ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ron Matus
My background story
What I did before joining Step Up For Students
What do I do on my day off?
How to reach out?
05/28/24 | Ron Matus
This former public school teacher created her own school. Now she’s ‘100 percent free.’
JUPITER, Fla. — When you start your own school, you make the rules. You can even bring your dog. The Andersen Academy serves 16 middle school students, nearly all...
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01/25/24 | Ron Matus
Blazing Stars, blazing trails
DADE CITY, Fla. – LaTania Scott and Kameeka Shirley were former public school teachers who wanted something different when they opened their own school in January 2023. Something … authentically...
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10/23/23 | Ron Matus
A sweet example of education unbundling
MOORE HAVEN, Fla. – Education choice enthusiasts talk a lot about ESAs and part-time enrollment and “unbundling.” They are some of the keys to the future of public education. Millions...
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10/16/23 | Ron Matus
A school in the woods where the sky’s the limit
SEBRING, Fla. – See that sweet building built around that cluster of moss- and fern-draped oaks? In Florida, we call that a school cafeteria. On the day I visited The...
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10/02/23 | Ron Matus
The school these parents wanted didn’t exist, so with school choice, they created it
Florida is a hotbed for classical education. It’s home to at least 15 classical charter schools and dozens of classical private schools, including many that are classical Christian schools. Those...
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03/13/23 | Ron Matus
Video: With rural school choice, a pearl of a school
Editor’s note: This is the third video in our series on school choice in rural areas. You can check out the first two here and here. And you can see...
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01/05/23 | Ron Matus
South Florida’s education renaissance is about more than schools
MIRAMAR, Fla. – Broward County isn’t one of the locales featured in “The Geography of Genius: Lessons from the World’s Most Creative Places.” But if author Eric Weiner is game...
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12/23/22 | Ron Matus
Best of 2022: School choice in Florida’s most rural county
Editor’s note: In keeping with our year-end tradition, the team at reimaginED reviewed our work over the past 12 months to find stories and commentaries that represent our best content...
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12/08/22 | Ron Matus
Video: School choice at work in rural America
Editor’s note: This video spotlights another rural private school that caters to school choice students and is changing lives and communities for the better. To learn more about how...
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12/06/22 | Ron Matus
School choice in Florida’s oyster country
Editor’s note: This distinctive high school in the Florida Panhandle is another compelling example of how education choice manifests in rural areas, contrary to myths perpetuated by choice opponents in...
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11/29/22 | Ron Matus
Special report: Separating fact from fiction about rural school choice
Editor’s note: The Step Up For Students team of Ron Matus, director, policy and public affairs, and Dava Hankerson, director, enterprise data and research, provides an overview in this post...
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11/14/22 | Ron Matus
GOOOOOOOAL!!! South Florida soccer school blazing another path for school choice
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Danny Villegas knew that if South Florida wanted to develop the kind of elite soccer talent found in Europe, it would have to offer more than...
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11/02/22 | Ron Matus
School at the beach? Why not?
DANIA BEACH, Fla. – While millions of American students sat in rows of desks under fluorescent lights, 40 kids in Take Root Forest School began their day in a state...
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10/04/22 | Ron Matus
This gifted student could use flexibility in education choice
WILLISTON, Fla. – When Misty Dodd’s daughter Taelyr was in third grade, her teachers told Dodd that “Tae” needed to be in a school with more rigor. Tae, now 13,...
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09/26/22 | Ron Matus
This rural homeschool co-op found out: If you build it, they will come
WAUCHULA, Fla. – Sandra Shoffner dreamed of starting a homeschool co-op, but she never imagined the reception it would get when it finally happened. Dozens of parents attended the first...
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09/21/22 | Ron Matus
Special report: Why teachers are switching from public to private schools
Editor’s note: The Step Up For Students team of Ron Matus, Amy Stringer and Ronda Dry, as part of an ongoing effort to document the positive effects of education choice...
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09/19/22 | Ron Matus
This family needs education choice for all its children, not just some
CHIPLEY, Fla. – The Hay family represents two compelling education choice stories at once: Education choice works in rural areas, and It’d work even better if everyone had the means...
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08/23/22 | Ron Matus
Special report on teacher entrepreneurs: Leaving a classroom, starting a school
Editor’s note: This report was compiled by Ronda Dry, Lauren Barlis, Paula Nelson and Ron Matus at Step Up For Students, and Mike McShane and James Shuls with EdChoice. Five...
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