Ron Matus: Innovative Educators in Florida 

Ron Matus, director of policy and public affairs at Step Up for Students, joins Escaping Your Government Assigned School to discuss the tremendous growth in Florida’s scholarship programs and education options.

Step Up for Students administers the state’s scholarship programs and will be serving over 300,000 students this fall. Ron provides specific examples of teachers who left the public school system to create new, innovative education options in Florida.

The schools and microschools they launched serve very different groups of students; one school focuses on autistic students, another provides robust academic and musical instruction to inner city students, and one small school serves rural students.

Several of the Florida educators Ron highlights during our discussion were Teachers of the Year before leaving the K-12 system to form new schools. Ron’s enthusiastic description of these continually-increasing options in the Sunshine State is a joy to behold. Check it out!