10/13/26

With school choice, everything old is new again

OCALA, Fla. – In Florida, it’s easy to find choice-enabled approaches to teaching and learning that blend different influences, in...

1 2 3 … 76 Next »

Our Latest

10/13/26

Ron Matus

With school choice, everything old is new again

OCALA, Fla. – In Florida, it’s easy to find choice-enabled approaches to teaching and learning that blend different influences, in...

10/07/26

Lisa Buie

Star Lab named Yass Prize finalist; other Florida schools also win big

An expanding microschool that offers personalized, mastery-based learning to students in a low-income area of Sarasota County won a $500,000...

09/30/26

Lisa Buie

Harvard conference: Ending overregulation is key to ensuring there’s enough education choice to go around

Everything seemed perfect when Alison Rini prepared to open her dream school, one that would give kids an opportunity to...

09/24/26

Lisa Buie

Florida families win key victory in teachers union lawsuit to shut down education choice in the Sunshine State

Families whose children benefit from Florida’s education choice scholarships and charter schools have won an early victory in the legal...

09/21/26

Lisa Buie

National report: Florida a five-time winner in education freedom

For the fifth consecutive year, a national group ranked Florida as the top state in education freedom. The Heritage Foundation,...

09/18/26

Lisa Buie

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship 25 years later: Leaders reflect on education choice's past and debate its future

Florida's education choice movement has transformed learning for millions of families, but the next generation of reforms will require expanding...

09/16/26

Lisa Buie

Arizona school districts follow Florida’s lead in offering learning options to students with education savings accounts

Two years after the first Florida school district made the groundbreaking decision to offer a la carte learning to education...

09/10/26

NextSteps Staff

Former Gov. Jeb Bush joins ed choice champions marking the 25th anniversary of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program

Join The James Madison Institute, Step Up For Students, and Foundation for Florida's Future for a special celebration marking the...

09/08/26

Lisa Buie

What back-to-school looks like 25 years after the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship

As families head back to school this month, this episode centers on how school choice can change daily life for...

09/02/26

Lisa Buie

National policy conference encourages state leaders to adopt Florida’s 'wild schools' education model

ORLANDO, Fla. — The name of a panel discussion at the State Policy Network’s 34th annual meeting was designed to...

08/25/26

Lisa Buie

Florida ed choice scholarships allow a chemical engineer to give up a corporate career and fulfill her ‘true purpose’

You may not know the name Rhode Malivert. But you’re familiar with her work if you ever tasted the caramel...

08/18/26

Ron Matus

Moving to Florida to start a school, thanks to school choice

FREEPORT, Fla. – When Lindy Wood first heard about school choice in Florida, she was living in her home state...

07/28/26

Lisa Buie

PodcastED: Alum kicks off the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program's 25th anniversary with ed choice success story

On this episode, recent college graduate Jasmine Meriedy shares her inspiring journey as a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship recipient and...

07/27/26

Ron Matus

School choice helps a wild school put down new roots in Florida

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – Once they decided to sell their teaching farm in Indiana, Amanda Jo and John Boener knew they...

07/24/26

NextSteps Staff

Panel shares Florida a la carte learning story with lawmakers from across America

Three years after Florida lawmakers established a new education savings account program that empowered parents to customize their children’s education,...

07/23/26

Special to NextSteps

Florida Chamber and Step Further form a strategic partnership

Editor's note: This post was originally published by our partner organization, Step Up, Step Further Scholarship Fund. Florida Chamber of...

07/23/26

Special to NextSteps

AFC Scholarship Fund and Step Up For Students to partner and bring Education Freedom Tax Credit to Florida students and families

Editor's note: This guest post is from our partner organization, Step Up, Step Further Scholarship Fund. Exciting news for Florida...

07/20/26

Lisa Buie

Fifty years of kicks and katas prepare Tampa Bay karate family to open dojo-based co-op

TAMPA, Fla. — A half-century ago, John and Cindy Ingram built a strong reputation emphasizing family. Besides their children, their...

07/14/26

Roger Mooney

Through their books, Max and Gavin want to empower young readers to believe in themselves

Maxwell “Max” Johnson knows something about you. Maybe you know it, too. Maybe not. Either way, Max wants you to...

07/06/26

Lisa Buie

Step Up For Students’ Ron Matus shares Florida success story on Defense of Freedom Institute’s Freedom to Learn podcast

For years, critics of education choice have been saying it will unleash an educational apocalypse in Florida. But what’s unfolding...

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Student & Family Stories

10/13/26

Ron Matus

With school choice, everything old is new again

OCALA, Fla. – In Florida, it’s easy to find choice-enabled approaches to teaching and learning that blend different influences, in...

1 2 3 … 2,076 Next »

09/08/26

Lisa Buie

What back-to-school looks like 25 years after the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship

As families head back to school this month, this episode centers on how school choice can change daily life for...

08/18/26

Ron Matus

Moving to Florida to start a school, thanks to school choice

FREEPORT, Fla. – When Lindy Wood first heard about school choice in Florida, she was living in her home state...

1 2 3 … 1,038 Next »

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Future of Teaching

10/07/26

Lisa Buie

Star Lab named Yass Prize finalist; other Florida schools also win big

An expanding microschool that offers personalized, mastery-based learning to students in a low-income area of Sarasota County won a $500,000...

1 2 3 … 4,613 Next »

07/20/26

Lisa Buie

Fifty years of kicks and katas prepare Tampa Bay karate family to open dojo-based co-op

TAMPA, Fla. — A half-century ago, John and Cindy Ingram built a strong reputation emphasizing family. Besides their children, their...

1 2 3 … 4,613 Next »

10/07/26

Lisa Buie

Star Lab named Yass Prize finalist; other Florida schools also win big

An expanding microschool that offers personalized, mastery-based learning to students in a low-income area of Sarasota County won a $500,000...

07/20/26

Lisa Buie

Fifty years of kicks and katas prepare Tampa Bay karate family to open dojo-based co-op

TAMPA, Fla. — A half-century ago, John and Cindy Ingram built a strong reputation emphasizing family. Besides their children, their...

04/27/26

Lisa Buie

New Florida law offers private schools more relief from zoning rules

A new state law has replaced Florida’s patchwork of local zoning rules that had prevented some small private schools from...

02/20/26

Ron Matus

In this small town, a classical school is rising, and families are signing up in droves

PALATKA, Fla. — All Risa Byrd wanted to do was start a little preschool. That’s it. But then the former...

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...

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