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 television outlets, and is a regularly requested podcast guest. Her articles have been published by The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Federalist, Real Clear Education, The Washington Times, The Epoch Times, Washington Examiner, National Review, The American Spectator, Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, The Seattle Times, Puget Sound Business Journal, The Daily Signal, 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

Why Trump Was the Candidate for “Educational Freedom”

Keri D. Ingraham
November 18, 2024
In July, just a few days after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten boasted that the union under her charge was the first to endorse Kamala Harris for president. Weingarten pledged: “The AFT has 1.8 million members—including 450,000 in battleground states. Between now and Election Day, we’re going to give our all to make sure our voices are heard and our members are mobilized. Because when we fight, we win.” No question, Weingarten is a fighter. She fought to keep schools closed, which spanned three school years in some states. However, election night was far from a win for Harris, losing in a landslide to former president Donald Trump, who will become the 47th president of the United States in …

Abbott Set to Deliver on Texas School Choice in 2025

Keri D. Ingraham
November 13, 2024
There was a massive red wave last Tuesday night across the nation, and Texas was no exception. Texas Governor Greg Abbott took to X last week, once again making his commitment to education freedom known: “Parents know their kids better than anyone, & they want to put them on the best path to success.” He continued, “With last night’s election results, we can provide school choice for every Texan.” Less than 90 minutes later, the governor posted a pledge, “Texas will deliver school choice.” Texas, known for freedom, has been an outlier among historically conservative states when it comes to the rights of dads and moms to have education options for their children outside of the public school system. This is despite only 37% of …

ICYMI: A Very Special Day!

Keri D. Ingraham
October 30, 2024
In case you missed it, October 29 was the American Center for Transforming Education’s Annual Special Day of Giving. But it is not too late for you to contribute to this critical work of advancing education freedom, education entrepreneurship and innovation, protecting parental rights, and reforming public education. Donate Today Education freedom is now a reality for millions of students. Yes, millions!  Consider this: As of 2020, less than 500,000 of the more than 52 million K-12 public school students in the U.S. had access to a school choice program, and zero states had K-12 universal or near-universal education freedom. That was less than 1% of students eligible to exit the public education system unless their parents had thousands …

School Choice Creates Enormous Savings for a State

Keri D. Ingraham
October 23, 2024
Democrat lawmakers employ fear tactics claiming school choice will bankrupt their states. It's a massive lie, and they know it. As a recent Wall Street Journal report notes, school choice programs provide enormous savings for a state's budget — savings to the tunes of millions of dollars each year.

The Majority of Kids Would Outgrow Gender Disorders if They Don’t Transition

Keri D. Ingraham
September 9, 2024
On August 26, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1, allowing Florida the ability to enforce a ban on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex reassignment surgeries on minor-age children. The May 2023 law had previously been deemed unconstitutional in June 2024 by a federal district court. Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration appealed the ruling, which has now resulted in victory.

Smartphones Are Killing Kids’ Ability to Concentrate

Keri D. Ingraham and Peter Biles
September 6, 2024
With K-12 schools back in session across the nation, millions of students are adjusting to a new learning environment — a cellphone-free classroom or, in some cases, a phone-free school day. Lawmakers in several states are pushing for such restrictions.

Democrats Are Pro-Choice — But Not When It Comes to Schools

Keri D. Ingraham
August 26, 2024
Clearly, the Democratic Party is all about the right to choose — to be clear, to choose an abortion that ends the life of an unborn child. However, when it comes to the right for parents to choose K-12 education for a child, that is not a freedom the party's leaders care about — even those who attended a private school themselves or sent their children to a private school.

How College Wrecked Productivity and How to Fix It

Keri D. Ingraham, EJ Antoni
August 2, 2024
New survey results reveal that Americans' satisfaction with their customer experiences today has fallen to the lowest level in at least a decade. This decline can be traced to two things: a stagnating level of worker productivity, and an education system failing to impart practical skills to the workforce.

Families With Schoolchildren Should Flee California

Keri D. Ingraham
July 24, 2024
Last week, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 1955, which blocks schools from requiring faculty and staff to notify parents and legal guardians when their minor child attempts to change his or her "gender identity" from that of their born biological sex.

How to Navigate Your Child’s Education

Keri D. Ingraham
July 19, 2024
Recently, I was asked by my alma mater, Regent University, to provide guidance for parents as they navigate their child’s academic journey. As parents, it is your responsibility to protect the heart and mind of your child. You are ultimately responsible for your son’s or daughter’s education. Here is what I shared as originally published in IMPACT.

Louisiana to Become 12th State to Adopt Universal School Choice

Keri D. Ingraham
June 6, 2024
The Louisiana Senate and House have passed a sweeping school choice bill that will reach all families statewide by 2025. The bill will become law with the signature of Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA), a longtime school choice advocate. With his soon-coming signature, Landry will make good on his promise by delivering education freedom to all Louisianans during his inaugural year in office.

Greg Abbott Went to War for School Choice — He Appears to Have Won

Keri D. Ingraham
June 5, 2024
Texas voters made their voices heard at the ballot box last week by ousting from the state House of Representatives Republicans who had voted with Democrats to block school choice for families in the Lone Star State. The Texas House is now positioned to successfully pass a sweeping school-choice bill on behalf of Texas families in the 2025 legislative session.

More Public Charter Schools Are Needed Nationwide

Keri D. Ingraham
May 16, 2024
Parents, children, and supporters of school choice have cause to celebrate this National Charter Schools Week. Charter schools earned the top two spots on a list of the best high schools in America. Yet these tuition-free public schools open to all students are far too few nationwide.

Protests Will Cost Universities in the Long Term

Keri D. Ingraham
May 10, 2024
The campuses of many of America’s once distinguished institutions of higher education have been dominating the news in the past few weeks as pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, and antisemitic protesters scream, chant, incite violence, refuse to vacate their tent cities, and make demands of school administrations. This damaging higher education exposure comes on the heels of the K-12 education “great parent awakening."

College Campus Protests Are a Byproduct of K-12 Education

Keri D. Ingraham
May 7, 2024
Tent encampments, violent protests, and defiant students are taking over the campuses of many of America’s most prestigious higher education institutions. In some cases, Jewish students have been forced to leave mid-semester, classes have been canceled or moved to remote only, and buildings have been barricaded by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Students Soar at Innovative West Michigan Aviation Academy

Keri D. Ingraham
April 4, 2024
The average American annual salary is under $60,000, whereas the average annual salary of pilots is over $188,000 — $128,000 higher. Yet there is a pilot shortage. These positions do not require a college degree but instead specialized training, and the training need not wait until students complete high school.