Susan Aud Pendergrass

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Articles

Public Education in Missouri Is Shrinking

Dec 6, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

Since its peak in 2007, Missouri’s public school enrollment has dropped by about 40,000 students. Analyses of trends in private school enrollment and homeschooling in the state suggest that about half of those students switched to a non-public school option. The other half? They weren’t born. The size of Missouri’s kindergarten classes is getting smaller. The birth rate peaked in the state in 2008. Five years later, kindergarten enrollment in the state peaked at nearly 72,000 children.
Where Did the Report Cards Go?

Dec 4, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is an agency in the executive branch that carries out the priorities of the state board of education. It aims to “ensure that all Missouri students have access to high-quality public education and are prepared for college and careers.” In its latest budget request submitted to the governor for the 2025–26 school year, DESE requested $10 billion to carry out this work.
Public Schools without Boundaries with Jude Schwalbach

Dec 3, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jude Schwalbach, policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, about his report Public Schools Without Boundaries: 2024. They discuss how open enrollment policies are reshaping K–12 education by allowing students to attend public schools outside of their assigned districts, examine why Missouri ranks poorly in supporting open enrollment, highlighting significant areas for improvement in the state, and more. Read Jude’s full report here.
Will the New Commissioner of Education Bring More Accountability to Missouri School Districts?

Dec 3, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

I guess we have our answer. On November 25, 2024, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the newest Annual Performance Report (APR) scores under the state’s accountability system—the Missouri School Improvement System (MSIP 6). Each district and school received an APR score based on a variety of factors, including student performance, during the 2023–24 school year.
Homeschooling Trends in Missouri with Collin Hitt

Nov 21, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Dr. Collin Hitt, Executive Director of the SLU PRiME Center and co-author of the paper “Taking Attendance: Estimating Homeschooling Populations in States Without Official Homeschool Data—A Pilot Analysis in Missouri”. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on SoundCloudProduced by Show-Me Opportunity
The Fiscal Effects of School Choice with Marty Lueken

Nov 4, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Martin F. Lueken, director of the Fiscal Research and Education Center at EdChoice, about the findings of his report Fiscal Effects of School Choice: The Costs and Savings of Private School Choice Programs in America through FY 2022. Marty shares insights into how school choice programs have financially impacted state and local budgets across the United States.
How to Reduce Medicare Fraud with Charles M. Silver and David Hyman

Oct 28, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Charles M. Silver, professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and David Hyman, professor at Georgetown Law, about their proposal for reforming Medicare by giving money directly to patients instead of providers. They explain how fraudulent practices like ‘upcoding’ are draining taxpayer dollars, driving up healthcare costs, and offer solutions to reduce fraud and improve efficiency.
What’s So Great about Performance Districts?

Oct 25, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

The state of Missouri provides almost half of the funding for public education (the rest comes from the federal government and local effort). In its latest budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has requested almost $10 billion. With a new governor set to take office, it might be wise to dig into some of the details of this request.
The Scholarship That Wasn’t

Oct 25, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

In addition to the nearly $3 billion in federal relief funding that Missouri received to try to right the public education ship that was knocked of balance by COVID, Governor Parson received $50 million as part of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund. Governors were given wide discretion over how to spend the money, but they had to spend it within one year of receiving it.
$10 Billion Is a Lot of Money

Oct 24, 2024 | showmeinstitute.org | Susan Aud Pendergrass

In a $10 billion budget request that goes on for almost 950 pages, it might be easy to overlook a few hundred million dollars here and there. But there are a couple of line items in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2026 that deserve a closer look. One such item is DESE requesting a much higher than usual increase in the Foundation Formula.