School Leader

Homeschooling surges in Kentucky

Homeschooling is exploding in popularity across the United States and here in Kentucky. COVID-related school closures, mask mandates, and concerns about what students are learning may all be contributing to the exodus of families from t...

Classical education, Montessori, and the tension between the "what" and "how" of learning

In recent years my philosophical thinking about education has focused far more on the how of learning than the what. That is, I've become much less concerned about curriculum and far more concerned about pedagogy as I've been convinced ...

Kentucky nonpublic school enrollment skyrockets

In the last five years, the number of Kentucky students being educated at home or in private schools has grown by more than 26%, to nearly 100,000 children, representing more than 15% of the state's student body. In a report tracking th...

Will charter schools finally come to Kentucky?

The Kentucky legislature has decided to redeem its failure to follow through on its flawed 2017 charter school law by trying again. HB 9 was introduced this week, and if passed as written it will correct a number of important problems wi...

Private schools for the poor, Part II

In my recent post about The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves, I described James Tooley's research revealing a vast network of low-cost private schools in some of the most des...

An exciting week for Kentucky school choice advocates

It's been a exciting week for advocates of expanded school choice in Kentucky with testimony before members of the state legislature, a press conference by Louisville pastors, and a kickoff event for the EdChoice Kentucky coalition. Leg...

The promise - and limitations - of education policy

In my work with aspiring school administrators, I place a heavy emphasis on developing a clear and compelling instructional vision that is mostly impervious to the inevitable shifts and swings in education policy. If the state's testing...