New York

Across 423 counties in 13 states, 26 million Americans live with a persistent opportunity gap. It’s not because of a lack of effort, talent, or community commitment, but because big government systems meant to serve them have failed to deliver. At the center of that failure is education. For too long, families in Appalachia have been asked to accept a one-size-fits-all public education system that assigns children to schools based on ZIP code rather than need, fit, or school quality. The results have been predictable. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, just 27.3 percent of adults in the region hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 35 percent nationally. In Kentucky’s Appalachian counties, that number Read More ›

Vice President JD Vance’s remarkable journey from a trauma-filled childhood to holding the second-highest office in the country is a clear depiction of the American Dream. It is also a powerful reminder that education and opportunity can fundamentally change the trajectory of a person’s life. It’s been 10 years since Vance published “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” publicly sharing the horrors of his childhood and how he was able to rise above them through his military experience and higher education. The book quickly became a #1 New York Times bestseller. Then, in July 2024, the book once again drew tremendous interest when President Trump selected Vance as running mate for his 2024 reelectioncampaign. In Read More ›

Roughly $800 billion is spent annually on K-12 education, yet the National Assessment of Educational Progress results indicate that, on average, seven out of 10 public school students score below grade-level proficiency in reading and math. As I wrote in my article last month in The Daily Wire, when it comes to the pitiful student learning results in education, “The missing ingredient is not money — it’s meaningful choice.” Parents have been trapped by the government-run, teacher-union controlled K-12 public education monopoly. While federal spending accounts for only roughly 10% of overall education spending, it controls perhaps 90% of the rules and regulations. This federal bureaucracy significantly hinders the ability of states to innovate. Thankfully, for parents and the American Read More ›