Education

Families wanting more flexibility to individualize their children’s education notched big wins in 2023.   Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, and Utah enacted laws expanding universal or near-universal Education Savings Account (ESA) programs. This tool provides families with funds to cover a range of educational expenses of their choosing.   ESAs are a bridge to “different, not just […]

“What does school look like as a place you go to heal rather than a place you must heal from?” That’s the question teachers Zani Dalili-Ortique and Ebony Marshman asked themselves, their colleagues, and their neighbors beginning in 2019. Both say they couldn’t have imagined that a short three years later, it would be a […]

Every learner is unique and deserves an education that helps them identify their gifts and pursue their passions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked concerns and cultural fears regarding its potential negative impacts. Chief among those concerns is the fear that AI will inhibit learning by making things easier for students and preventing them from developing and mastering important skills such as writing, problem solving, and critical thinking.   In a recent TED Talk, Sal […]

America’s health care system is overburdened, with rising costs, bureaucracy, and medical worker shortages all making it harder for Americans to get the quality health care they deserve. One-size-fits all solutions to these challenges will not deliver better health for more people at lower costs. That’s why Stand Together Trust has for years collaborated with […]

Stand Together Trust partners with changemakers and policy influencers to empower people to discover and develop their unique skills and aptitudes, pursue their passions, and live a life of meaning and purpose.   Empowering people with the resources to pursue an individualized path of discovery and development in a way that best suits them is essential […]

In 2004, Milton Friedman, economist and Nobel Laureate wrote, “A far more effective and equitable way for government to finance education is to finance students, not the schools.” It very likely was the first time an education leader proposed the idea of funding students, not schools.  In recent years, however, the transformation of education in […]

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 […]