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…
Family Structure and Student Outcomes If we are honest with ourselves, there comes a turning point moment in the life of every education reformer when we must confront the limitations of education reform. Such an experience happened to me around 4 p.m. on July 11, 2016, near Third Avenue and 149th Street in the heart…
Undoubtedly 2022 is going to be another massive year for the advancement of school choice. Coming off 2021, a year in which 18 states passed educational choice legislation, K-12 stakeholders are excited to continue providing students and families with the opportunity to attend schools that work best for them. In fact, they are so excited…
The Chicago Teachers Union’s effort to go remote across the district is rooted in racism. Asking members to force a work stoppage without acknowledging the critical state of our babies is wrong. It ignores the fact that large numbers of children suffered the last time academically, physically and emotionally. Remote learning hurt Black and brown…
It’s been an excellent year for school choice! 2021 has rightly been called a “breakthrough year” and “The Year of School Choice,” as 18 different states enacted seven new school choice programs and worked to expand 21 existing programs. And 2022 may prove to be even better! What’s really impressive is that school choice is…
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 wolf took one last look at his mother and father…” My son is reading aloud in the other room. I hear his little voice recounting the story of a wolf who became the first wild wolf in California in a very long time. He reads with expression—exclamation points invoke excitement in his voice, question…
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…
Cameron Frazier didn’t attend a historically Black college or university, but the veteran educator recognizes their power, thanks to one of his former bosses. “During my work in Nashville, my principal was an HBCU graduate, and she was the poster child for HBCUs,” said Frazier a first-generation college graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree from…
When I became a parent, it seems like ages ago, my favorite book to read to my sons was “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” As a social scientist, I appreciated the book’s message that actions have consequences that often delight. Thus, I was especially eager to pull together a talented group of researchers…
After what happened last night at Elizabeth Warren’s rally in Atlanta, Democrats might want to reconsider their strategy of attacking school choice. Black and brown parents, some who have been fighting chronically failing schools locally for decades, have had enough. A group of hundreds of mostly black parents —and grand parents and great grandparents —descended…
Elizabeth Warren wants to batten down the hatches but unlike a ship captain who feels a duty to protect his passengers from an impending storm, Warren’s mission is to prevent them from escaping to safety—well, at least the poor ones. In her just released education plan, she isn’t throwing educational lifeboats to anybody who can’t…