Allen Recognized for Dedication to Providing Families Access to Options in Education
CER Press Release
Washington, D.C.
March 18, 2013
The Center for Education Reform (CER) President Jeanne Allen was honored with the “Chairman’s Award” by the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO), a school choice advocacy group that focuses on minorities, for her dedication to providing all families with access to educational options and choice. The alliance gives this award for “moving the agenda forward” and giving low-income and black families more choices for their children’s education, BAEO spokesperson Tanzi West said.
When presenting the award to Allen, BAEO president Dr. Howard Fuller stated: “We thought it was a good time to honor Jeanne Allen and to thank her. Many, many years ago Jeanne honored me. It was a statement I made at her dinner, that led us to actually form BAEO.”
“I’m humbled and grateful to BAEO, whose many members are my own heroes; people I’ve had the honor of working along side in our shared fight for better opportunities for all children. Their efforts in the battle for educational freedom are inspirational and it is I who am honored to know them. We must continue to work hard – and work together – as a nation to ensure every child is served well, “said Allen.
As the president and founder of CER, Allen has been instrumental in leading the charge and advocating for education reform since 1993. For the past twenty years, Allen has been key in forging what is now mainstream acceptance of school choice by uniting diverse voices and communities. Under her leadership, her efforts have inspired millions of parents to take action and hundreds of policy makers have responded. Allen’s award honors her role as a long-standing proponent of parental choice and education reform.
The award was presented to Allen, along with fellow inductees T. Willard Fair (Urban League of Greater Miami) and Virginia Walden Ford (Heritage Foundation) at the BAEO 2013 Symposium in Orlando, Florida on Thursday, March 14. More than 650 black leaders in the education reform movement were gathered at The Peabody Hotel from March 14-16 for the annual symposium. In its 13th year, the BAEO Symposium is the largest gathering of black education reformers in the country. Each year the organization hosts its annual symposium to provide a platform for focused conversations around the critical need of ensuring that all children, especially children from low-income and working class black families, have access to a high-quality education.