look beyond your public schools, there are many schools out there, and I'm not against public schools at all," Poppert said. "I'm just saying you have a choice so make sure you make a good one based on what your student needs.

That's exactly what Rosalba Sanchez did.

Sanchez has three girls still in school, and chose a private school for its values of religion and language.

"I really, really like the dual immersion because they learn to speak in Spanish and they learn the English part too, so it's a really good choice," Sanchez said.

From public to private, charter and magnet schools, even online academies and homeschooling, Poppert says Minnesota has options.

She urges parents to do their research.