It’s Time for the Left To Come to the School Choice Table
Our Phoenix Rising series aims to elevate diverse perspectives and enable informed debate on urgent topics. For too long, the political Left has allowed the debate over school choice to be defined and dominated by conservatives. In doing so, we’ve neglected the most dynamic lever for equity and innovation in American education while alienating the […]
Managing Through the Noise: How Superintendents See Shifts in the Federal Role in Education
In May 2025, we spoke with about a dozen superintendents across the country—and others who work closely with them—about challenges stemming from recent national events, including a much smaller United States Department of Education (ED), likely changes in federal Title I funding and oversight, and the various executive orders aimed at shifting more responsibility to […]
Remaking Ed Schools from the Ground Up
One of us (Carole) was recently asked what a world without colleges of education would look like. Carole’s response: “I’m not sure the world would miss us.” And she spoke as the dean of one of the largest colleges of education in the country. There has been no shortage of documentation of how schools of […]
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 […]
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 […]