San Antonio families interested in fielding education options for their children can meet with more than 40 school networks on Saturday.
School Discovery Network, formerly San Antonio Charter Moms, is hosting “School Discovery Day” at the San Antonio Zoo on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Early registrants will get free admission to the zoo.
Students and parents can meet with representatives from school groups ranging from the Archdiocese of San Antonio Catholic Schools, Pre-K 4 SA and several charter school districts. Families can ask about the enrollment process and potentially apply to certain schools on the spot.
School Discovery Network puts on several School Discovery Day events throughout the typical open enrollment periods followed by charter and private schools which usually kick off in November and end in January or February.
This enrollment season, parents may have more questions than usual given the passage of education savings accounts (ESAs), commonly known as school vouchers, which use state dollars to pay for private school tuition, therapy and other education-related costs.
Voucher applications open up in January, and the state plans to start reviewing them in February.
This means families who want to use a voucher to pay for private school tuition will most likely have to apply for a private institution before knowing whether or not the state will grant them a voucher.
While private schools are not required to accept vouchers as payment, several schools in San Antonio have signaled they will opt into using ESAs.
Vouchers mark the latest shift in a long list of changes to San Antonio’s education landscape, including school closures, a growing number of charter school operators in the area and traditional school districts shifting to open-enrollment models.
School Discovery Network officially rebranded in August, shifting its focus from largely championing the local charter school offerings in San Antonio to highlighting a larger school choice movement.
“Just as San Antonio’s education landscape has evolved, so too has San Antonio Charter Moms,” said founder Inga Cotton when the rebrand first launched.
Cotton founded San Antonio Charter Moms in 2012 as a blog and Facebook group where she shared guides and resources for families interested in charter schools.
Since then, the group has become most known for their School Discovery Day events, and is expecting over 1,000 families for Saturday’s event.
As part of its rebrand, the network now offers personalized consultations with families who want more guidance picking the right school for their child — these are free, but the group plans to monetize them in the future.
School Discovery Network has also been hosting a series of town halls explaining how ESAs work and answering parents’ questions.
Families who miss School Discovery Day on Saturday can attend future events on Jan. 24, the peak of enrollment season, or March 7, when some schools still accept last-minute applications.