01/27/26

Little Flower power

Editor's note: This story is part of our series marking National School Choice Week. We also recognize Catholic Schools Week,...

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Our Latest

01/27/26

Ron Matus

Little Flower power

Editor's note: This story is part of our series marking National School Choice Week. We also recognize Catholic Schools Week,...

01/26/26

Lisa Buie

National School Choice Week and Catholic Schools Week 2026: Let the celebration begin

The time has come when we officially recognize National School Choice Week. However, we at Step Up For Students like to say that every week is National...

01/13/26

Ron Matus

Moving to Florida for a school called Hope

By Ron Matus and Julisse Levy HUDSON, Fla. – In 2022, Joel Hernandez and his wife, Norma Torres, had to...

12/22/25

Roger Mooney

A Man for Others: Jesuit High senior embodies the school's commitment to serve those in need

TAMPA, Fla. — The words on the trophy read “Future Philanthropist,” and Mrs. Finley, who taught fifth grade that year,...

12/19/25

Roger Mooney

For this family, hybrid home education includes a class at the district high school

Each school day at 2:35 p.m., Joshua Jones enters a classroom at Crescent City Junior-Senior High School and settles into...

12/18/25

Roger Mooney

The challenges of attending a private school prepared the Mathis siblings for the challenges of life

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Life, it’s often said, is what happens when you’re making other plans. Tasia Mathis planned on...

12/15/25

Ron Matus

A ‘school of the future’ sprouts in potato country

HASTINGS, Fla. – It’s a safe bet most people don’t think of potatoes when they think of Florida. But the...

12/11/25

Roger Mooney

This experience is fun, exciting, scary: What is appearing on 'Jeopardy!'?

The category is “Lifelong dreams.” These are the clues. Many find this experience fun, exciting, and a little scary. What...

12/10/25

Roger Mooney

Why retire when you can breathe life into your alma mater and save it from closing

HAVANA, Fla. – It was a typical July afternoon in Florida’s Panhandle. The air was hot and sticky, and the sun...

12/08/25

Lisa Buie

Florida schools win big in Yass Prize competition

If anyone needs more proof that the future of education is in Florida, take a look at the winners of...

12/03/25

Roger Mooney

Ed Choice scholarship helps student-athlete navigate the world of Name, Image, and Likeness

CLEARWATER, Fla. — A check recently arrived in the mail for Landon Green, his compensation for the two hours he...

11/24/25

Ron Matus

In Florida, a power tools class is on the à la carte learning menu, too

MIRAMAR, Fla. – Florida’s explosion in à la carte learning has created space for all kinds of new, state-supported educational...

11/17/25

Ron Matus

Florida’s à la carte learning boom: A special report

By David Heroux and Ron Matus In the blink of an eye, à la carte learning in Florida has become...

11/10/25

Roger Mooney

Education choice scholarship a boon for a military veteran and his family

MIRAMAR, Fla. — William Ivins moved his family to South Florida ahead of his retirement from the United States Marine...

11/10/25

Ron Matus

A school, and school choice, brought this family to Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four years ago, Phil and Cathy Watson were distressed and desperate. Their daughter Mikayla, then 12, was born with a rare genetic condition that led to physical and cognitive delays....

11/04/25

Ron Matus

At this microschool, it’s math at the beach and swimming with the sharks

TAVERNIER, Fla. – Every year, millions of students across America learn the foundational concept of place value in math. But...

10/28/25

Roger Mooney

Wait until you hear what Bishop Kenny High sophomore Christopher Trinidad is up to now

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The diagnosis was Entamoeba histolytica, which is an infection caused by ingesting an amoeba that produces fatigue,...

10/27/25

Lisa Buie

As families demand more learning options, Florida schools expand to meet the need

TAMPA, Fla. — Amelia Ramos recalls her oldest child’s first school experience after moving to the Grant Park neighborhood...

10/23/25

NextSteps Staff

Hillsborough superintendent choice could go to voters, Alachua teacher on leave over pronoun preference, and more

10/22/25

NextSteps Staff

Broward schools face $85 million deficit, bill would protect hairstyles in schools, and more

1 2 3 … 449 Next »

Student & Family Stories

01/27/26

Ron Matus

Little Flower power

Editor's note: This story is part of our series marking National School Choice Week. We also recognize Catholic Schools Week,...

1 2 3 … 2,058 Next »

12/22/25

Roger Mooney

A Man for Others: Jesuit High senior embodies the school's commitment to serve those in need

TAMPA, Fla. — The words on the trophy read “Future Philanthropist,” and Mrs. Finley, who taught fifth grade that year,...

12/19/25

Roger Mooney

For this family, hybrid home education includes a class at the district high school

Each school day at 2:35 p.m., Joshua Jones enters a classroom at Crescent City Junior-Senior High School and settles into...

1 2 3 … 1,029 Next »

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Future of Teaching

11/04/25

Ron Matus

At this microschool, it’s math at the beach and swimming with the sharks

TAVERNIER, Fla. – Every year, millions of students across America learn the foundational concept of place value in math. But...

1 2 3 … 4,609 Next »

08/12/25

Special to NextSteps

School choice in Wisconsin: Positive results, less cost

By George Mitchell The parents of nearly 60,000 Wisconsin children choose to enroll them in one of the state’s private...

1 2 3 … 4,609 Next »

11/04/25

Ron Matus

At this microschool, it’s math at the beach and swimming with the sharks

TAVERNIER, Fla. – Every year, millions of students across America learn the foundational concept of place value in math. But...

08/12/25

Special to NextSteps

School choice in Wisconsin: Positive results, less cost

By George Mitchell The parents of nearly 60,000 Wisconsin children choose to enroll them in one of the state’s private...

04/22/25

Matthew Ladner

The inevitable is always certain but not always punctual: self-driving school carpools

Back in 2017, techno-optimist Jason Bedrick made the skeptical Robert Pondiscio a bet on the adoption rate for self-driving cars...

03/26/25

Lisa Buie

Former New York charter school authorization boss brings her tough but fair reputation to Florida

When Florida lawmakers established the first statewide Charter School Review Commission in 2022. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers...

03/17/25

Ron Matus

On track to accelerate as education choice expands

Andrea Leib has long been ahead of the curve. Twenty years ago, the former public school teacher, guidance counselor, and...

03/10/25

Ron Matus

Where kids still play in the woods

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. – Millions of students in American public schools are lucky if they get 30 minutes of recess...

02/04/25

Matthew Ladner

Nation’s Report Card documents continued academic decline

The NAEP released 2024 results last week, and the results continued to disappoint, especially for disadvantaged student groups. While scores...

01/07/25

Matthew Ladner

Growth vs. decline

The Brennan Center has released projections of congressional reapportionment following the 2030 Census. The Brennan Center projects Florida and Texas...

12/18/24

Ron Matus

This educator skipped the traditional teacher route and headed straight into entrepreneurship

DAVENPORT, Fla. – Valeria Oquendo didn’t set out to be an entrepreneur. “Ms. V,” as her students call her, had...

12/17/24

Matthew Ladner

ProPublica goes full Dale Gribble

The television classic “King of the Hill” included a character known as Dale, who despite being a conspiracy theorist is...

12/10/24

Matthew Ladner

Ivy League Plus: Destructive or overrated?

David Brooks has a piece in the Atlantic called How the Ivy League Broke America: The meritocracy isn’t working...

12/04/24

Matthew Ladner

Surpluses are just a party, and parties…

During World War II the British kept a group of stately manors for high-ranking German military prisoners. The British treated...

11/26/24

Lisa Buie

'If you don't innovate, you will stagnate': Florida charter schools urged to evolve

Education is no longer about students sitting in rows of desks from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. And school choice,...

11/13/24

Lisa Buie

Rising parent demand stretches Florida’s Personalized Education Program to its limit for 2024-25

Florida’s scholarship program for K-12 students who don’t attend school full-time has turned on the “no vacancy” sign. The Personalized...

10/15/24

Matthew Ladner

Families adapt to the dysfunctional K-12 system — if they can afford it

Education Next published a piece recently by Holly Korbey called The Tutoring Revolution, which reads in part: Recent research suggests...

06/12/24

Travis Pillow

Florida ranks No. 5 nationally for children's education

Of the 50 states, Florida held the No. 5 spot for education in a national report on child wellbeing released...

06/10/24

Lisa Buie

School field trips making a comeback as education savings accounts allow more opportunities to learn by doing

TAMPA, Florida — The 22 high schoolers at Integrity Tabernacle Christian Academy donned their school T-shirts and left at dawn...

05/29/24

Matthew Ladner

What do parents want? It’s not hard to decipher

EdChoice retained the polling firm Morning Consult to survey a nationally representative sample of more than 1,500 American parents in...

05/20/24

Matthew Ladner

Education major ROI shows the colleges of education should RIP

Preston Cooper, an economist, calculated the return on investment by college major for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity,...

04/22/24

Doug Tuthill

Education Choice and Learning by Doing

After we finished recording an interview about homeschool families using state funds to pay for educational activities at Florida theme...

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