The fate of America’s public and private education sectors hangs in the balance as never before. On one hand, hundreds of private schools around the nation have permanently shut their doors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as pundits and politicians openly contemplate the abolition of private education as a long-term goal.
On the other hand, parents have turned to private and grassroots efforts in unprecedented numbers to ensure the continued education of their children in the wake of prolonged campus closures. Terms like “microschools” and “pandemic pods”—describing small groups of students—have vaulted to the forefront of education in America, and prominent state and federal policy proposals have urged that K-12 funding directly support families and students rather than institutions that are unable to meet their needs.
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