Donald Trump appears poised to make good on his campaign pledge to dismantle the Department of Education. The president-elect's frustration with the wayward direction of federal education is understandable — and shared by millions of Americans. But shuttering the Department of Education won't change that direction. So let's make a promise to America's kids first.
The new administration ought to create a “Kids First” education plan that empowers students, parents, and teachers — rather than administrators and bureaucrats — and prioritizes real-world academic achievement over the failed pedagogies of the past.
When Jimmy Carter established the Education Department in 1979, U.S. schoolchildren were ranked first in the world for academic proficiency. Since then, we’ve fallen to 24th place.
Despite billions in federal education spending — including huge sums thrown at “COVID learning loss” — only one in three fourth-graders is currently reading at grade level. Students of color are faring even worse. According to government data, just one in 10 African-American eighth graders can do grade-level math.
We owe it to the children of America to change course.
A decade ago, as a mom looking for options for my own two daughters, I set out to reimagine education. My company has opened eight schools across the country that focus on student outcomes, personalized learning and life skills. I've seen firsthand that it's possible to transform education, even for disadvantaged students.
Our school in Brownsville, Texas, near the Mexican border, is attended by many first-generation Americans who came to us in the 31st percentile. After just one academic year of personalized learning, they have catapulted to the 84th percentile.
Make Education Noble Again
Right now, teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. More than half are considering leaving the profession, according to the National Education Association.
Schools can't successfully prepare students for the real world without well-paid, highly motivated teachers, any more than a tech company can succeed without skilled programmers or a military can succeed without trained, disciplined troops.
Paying teachers more doesn't have to mean higher overall spending. Teachers and students alike suffer from bloated bureaucracies. Chicago Public Schools will spend over $30,000 per student this year. Over half of that money never makes it to the classroom, according to an analysis from nonprofit research organization Wirepoints, and instead goes to oversized district offices and administrators.
Attracting and retaining top teachers is the first step to any successful education reform. Redirecting some of the Department of Education's $80 billion budget to boost pay while cutting bureaucratic overhead would ensure teachers don’t have to get second jobs to support their families.
Make Education Collaborative Again
Education policymakers need to stop treating parents like they’re enemies of the state. Studies show that parental involvement leads to higher achievement and better socio-emotional outcomes. Schools need to make parents partners, not adversaries.
While we’re at it, let’s stop spending time, money, and resources on divisive social issues in our schools. A majority of U.S. kids can’t do grade-level math. Let’s focus on learning, life skills, and job readiness — the requirements kids need to live independent, successful lives.
Make Education Personal Again
Centuries ago, before the advent of public schools, education often meant a student would learn one-on-one, or in a small group, from a hired tutor.
The rise of mass education made such one-on-one personalized learning impossible. But now, thanks to AI-powered tools, tens of millions of students could plausibly receive hyper-personalized instruction by the end of President Trump’s term.
Such tools can lean into students’ personal interests. For instance, they may be able to better understand math concepts through studying NFL stats, Taylor Swift album sales, or Jurassic-era carbon dating.
A Harvard study showed that students scored higher in physics and were more engaged with an AI tutor than when learning from Harvard PhDs. While we never want to trade flesh-and-blood teachers for impersonal bots, let’s embrace the tools of the future with proper guardrails for student and teacher success.
Make Education Great Again
Rather than rushing to dismantle the Department of Education, the new administration can set generations of American kids up for success by first developing a bold blueprint for the future. We can support all schools — public, private, charter, home school, and microschool — without pushing a political agenda. And we can reassure the nation that Pell grants will be preserved, low-income school districts assisted, special needs supported, and civil rights defended.
Our kids are counting on us to get this right.
