Keri D. Ingraham

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.

Dr. Ingraham is a regularly requested guest for national television and podcast interviews, as well as for conference and event speaking engagements. 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, and a host of other media outlets. Her work has been featured by Fox News, referenced in The Wall Street Journal, and cited in countless publications.

Dr. Ingraham has received several invitations to the White House, including from President Trump for the signing ceremony to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, meetings with senior advisors, an education, faith, and public policy summit, multiple education roundtables, and as a guest of the First Lady for the Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force Meeting. She is a featured speaker in a White House video and is quoted on the White House website. Dr. Ingraham has advised Cabinet Members, Governors, and Members of the U.S. Congress.

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 Bachelor of Arts degree was awarded by 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 four chapters in the education policy playbook, Sketching a New Conservative Education Agenda. 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 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

America’s Best Days Are Still Ahead

_{Keri D. Ingraham
July 1, 2026}

This was originally published in The Believe! Journal on July 4th, 2025, with the title: Is America Doomed to Decline? We republish it here for the United States’ 250th birthday, since its message remains relevant and important on this historic anniversary. “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 …

Appalachia’s Opportunity Gap Is an Education Gap — and It’s Time to Fix It

_{Keri D. Ingraham
June 26, 2026}

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 …

The New Department of Education Agreements That Just Gave More Power to the People

_{Keri D. Ingraham
June 17, 2026}

Today, the Department of Education announced four additional interagency agreements as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to return education to the states. In typical fashion, the teachers’ unions and their political allies immediately attempted to spread fear, claiming that federal protections are being eliminated, a claim with no basis in reality. Instead, it’s yet another strategic step to reduce unnecessary federal bureaucracy, improve services, and move education decisions closer to the students, families, and communities they affect most. The first agreement establishes a partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. …

Parents Should Replace Screen Time With Books This Summer

_{Keri D. Ingraham
June 15, 2026}

The Second Lady, Usha Vance, recently unveiled a Summer Reading Challenge for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Designed to combat the learning loss that often occurs during the summer months, the initiative encourages children to spend their break immersed in books rather than disconnected from learning. Children who choose to participate will read 12 books between now and September 4. Those who successfully submit their reading log will receive a certificate of completion, a personalized letter from the Second Lady, an America 250-themed bookmark, and an opportunity to win a trip to Washington, D.C. As a mother of three young children and expecting her fourth, Vance understands firsthand the importance of reading. She recently shared that reading is a daily part of …

A Path Out of the Education Woods in Appalachia

_{Keri D. Ingraham
June 11, 2026}

For decades, the Appalachian region of America has been the subject of political promises, federal programs, philanthropic funding, and endless so-called solutions. Despite trillions of dollars in government spending and generations of outside intervention, the majority of Appalachian communities continue to struggle with poverty, addiction, outmigration, economic stagnation, and weak educational outcomes. Appalachia has long been given “the wrong kind of attention,” according to Garrett Ballengee, president and CEO of the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy. Under Ballengee’s leadership, the Center for Appalachian Renewal is committed to creating a brighter future for people, not another generation of paternalistic programs or distant experts managing …

Center for Appalachian Renewal Launches to Transform Education & Create Opportunity

_{Keri D. Ingraham
May 28, 2026}

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 a 2017 interview, Vance acknowledged …

Dismantling the Department of Education Is Happening

_{Keri D. Ingraham
May 20, 2026}

It’s been just over one year since President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and return authority to the states. It was a historic day to take the first step toward stopping the status quo of pouring astronomical amounts of money and layering on more and more federal bureaucracy, without improving learning. Education is intended to be governed at the state and local level. While it will take votes in Congress to fully eliminate the Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary Linda McMahon, much progress has already occurred in downsizing it. For example, $2 billion in funds that supported radical ideologies have been cut, staffing has been downsized nearly 50%, and it announced it will move into a smaller, more …

The Missing Ingredient in Education Is Meaningful Choice

_{Keri D. Ingraham
May 20, 2026}

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 …

Trump Administration Taps Treasury to Fix Student Loan Failures

_{Keri D. Ingraham
April 7, 2026}

For decades, the Department of Education has operated the federal student loan system on autopilot, continually expanding its size, complexity, and cost. The result is a $1.7 trillion portfolio — nearly twice the size of all university endowments combined and larger than JPMorgan Chase’s loan portfolio, the nation’s largest bank — yet it operates without the financial expertise, transparency, or accountability a system of this scale requires. The Department of Education reports that fewer than 40 percent of borrowers are in repayment, and nearly a quarter of borrowers are in default. While not designed to function as a bank, the Department of Education has been managing what is effectively the fifth-largest financial institution in the United States. A course …

Schools Should Educate Children, Not Train Activists

_{Keri D. Ingraham
April 6, 2026}

America’s public education system has drifted dangerously far from its core mission. Schools exist to educate children — to teach them how to read, write, think critically, and understand the world around them. But across the country, many classrooms are increasingly focused on something else entirely. They are bent on turning students into political activists. Schoolchildren participating in anti-ICE drills and protests are the latest example of political propaganda forced on kids during the school day. In New York, footage shows a preschool encouraging children to talk about how they feel about ICE and President Trump — obviously based on the so-called education they have received from their teacher. In Boston, a teacher posted a video online showing her elementary …

Parents Are Gaining More Control in Education and the Results Are Hard to Ignore

_{Keri D. Ingraham
April 2, 2026}

Across the country, policymakers have long assumed that boosting K-12 funding is the surest path to better student outcomes. Yet decades of rising spending have proven otherwise. The missing ingredient is not money — it’s meaningful choice. Florida provides one of the clearest examples. In 2001, the state launched a modest tax-credit scholarship program to help low-income students access alternative educational options. Roughly 15,000 students participated in the program’s first year. Today, Florida’s school choice ecosystem serves over 500,000 students across multiple programs, giving families options tailored to their children’s needs. Critics long warned that policies empowering parents with educational options for their children harm public schools and …

One-Year Anniversary of a Historic Executive Order

_{Keri D. Ingraham
March 31, 2026}

It’s been one year since President Trump signed the historic executive order, “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities.” At the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025, the President directed U.S. 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.” The stated purpose and policy of the executive order reads: “Our Nation’s bright future relies on empowered families, engaged communities, and excellent educational opportunities for every …

Attending the White House St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

_{Keri D. Ingraham
March 25, 2026}

It was an honor to attend the White House St. Patrick’s Day celebration as a guest of President Trump on March 17. The event brought together leaders from across the United States and Ireland. Among the guests were Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife, Mary O’Shea, Cabinet members, Agency Administrators, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, policymakers, media voices, and cultural leaders shaping the future of both nations. Being invited by the President was especially meaningful as the reflection on the life of Saint Patrick holds deep meaning. The White House has reminded Americans that “More than 1,600 years ago, Saint Patrick ventured through the emerald fields and ancient valleys of Ireland to introduce the …

The Education Department Is Shrinking

_{Keri D. Ingraham
March 20, 2026}

The U.S. Department of Education has spent more than $3 trillion since 1980, with little to show for it. Reading and math scores have barely budged, achievement gaps remain, and too many families are trapped in a system that fails their children. On March 20, 2025, President Trump took decisive action by signing an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the department and return authority to the states. A year later, the results are striking. The department has overhauled operations — cutting nearly half its staff, reducing administrative layers, and consolidating offices. Grants have been streamlined, programs merged, reporting reduced, and oversight of the $1.6 trillion student-loan portfolio shifted to a more capable agency. Critics …

Parents — Not Schools — Must Be in Charge of Their Children

_{Keri D. Ingraham
March 17, 2026}

Earlier in March, the U.S. Supreme Court had to step in and reaffirm the basic reality that parents, not schools, must be the primary decision-makers for their children. In the Mirabelli v. Bonta ruling, the Court determined that the California law, which barred schools from telling parents about their child’s claimed gender identity, violated parents’ constitutional rights — both their First Amendment free exercise rights and their Fourteenth Amendment rights to make decisions about their children’s upbringing. For most of American history, parents were recognized as the primary authority in their children’s lives. Today, that authority is repeatedly under attack, especially in public schools. Across the country, families are being shut out of what their …

A School Choice Breakthrough That Costs Taxpayers Nothing

_{Keri D. Ingraham
March 13, 2026}

What if you could help a child receive a better education at no cost to yourself? Beginning in 2027, Americans will be able to do exactly that. Under the Education Freedom Tax Credit, taxpayers can contribute up to $1,700 annually to approved scholarship-granting organizations and, in return, receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit. Every dollar donated will be offset against the taxpayer’s debt to the federal government. Enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law on Independence Day last year, the policy establishes the first federal tax-credit scholarship program in U.S. history. Many states already have successful state-level tax-credit scholarship programs that can serve as a proof of concept. Nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations such …

A Renewed Vision for American Education

_{Keri D. Ingraham
March 2, 2026}

American public education has lost sight of its purpose. Too often, progressive political agendas take time away from teaching core academic learning to children. A glaring example is the anti-ICE agenda that has infiltrated classrooms, where students are encouraged — and even instructed — during learning time to make signs and stand on street corners to protest during the school day. Many of these children have little to no accurate understanding of the issue and have not been given objective facts or context to evaluate it critically. Instead of learning to think for themselves, students are guided toward a particular political viewpoint. This undermines critical thinking, erodes intellectual development, and wastes precious learning time that should be spent on core academic …

Trump Administration Takes Action to Supercharge America’s Talent Pipeline

_{Keri D. Ingraham
January 30, 2026}

America’s workforce crisis is leaving too many young people and adults on the sidelines. According to Nick Moore, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education, “more than one in ten young people aged 16-24 are disconnected from both school and work, while many adults face barriers to reentry due to credential opacity, benefits cliffs, or misalignment between education and employer needs.” This reality underscores the need for a workforce system that delivers clear pathways to skills, credentials, and employment. Thankfully, the Trump administration is taking decisive action to address this through multifaceted measures that merge education and workforce development programs that will provide a …

Why Governors Are Opting-In to School Choice at Record Speed

_{Keri D. Ingraham
January 27, 2026}

It’s National School Choice Week in America, and the advancement of education freedom is sweeping the country. Governors are opting-in their states to the new federal tax credit scholarship at rapid rates. The scholarship allows taxpayers to contribute up to $1,700 per year to a qualified non-profit scholarship-granting organization and receive a nonrefundable dollar-for-dollar tax credit. Organizations like ACE Scholarships award scholarships to K-12 students. Federal tax credit scholarships can be used for a variety of educational expenses, including tuition, fees, books, tutoring, transportation, and services for students with special needs. The landmark legislation was fittingly signed into law on Independence Day last year by President Donald …

Competition Coming for the SAT, ACT, AP, and International Baccalaureate

_{Keri D. Ingraham
January 21, 2026}

For far too long, K-12 education has been dominated by monopolies — the public education system, state standardized testing, the SAT and ACT college entrance exams, Advanced Placement, and the International Baccalaureate program. The result has been soaring educational costs, declining quality, and a lack of innovation, all to the detriment of students nationwide. But one company, Classic Learning Test, is bent on bringing competitive alternatives to break up those monopolies, which have been watered down in quality and infused with woke ideologies. The Classic Learning Test (CLT) “exists to reconnect knowledge and virtue by providing meaningful assessments and connections to seekers of truth, goodness, and beauty.” To the surprise of many, the CLT isn’t just for …