Keri D. Ingraham

Senior Fellow and Director, American Center for Transforming Education

Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and Director of the Institute’s American Center for Transforming Education. She is also a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.

Dr. Ingraham has been interviewed multiple times on Fox News and other national television outlets and is a regularly requested podcast guest. Her articles have been published by The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Federalist, The Washington Times, The Epoch Times, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, Real Clear Education, The Daily Signal, National Review, The American Spectator, Daily Caller, The Seattle Times, Puget Sound Business Journal, and a host of other media outlets. Her work has been featured by Fox News and cited in countless publications.

Prior to joining Discovery Institute, Dr. Ingraham spent nearly two decades leading within the field of education as a national consultant, requested conference speaker, head of school, virtual and hybrid academy director, administrator, classroom teacher, and athletic coach. Her areas of education expertise include innovation, thought leadership, research, online learning best practices, customized hybrid program development, business model creation, operations effectiveness, and strategic planning for sustainability and scaling.

She holds a Doctor of Education degree and a Master of Education degree from Regent University. Her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree was awarded from George Fox University, where she was named an Academic All-American and was a four-year athletic team member. In addition, Dr. Ingraham earned an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Professional Certificate from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and the Stanford University School of Engineering.

She authored multiple chapters for the book, Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda, published in 2022. Also, in 2022, her article “Teacher Certification & Uniform Salary Schedules Hinder Career Technical Education Staffing” won first place nationally in the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s Wonkathon for her innovative education reform policy ideas. In 2019, she was invited as a contributing author for the book, MindShift: Catalyzing Change in Christian Education and co-authored “From Gutenberg to 5G.” As a result of her national conference speaking and noteworthy forward-thinking school leadership, Dr. Ingraham received an invitation to join the MindShift think tank team in 2018. As a part of MindShift, she traveled nationally and internationally identifying outliers of excellence and innovation within the field of education.

Dr. Ingraham was awarded the George W. Selig Doctoral Fellowship in 2013. The following year she received the “World Changer in the Field of Education” award from Regent University. In 2008, she was selected as a “Teacher of Excellence.” Early in her career, she was a state championship winning coach and five-time recipient of “Coach of the Year” honors. Dr. Ingraham is passionate about education preparing students to live, work, and thrive in tomorrow’s world, which will require tremendous and large-scale education transformation.

Archives

White House Invitations

Keri D. Ingraham
August 22, 2025
I’m deeply grateful for the abundance of opportunities that continue to come, allowing us to drive true transformational change in education at the highest levels in our nation. This month, I was at the White House participating in a Policy Summit alongside national leaders in education, faith, and public policy. In mid-June, Senior Advisors of the President invited me to the White House to share about the work of Discovery Institute’s American Center for Transforming Education. In March, in recognition of our work to advance education freedom, I received a special invitation from the President to attend a White House unveiling and signing ceremony of the executive order that dismantles the U.S. Department of Education. This executive order serves as the critically …

Education Freedom Victories This Year

Keri D. Ingraham
August 21, 2025
It’s been an incredible year thus far of education freedom victories. Six More States Have Signed Universal School Choice into Law This Year Massive legislative wins for education freedom have occurred at the state level this year, with Tennessee, Idaho, Wyoming, Texas, Indiana, and New Hampshire passing universal school choice into law. That brings the total to 17 states granting all families statewide education freedom. First Federal School Choice Program in History Becomes Law on Independence Day As part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the first federal school choice program in the history of our nation became law on July 4. The tax credit scholarship program, set to begin in 2027, will provide millions of children with educational scholarships! The bill allows …

Giving Students an On-Ramp to Post-High School Success

Keri D. Ingraham
August 19, 2025
College is not providing the on-ramp that most students in our country need to a high-growth, high-demand career field. Many students graduate from college saddled with debt and with a degree that is misaligned with the job market. Continuing the status quo can no longer be acceptable. Therefore, it’s essential that we not only ask but also answer the following question. How are we giving kids an education that will prepare them so that when they exit high school without going on to college, they are ready to be contributors to society through something they are excited about, and they can use a passion to do something meaningful with their life? It’s past due time to reinvent high school. It must more adequately prepare students for their future. Too many students …

Fewer Parents Want to Send Their Kids to College

Keri D. Ingraham
August 15, 2025
There is a growing demand for alternatives to a traditional education as the return on investment in college is plummeting. Combine ever-increasing tuition prices with the reality that only 62% of students who enter a four-year college graduate within six years, and only 40% secure a career in the field of their degree, and this should not be surprising. Fewer parents want to send their children to a four-year college. According to a 2025 report published in The Wall Street Journal, “Nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school, even if there were no obstacles, financial or otherwise.” Furthermore, a growing number of students are not interested in attending college. The Wall Street Journal report also …

Education Freedom Can Now Ring From Sea to Shining Sea

Keri D. Ingraham
July 10, 2025
This Independence Day weekend, American families had increasing reason to celebrate as education freedom is poised to span from the Pacific to the Atlantic, with the possibility of bringing school choice to children in all 50 states for the first time in our nation’s history. The passage of the federal reconciliation bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” includes a modified version of the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), a tax-credit provision providing education scholarships for children across the country from households under 300 percent of the median income of the geographical area, beginning in 2027. Individual taxpayers can contribute to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations and receive a 100 percent nonrefundable tax credit of up …

Video: Is America Doomed to Decline?

Keri D. Ingraham
July 10, 2025
America’s future depends on unlocking its greatest resource: the creativity and potential of its people. Dr. Keri Ingraham explores why education reform is key to renewing our nation at The Believe! Journal. Listen to the full article HERE Read the article HERE …

Is America Doomed to Decline?

Keri D. Ingraham
July 4, 2025
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”The Declaration of Independence With the 250th anniversary of our nation upon us, many are reflecting on the past while also considering the future. What makes America unique? Where is the great American experiment headed? Are our best days behind us? Is America doomed to decline? Despite all America has overcome and achieved in the past, many people hold a pessimistic outlook for our nation’s future. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan delivered a charge to the nation in his Inaugural Address. His words ring resoundingly true today, nearly 45 years later. “It is time …

The Case for Industry-Specific High Schools

Keri D. Ingraham
June 27, 2025
As the price tag of a college degree soars, the perceived value by parents, students, and employers alike is decreasing. A 2024 essay in The Wall Street Journal found, “Nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school, even if there were no obstacles, financial or otherwise.” Additionally, the report noted that two-thirds of high school students believe “they will be just fine without a college degree.”1 Furthermore, the findings of a November 2023 survey revealed that an astonishing 55 percent of US companies eliminated bachelor’s degree requirements for employment eligibility.2 Instead, employers are valuing skills and experience over education. Employers face growing challenges filling specialized jobs …

Texas Grants Gov. Abbott Greater Oversight of Higher Education

Keri D. Ingraham
June 18, 2025
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will soon sign a bill that will empower the appointed governing boards of Texas public universities with greater oversight of the institutions under their charge. This comes at a time when an increasing number of people recognize the need for higher education accountability and reform. The bill directs the governing board of the university to review the “general education” curriculum at least once every five years. The specific purpose is to ensure that four critical qualities are met for the courses. First, the courses are “foundational and fundamental to a sound postsecondary education.” Second, courses are necessary for preparing students for their “civic and professional life.” Third, they equip students for …

“Live Free or Die” State Becomes First Universal School Choice State in the Northeast

Keri D. Ingraham
June 12, 2025
With Governor Kelly Ayotte’s signature on Tuesday, New Hampshire became the first state in the Northeast and the 17th state in the nation to enact universal school choice. New Hampshire joins Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming in empowering all parents statewide with a portion of their children’s education funding to select the K-12 education avenue of their choice. Previously, New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program, which began in 2021, was restricted to only families meeting a certain household income threshold. However, during this legislative session, the state House and the Senate took up separate bills to make all students eligible for the …

It’s Not Just Families Leaving District Public Schools

Keri D. Ingraham
June 6, 2025
There was a mass exodus from district public schools during the prolonged school closures when parents had a front-row seat in their child’s classroom through the remote Zoom sessions. They witnessed the infiltration of radical political agendas and the lack of quality academic instruction. When schools were unresponsive to their concerns, parents who could exit the system for alternative education avenues for their children did so. But it wasn’t just families who left district public schools. Teachers have also found the door. According to a new report from Independent Women, titled “Give Teachers a Break: Cutting Red Tape to Unleash the Potential of America’s Great Teachers,” an astonishing 16% of teachers “left their schools between 2020 and …

The Education Freedom Era Is Underway

Keri D. Ingraham
June 2, 2025
As recent as five years ago, statewide education freedom was a far-fetched idea to most people. Yet, with 16 states signing it into law in four years, it shows what is possible with excellent leadership, political will, and the voices of moms and dads.

Students in Unsafe Schools Must Have Another Option

Keri D. Ingraham
May 15, 2025
Violence has become commonplace in American public schools. This should be extremely concerning because schools with violent offenses are not safe for students, nor conducive to an effective academic learning environment. States must do more.

Texas Passes Universal School Choice

Keri D. Ingraham
April 21, 2025
Very early Thursday morning, by a vote of 85-63, the Texas House passed Senate Bill 2. With Governor Greg Abbott’s signature, Texas will become the 16th state in our nation to enact universal school choice into law.

Fearmongering and Falsehoods Over Education Dept. Shutdown

Keri D. Ingraham
April 1, 2025
Unsurprisingly, there is tremendous fearmongering marked by falsehoods from the opposition regarding President Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Public school personnel are already claiming that special education funding has been cut and that closing the department will devastate their ability to educate students. These claims are unfounded.

It’s Time for States to Reform Teacher Pay and Teacher Certification

Keri D. Ingraham
March 31, 2025
The Trump administration hit the ground running, reforming education in America. Most recently, President Trump signed the “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities” executive order. The order calls for the Secretary of Education to take all steps lawful to move toward closing the U.S. Department of Education and return authority to the states. According to a press release from the Department of Education, among other things, “Teachers will be unshackled from burdensome regulations and paperwork, empowering them to get back to teaching basic subjects.” This is a vital step forward for educators nationwide. However, the teacher education reforms that are needed must not stop there. Recently, Vivek Ramaswamy penned an article for …

Returning Education to the States

Keri D. Ingraham
March 26, 2025
On Thursday, President Trump announced from the East Room in the White House, “We are going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs. And this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it is a common sense thing to do, and it is going to work. Absolutely, it is going to work.” “Today we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making… I will sign an executive order to begin eliminating the Federal Department of Education once and for all.” Continuing, the president said, “Everyone knows it is right. And we have to get our children educated.” Since taking office, 50% of the positions at the department have been cut, which is a reduction of roughly 2,000 federal bureaucrats. Yet, the president was clear that …

President Trump Signs Executive Order to Dismantle Department of Education

Keri D. Ingraham
March 26, 2025
Making good on his campaign promise, President Trump has taken historic action to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Last Thursday, the President signed the “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities” executive order into law. The order directs the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.” According to the associated White House Fact Sheet, the executive order returns “power over education to families instead of bureaucracies.” This is a much-needed change for …