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Facing the Future with Fewer Learners
Enrollment decline lurks behind many conversations in education, fueling concern across the spectrum from early childhood through higher education. After all, many of our systems, institutions, and laws are predicated on the continued growth in students. Enrollment declines in both K–12 and…
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How Missouri Funds Public Schools
This week, the Missouri House Budget Committee approved HB 2, allocating $8.2 billion for elementary and secondary education in the upcoming fiscal year. The committee’s version of the bill also diverges from several of Governor Mike Kehoe‘s early childhood priorities. Specifically, it excludes the Governor’s proposed…
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Executive Order… Now What?
President Trump has signed an executive order directing the closure of the U.S. Department of Education, marking a historic shift in federal education policy. While this move fulfills a longstanding conservative goal of returning education authority to the states, major legal, logistical,…
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Open Enrollment: Debunking the Myths
With the Missouri House recently passing HB 711 (Pollitt), the conversation around open enrollment and the misconceptions have intensified. While some fear this policy will destabilize public schools, the reality is far less dramatic. Open enrollment is a form of public school choice where…
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How school bonds can impact classrooms
Across Kansas and Missouri, voters are being asked to weigh in on school bond proposals that will shape the future of their local schools. From basic facility upgrades to new construction, these bonds are becoming a common tool for districts to modernize classrooms,…
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Quality benchmarking rule receives approval
Today, the Missouri State Board of Education approved a rule formalizing the Quality Assurance Report (QAR) program for early care and education. The QAR program is voluntary, helping early learning providers set benchmarks and improve program quality—not as a punitive…
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The Future of Special Education Funding
As Kansas and Missouri work through their education budgets and consider changes to how they fund schools, special education funding is getting long-overdue attention — and the conversation couldn’t come at a more important time. In Kansas, special education funding is at a crossroads.…
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Reading crisis is real no matter the measure
Following our recent newsletter, some in the education community have raised concerns about our use of NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) data, suggesting that it overstates the number of students struggling with reading. NAEP has its limitations—it’s a national benchmark based on…
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Student achievement on the decline
This week, test results revealed a sobering look at student achievement in the United States. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a nationwide test administered to measure students’ academic performance in the United States. It’s often called the “Nation’s Report…
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Aligned Launches Blog
Aligned believes that informed policy drives stronger education and workforce outcomes. That’s why we’re excited to announce our new Aligned Blog – a space where we will break down the latest education and workforce policy developments in Kansas and Missouri. Our…
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Opinion – Missouri Times
The Missouri Times published an opinion piece this week penned by Tyler Nottberg, Aligned’s co-founder and the Chairman and CEO of Kansas City-based U.S. Engineering, that gives an executive’s perspective on fine-tuning Missouri’s early childhood system. Read below. Build. Solve. Evolve. That’s our motto…
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Operation Breakthrough’s Transformative Pre-K Program
What does an undrivable car have to do with education? Everything, if it keeps a family from taking their child to preschool. Administrators at Kansas City’s Operation Breakthrough, a nonprofit that provides education, health, and parenting services to low-income families,…