Transforming Education to Unlock Lifelong Opportunity and Success for Each and Every Child. Annual Report 2021

Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd). P.O. Box 10691, Tallahassee, FL 32302. Tel: 850-391-4090; Fax: 786-664-1794; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.excelined.org

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Educational Change; School Choice; Public Schools; Private Education; Charter Schools; Educational Finance; Access to Computers; Disadvantaged; Career Readiness; College Readiness; Educational Policy; Emergent Literacy; Access to Education; Educational Environment; Educational Opportunities; Elementary Secondary Education; 21st Century Skills; Achievement Gap; Accountability; Scholarships

Arizona; Connecticut; Florida; Tennessee; Wisconsin; Alabama; Arkansas; Colorado; Iowa; Indiana; Louisiana; Missouri; Kansas; Kentucky; Mississippi; Montana; North Carolina; New Hampshire; Nevada; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Utah; Texas; West Virginia; South Dakota

Despite the myriad of challenges that families, students, teachers and policymakers faced in 2021, the momentum to transform education did not waver. New opportunities for students unfolded in more than a dozen states through expanded private and public school choice. An additional 1.7 million students gained eligibility for private choice alone, and strong investments by states supported learning options, with an impressive total of more than $1 billion for new choice programs and funding for charter schools. States also invested deeply in closing the digital divide and building better workforce training and college acceleration programs. Florida set an example with a comprehensive education-to-workforce package that was supported by ExcelinEd's Pathways Matter policy research and resources. And states continued to strengthen early literacy through policy improvements and new funding totaling $330 million in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Wisconsin alone. This year's annual report touches on state accomplishments; thought leadership highlights; and the 2021 National Summit on Education. Remaining sections focus on providing families with access to the learning environment that best fits their child's needs; ensuring every student has equitable access to the digital superhighway; supporting every student in gaining in-demand skills for lifelong success; guaranteeing every child receives academic support to learn, succeed and achieve their full potential; and fiscal accountability. [For the 2020 report, see ED619617.]

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2022

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