In February 2017, I was honored to be the guest of first lady Melania Trump during the President’s Joint Address to Congress. President Trump highlighted my school choice experience as proof to what is possible when parents have education freedom. He stated, “I am calling upon members of both parties to pass an education bill…
If there is one thing we know for sure about this pandemic, it’s that interest in homeschooling has been on the rise as families search for a learning environment that meets all their childrens’ needs. In fact, the number of families choosing to homeschool has more than doubled since 2020! As families took control of…
Looking for a state that can innovate on education? Give Idaho more than a glance. So argues a new Manhattan Institute policy brief on the advent of microschooling in the Gem State. For decades, Idaho has been an easy place to homeschool, with few regulations. And Idaho’s many small, mostly rural districts have been unusually…
The continued killing of unarmed Black men by police has spurred action across the country. Some people are looking at how we fund law enforcement. Some people are looking at their own biases and participating in training about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Me? I’m looking at how we educate children of color. I’m the founder…
Just a glance at student attendance rates confirms what many have suspected for a while now: The pandemic had a profound impact on public school enrollment — and not in a good way. Across the country, enrollment in public schools declined by over a million students during the 2000-2021 school year. And this year enrollment…
The latest numbers on public school enrollment last school year show that states lost more than 1 million students (Delaware and Illinois are not in the count, yet.). While the loss is concentrated in preK and kindergarten, which suggests families may have chosen to hold off on starting their young children in formal school, families…
As a Black homeschooling mom, I am most irritated by the mere thought of my children being trapped in a failing school. But there are a couple of recent misconceptions about Black homeschooling families that have also been getting on my nerves. First, the media attention to Black homeschooling portrays us as an anomaly. Our…
While researching my new book, “Hybrid Homeschooling: A Guide to the Future of Education,” I spoke with a group of families who send their children to a hybrid homeschool in the Midwest. When I asked what drew them to their school, one dad’s answer stopped me in my tracks. When this dad got home from…