Education

How far would you go to ensure your child gets the best education?   Veronica Vargas lived in her Hyundai in a Walmart parking lot so that her sons could attend a top-rated public school. Kelley Williams-Bolar went to prison when a private investigator hired by the school district discovered she was using her dad’s address […]

The world has changed dramatically in recent decades. Diplomas and credentials aren’t essential for every person to be able to contribute their unique gifts and talents for the good of others and society.   Stand Together Trust believes it’s time to stop romanticizing the bachelor’s degree and perpetuating a policy environment that does the same. Individuals […]

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, parents, educators, and the media were concerned about the quality of education American students were receiving. The shift to at-home learning was rife with changes that threatened to create even more educational inequity than was already present.   While student-centered, non-traditional models were steadily increasing before the pandemic, hundreds of new education […]

For decades, where a child lives has by and large determined where he or she goes to school. This outdated approach to education means that students are required to attend public schools that may not be the best fit for them for many reasons — like education quality or student environment. It also creates unequal […]

Traditional learning environments are designed for a fictitious “average” student, forcing nearly every student to take a passive role  and be told what to learn, and when and how to learn it. For many young people, this often results in a lack of engagement and a failure to be adequately prepared for a life of […]

History will point to the COVID-19 pandemic as a time of great hardship, upheaval, and uncertainty. Will history also say it was the pandemic that was a tipping point for education — away from a one-size-fits-all mindset to an individualized approach?  That transformation seems increasingly likely, according to recent data from Tyton Partners, funded by […]

It’s back to school time, but for millions of students that does not mean back to traditional school arrangements. The transformation in education that some believe began during COVID is far from a blip on the radar and people ought to be paying attention to it.   For decades, education in America has stayed roughly the […]

More than 2 million children left the public school system between 2020 and 2022 — and enrollment continues to fall. Multiple media outlets have referred to it as the “mass exodus,” and it points to a significant shift in American education.   These children aren’t just leaving school. They’re joining a growing movement of students, families, […]

Learning can happen anywhere. Nearly everyone knows this to be true.  And yet, the vast majority of schooling — from kindergarten through twelfth grade — still takes place in a one-size-fits-all approach. Why is that?  This is a question collaborators at The Big Idea are asking — and they’re inviting others to join them.   A […]

“It is impossible to fully understand the status and future of microschools and related small-school approaches without appreciating the influence of the Covid era,” writes Andy Smarick, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.  Case in point: Sophia Ortega and her boys.  Before the pandemic forced school closures and at-home learning, Ortega, a single mom […]