America Can’t be Great Without Good Schools: How Policymakers Can Create More of Them
A policy agenda for K-12 schools 1. Take a reasonable middle ground in the culture wars 2. Invest in systems that keep students safe 3. Help schools provide the academic preparation students need 4. Use accountability systems to benchmark results and protect against educational neglect Reality check: Education reform can only succeed with teacher support […]
Picking Up the Pieces of Federal Education Programs: Can Block Grants Help Marginalized Learners?
The Trump administration is following the Project 2025 agenda, vowing to turn federal education programs into block grants or issue blanket waivers that would let states see money in any way they want. The results might not be what the Trump movement hopes, or what educators fear. Much will depend on whether local actors who […]
Launching districtwide innovation: Lessons learned from a year of pursuing “Bold Ideas” for systemic change
What does it really take to pilot bold, systemwide innovation in public education? Over the 2023–24 school year, CRPE partnered with 11 districts across the country to support and study their “Bold Ideas”—ambitious initiatives designed to make student learning more joyful, individualized, and relevant. These pilots weren’t just tech upgrades or isolated experiments. They were […]
Unfinished Business: What Must Come Next for Public Education, Five Years After Pandemic Shutdowns
The Current Crisis Five years after the pandemic disrupted education, public schools are still struggling to recover. Achievement gaps have widened, student performance is in decline, and many schools have reverted to an outdated, ineffective system that fails to meet today’s challenges. The pandemic exposed longstanding weaknesses in the education system—rigid structures, inequities, resistance to […]
Eliminating the Department of Education won’t fix education’s dysfunctions—but neither will denying they exist
Announcing a new forum for bold ideas to build momentum Proposals to eliminate the Department of Education (ED) have been a Republican talking point since Ronald Reagan first suggested it in the early 1980s. The Trump administration’s executive order to weaken the agency is just the latest attempt. While the stated goal is to cut […]
Embracing AI in Education Can Move Us Toward a New Era of Learning
For decades, students of color and those from low-income communities have faced persistent achievement gaps in our education system. Despite countless reform efforts, these students continue to encounter barriers to accessing high-quality, personalized instruction that builds critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Now, the emergence of generative AI represents an unprecedented opportunity to transform this inequitable […]
What do parents know about Generative AI in schools?
Generative AI has led to a seismic shift in the U.S., with major implications for the present and future states of our societal systems and institutions. While these advancements could contribute to major learning gains in the classroom, they have also generated a great deal of uncertainty as educators, parents, and students grapple with the […]
2025: The Year for Hard Truths and Bold Solutions
To CRPE followers, colleagues, and friends: Happy 2025! Longtime readers will know that CRPE prides ourselves on “thinking forward.” We do make straight-out predictions from time to time, but mostly, we look around the corner at looming trends, debates, and developments and consider what it would take to get the best outcomes possible for students. […]
In Search of Opportunity: Can Families Use Education Choice to Secure More of What They Want?
As education choice programs expand, the promise of securing better educational opportunities remains unevenly realized for many families. This report examines the challenges families face and offers practical solutions to help education choice programs deliver on their potential. The report reveals that while some families benefit from education choice, many—particularly those in rural areas, low-income communities, and […]
Promising progress, fragile foundations: A five-year analysis of school innovation, 2019-2024
Over the past five years, the Canopy Project has documented innovations in K-12 education, uncovering how schools are addressing systemic challenges and envisioning the future of learning. This report highlights the progress and persistence of these trailblazing schools and offers actionable recommendations for sustaining and spreading innovation. Read the Report Report Quick Guide Key Findings […]
