NEON Kidz will host its third annual Education Expo on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keizer Event Center.
The Education Expo allows parents to visit vendors, including co-ops, private schools, and homeschool organizations. The event is free.
“We want to encourage and support parents wanting to pursue alternative education for their kids,” said Deborah Butler, one of NEON Kidz’s three founders and current treasurer.
Last year, the event was at Corban University and featured almost 50 vendors. Although the expo revolves around education, NEON Kidz invited other local organizations to attend.
This year, organizers want to reach more people and host additional vendors. Cornerstone Christian Academy is among the many local schools that have signed up.
The event will also host music schools, like Yeates Academy of Irish Dance in Portland. Butler referenced the Constitution IQ Project, a government literacy organization based in Silverton, as another notable organization that will have a booth.
Amanda Schenkenberger, a homeschool coach from Wilsonville, will put on a “How to Homeschool” seminar, aimed at parents interested in homeschooling for the first time.
The Education Expo started as an extension of NEON Kidz’s broader goal to “let parents know that they have all sorts of options when it comes to education,” Butler said.
A homeschooling parent herself, Butler started NEON Kidz after the Covid-19 pandemic, when she and two other moms decided to start an organization to spread awareness of alternative education to local parents. They launched in 2022.
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