A first order of business for the move of the Obama family to Washington was to select a school for their children. A brief, intense competition was won by Sidwell Friends, an excellent private school. Lucky girls. Tuition there is $29,000 and Chelsea Clinton is among its distinguished alumni.

Arizona is widely viewed as the state with the most options for school choice. The following definitions and resources can help parents navigate Arizona’s marketplace for elementary, junior high or middle and high schools.

Thanks to an excellent charter-school law, a private-school scholarship tax credit, and a renewed commitment by traditional public schools to excel, Arizona parents have many attractive educational options from which to choose.

For voters in many East Valley legislative districts, this year’s primary election season is a real snoozer. But District 18 in Mesa and District 20 in west Chandler, south Tempe and Ahwatukee Foothills stand in stark contrast; those districts’ Republican primaries are crowded and lively.

A 15-year-old girl is raped at Higley High School. A boy is stabbed with a steak knife during recess at Florence K-8 School. At least 11 girls fall victim to sexual assault and public indecency at Scottsdale’s Desert Arroyo Middle School in the Cave Creek district.

Homeschooling, charter schools, private and magnet schools, online learning, open enrollment and more were celebrated last Friday as National School Choice Week kicked off in Arizona with speakers, performances and balloons at Gilbert’s Eduprize School.

Arizona parents, taxpayers and community members can learn more about education policy during a National School Choice Week forum hosted 6:30 p.m. Monday by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation.

Chandler's Summit Academy came to life two years ago during a time of transition in the Mesa Unified School District.

The organization behind National School Choice Week has selected Arizona to host its official kickoff celebration in 2013.

Earlier this month, I did something I've said I was going to do for a long time: I took a tour of a charter school as a PARENT, not as a reporter.

Across the country, more states are planting paths for school choice - from a charter school law in Maine to a sweeping voucher program in Indiana to the voucher-like empowerment scholarship accounts in Arizona.

Arizona law allows K-12 students to enroll in any public school in the district where they live, schools in other districts, or in charter schools.

East Valley school districts have too many students who want to enroll in their traditional or alternative school programs. It’s a pleasant problem that wouldn’t exist if state officials had listened to critics of the school choice movement over the past decade.

Natural food entrees are now on the menu at three Scottsdale elementary schools.

Last year, Arizona joined Florida, Ohio, Georgia, and Utah when it began offering scholarships to students with disabilities that they could use to pay private school tuition.

Guidelines approved by the state School Facilities Board on Thursday put the Higley Unified School District in the situation of having to decide whether to redesign a school or pay additional funds to proceed with its existing design.

Gov. Janet Napolitano has yet another opportunity to finally fulfill her 2005 pledge to sign into law a limited plan that would help more students pursue private alternatives to a government education.

After several years of leading the nation in school choice through its proliferation of charter schools, Arizona is poised to significantly expand that choice.

Whether you call this the Christmas season, the holiday season or simply the winter solstice, there’s no denying the clash over church-and-state issues has become deafening.