BE BOLD with BOULDEN
Delaware Spends $20,000+ Per Student. So Why Are Our Schools Still Struggling? A Conversation with Brandon Brice
Delaware spends more than $20,000 per student, yet the state continues to struggle with educational outcomes. In this episode of Be Bold with Bolden, I sit down with Brandon Brice, Columnist, Project 21 School Choice Advocate, education reform advocate, founder of Fix the Damn Schools Delaware, and chair of Fair Choice Delaware, for a serious conversation about the state of education in Delaware. Brandon argues that Delaware doesn't simply have a money problem. It has an accountability problem. We discuss Delaware's ranking near the bottom nationally in education recovery, the importance of early childhood development, literacy and math, parental involvement, poverty, fatherhood, teacher and principal autonomy, and the growing disconnect between schools and the communities they serve. We also get into one of the biggest education policy questions facing Governor Matt Meyer: whether Delaware should participate in a federal scholarship tax-credit program that could provide additional educational options for families. Should education funding follow the student or the school building? Can school choice actually improve public education through competition? Are Delaware's schools preparing students for the workforce, the trades, and an increasingly automated economy? And perhaps most importantly, why should a child have to leave their ZIP code to get a quality education? Brice also gives credit to Democrats for recognizing the connection between poverty and education, while arguing that Republicans need to do more to address that issue. He believes education reform should be bigger than partisan politics. As he puts it: “When you have hope, you don't sell dope.” This is a conversation about education, accountability, opportunity, and what Delaware needs to do differently if it wants to stop falling behind.
