School choice has always been personal for me. My mother was a teacher for over 30 years. As her three children approached school age, she decided she wanted to home-school us as we started elementary school.

As an elementary school teacher, she was better equipped than most to guide the beginning of our educational journey. One of the things I fondly remember about being home-schooled is that every week my mother took us to the library. I had the freedom to borrow books on almost any topic. I read books about animals, geography, science, foreign countries, history, and yes, Encyclopedia Brown and Harry Potter books, too. And I loved it. I fell in love with reading and, in turn, learning.