Gov. Mike Pence told a gathering of children from charter and private schools today that education can take them where they want to go in life, as it did for his family.

A day at the Statehouse for schools that participate in school choice programs began with a morning rally with Pence as the featured speaker. He told kids seated in chairs and on the floor in front of the podium about his Irish immigrant grandfather who came to the U.S. and worked as a bus driver. Two generations later, his grandson is Indiana’s governor.

Programs that let families choose schools they believe are the best fits for their children can help today’s families achieve all they want in life too, Pence said.

“Whatever that little dream is in your heart — from this small town boy from Southern Indiana whose grandfather immigrated to this country — if you can dream it, you can be it,” he said. “Grab your dreams. Live your dreams. Just live them here in Indiana.”

It was the second Statehouse education rally in a week. Monday’s rally in support of state Superintendent Glenda Ritz had a decidedly different flavor, with sharp criticism of Pence over bills he supports that would effectively remove Ritz as chairwoman of the Indiana State Board of Education.

Since the start of the legislative session in January, Pence and his lieutenants have battled intensely with Ritz her team at the Indiana Department of Education over the direction of education policy in the state.

But there was no talk of Statehouse political debates this time. The focus was squarely on school choice.

“Children in this state ought to be afforded opportunities for quality education,” Pence said. “Those decisions should be made in the best interests of our kids, and those decisions should be made by parents.”

The rally, sponsored by Hoosiers For Quality Education, evolved from what served in recent years as an annual Statehouse pep rally in support of school choice programs such as charter schools and the state’s private school tuition voucher program. About 300 people attended, including students and teachers from private and charter schools. Kids spent the rest of the day in lessons at the Statehouse designed to connect to Indiana academic standards.

Bills under debate this month in the legislature would provide more funding and flexibility to charter schools.

Erika Haskins, a school leader at one of Goodwill Industries’ Excel Center adult charter high schools, said publicly funded but privately managed charter schools like hers fill gaps for students in need.

Excel Centers primarily try to help students who dropped out of high school complete their educations so they can attend college or get better jobs.

“My students slipped through the cracks at some point in time,” Haskins said. “Now they are fighting twice as hard for social and economic mobility. We need to change the game for all students and parents so attending quality school is feasible for all students.”