Edchoice Chats

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, host Mike McShane talks with Sonia Park, executive director of the Diverse Charter School Coalition. McShane and Park talk about what they are trying to achieve, the actual practices that go on in these diverse by design charter schools, and also the public policy that's necessary for them to start and grow, and be part of the charter school landscape.

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, Mike McShane talks with Alli Aldis and John Kristof about the September 2023 monthly polling data. What concerns are at the forefront of parents’ minds in these early days of the 2023-24 academic year? The first challenge for today’s school parents may be keeping students in the classroom and off their phones.

The EdChoice state team gives us a summary of all the recent happenings in the states. It's been an exciting month with North Carolina expanding the Opportunity Scholarship. Find out more in the podcast!

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, Mike McShane talks with John Kristof about his new paper Surfing the Pipeline: Understanding Pathways into Teaching in Alternative Models of Schooling. They discuss the many new opportunities that are being made available all across the country with entrepreneurial educators starting up new and different school models such as microschools, hybrid homeschools, and more.

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, we dive into our most recent survey of American teens where we tackled such questions as "How can school leaders and teachers maneuver the emergence of modern technology within the classroom?" and "What can be done to resolve mental health and absenteeism?"

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, host Mike McShane talks with Ron Matus, director of research and special projects for Step Up For Students in Florida, and Lauren May, director of advocacy for Step Up For Students. Matus and May have a new paper called "Why Catholic Schools in Florida are Growing: Five Things You Need to Know." We dive into this paper and the five things we need to know!

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, host Mike McShane talks with Andy Prieto and Mark Strickland of Dade Prep, where they are going to help answer the question, "What's up with Dade Prep?" Dade Prep is a credit recovery secondary school that generally targets older students who have been truant or who have otherwise become disconnected from the education system and helps them with credit recovery, to graduate, and then enter the workforce.

In this edition of EdChoice Chats, we dive into our monthly poll results on education-related issues including public sentiment on the direction of K-12 education, what values parents want schools to teach their children, support for school choice, and more.

Calling all teachers who want to start their own schools! Mike McShane has CEO and founder of Primer, Ryan Delk on the podcast to talk about the work Primer microschools is achieving. Primer gives the top 1% of teachers the tools and preparation needed to launch their own schools, while also allowing their students to set their own pace and pursue their passions.

The Three Languages of School Choice is a starting point for the next wave of educational freedom. For education freedom to truly take hold in the United States, the school choice movement must reclaim its politically multilingual roots and adapt them for today’s political age. In this episode, Mike McShane talks with the paper's author, John Kristof, as well as with Neal McCluskey, Director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, and Gerard Robinson, Professor of Practice in Public Policy and Law at the University of Virginia.

How are schools growing their numbers in staff members without growing the same number in students? Ben Scafidi joins Mike McShane to talk about his recent report, Priorities of State and Local Governments From 1994 to 2022 which highlights the public schools' staffing surge over the years.

“Where do you typically receive information about K-12 education?” The EdChoice Research team asked that question and many others to America’s public and school parents. Listen today to find out the team’s most notable findings.

With the session ending, the EdChoice state team has given us a summary of all the recent happenings in the states. It's been an exciting year for school choice so far with seven states enacting new programs and nine states expanding their existing programs, seven of those nine being nearly universal.

Mike McShane, Colyn Ritter, and John Kristof talk about what's inside Schooling in America, including the data that stood out to them the most.

Mike McShane talks with Kelly Smith, CEO of the Prenda microschools and author of the book, A Fire to be Kindled. The two talk about how Smith started Prenda and the meaning behind his book title.

John Kristof talks with Mike McShane about his new report with Nicole Stelle Garnett at the Manhattan Institute titled, Implementing K–12 Education Savings Accounts Is Really Simple. They talk about the new wave of school choice and the expansion of education savings accounts across the country.

Members of the EdChoice team discuss the recent publication, The 123s of School Choice, an in-depth review of the available research on private school choice programs in America.

If you need a rundown on the latest litigation involving school choice across the states, the EdChoice state team has you covered in this podcast.

In this monthly tracker podcast, EdChoice team members discuss the new question added to the poll about a four day school week while also reflecting on the past school year.

Our own team member and former elementary school teacher, Margo Foster joins the podcast to discuss the results from this month's teacher survey.