Foremost among them: expanding career and technical education.

Andy Smarick, a senior fellow at the conservative , scoured the websites of all 72 major-party candidates in 2022鈥檚 gubernatorial races. In all, he found 27 education issues supported by at least one candidate.

The data suggest clear partisan divides: Among Democrats, the top two issues mentioned were increasing K-12 funding and expanding Pre-K. Among Republicans, it was school choice and curricular reform.

But one issue rounded out the top three among both Democrats and Republicans: CTE. Along with greater funding, it was mentioned more frequently than any other topic. In all, 30 candidates, or 42%, featured it on their websites.

Higher funding held a distant fourth place for Republicans, far below CTE. An equal percentage of GOP candidates 鈥� 22% 鈥� expressed support for charter schools and better reading instruction.

Smarick, a member of the University of Maryland System’s Board of Regents who has also served as chair of the state鈥檚 Higher Education Commission and president of its State Board of Education, said he wasn鈥檛 surprised to find CTE hold such a prominent place.

鈥淪o many people have pushed for so long for a 鈥榗ollege for all鈥� mentality, which was good and important, that now a lot of elected officials are saying we also have to do something on certificates and certifications and apprenticeships鈥� and other career-driven outcomes.

He also noted that many college-going students don鈥檛 end up with a four-year degree. 鈥淪o state legislators and governors have to think in terms of 鈥楬ow do we serve all of these adults?鈥欌��

The findings resonate with those of a survey released earlier this month that found Americans now want K-12 education to focus on 鈥減ractical, tangible skills鈥� such as managing one鈥檚 personal finances, preparing meals and making appointments. Such outcomes now rank as Americans鈥� No. 1 educational priority.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is already signaling that CTE is a priority: Last week he previewed the administration鈥檚 鈥淩aise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success鈥� initiative, which seeks to overhaul secondary education with an eye toward granting students the skills and credentials necessary to enter college or the workforce after 12th grade. 

Designed in concert with First Lady Jill Biden as well as the secretaries of commerce and labor, it urges colleges to offer dual-enrollment coursework to high school juniors.

The National Student Clearinghouse has estimated that the number of students with 鈥渟ome college, no credential鈥� in 2020 grew to , roughly the .

It may be a surprise, then, that while 28% of Democratic candidates in Smarick鈥檚 analysis mentioned expanding community college, not a single Republican did.

Big differences between incumbents, challengers

Smarick also broke out mentions between incumbents and challengers, finding that non-incumbent Democrats discussed several issues that no incumbent did: One in four articulated what he called an 鈥渁nti-school choice position,鈥� and more than one in five argued for less school testing.聽

He theorized that perhaps these challengers 鈥渂elieved taking these positions would help them win primaries and garner support of teachers鈥� unions.鈥�

Likewise, 38% of Republican non-incumbents expressed support for charter schools, while not a single Republican incumbent did. Non-incumbents were about twice as likely as incumbents to say they supported school choice more generally (81% to 40%). Smarick suggested that this is because these non-incumbents, like their Democratic counterparts, were also focused on winning primaries and earning the support of base voters who support more ideological causes.

Incumbents, he said, zeroed in on more practical day-to-day issues like early childhood and funding and, in red states, expanding the number of choices available to families. 鈥淚t just seems like once you’ve been in office for a while, a lot of these incumbents realize that lots of families like their traditional public schools and they want to make sure that they’re well-funded.鈥�

That may especially be true of schools in the 鈥淐OVID era,鈥� he said, which need extra funding so students can recover academically. 

More broadly, Smarick said, public opinion polls consistently show that the public 鈥渓ikes the idea of well-funded schools. So it’s not really a surprise that incumbents, including Republicans, put that on their list of things that they want to make sure they accomplish.鈥�

Harvard University education scholar Martin West, a co-author of the annual public opinion survey on school issues, said the differences between incumbents and non-incumbents are 鈥渇ascinating鈥� and suggest that 鈥渢he experience of running a state school system, or perhaps the responsibility of having run one, has a moderating effect on candidates鈥� views.鈥�

He also noted that the striking differences in positions taken by Democrat and Republican candidates are consistent with the most recent EdNext findings showing greater partisan polarization overall.

Blue state, red state, swing state divides

When it came to the states candidates were vying to lead, Democratic nominees didn鈥檛 offer many surprises: Those in blue states supported traditional 鈥渉igher-dollar鈥� initiatives such as expanding pre-K and community college, and raising K-12 funding levels and teacher pay. And while blue-state Democrats talked about investments in community college and university systems, swing-state Democrats were much more likely to discuss CTE.

As for Republicans, red-state GOP candidates were actually less likely to advocate for more red-meat Republican positions such as a parents鈥� bill of rights or measures to block so-called critical race theory in the classroom. Just one in five GOP nominees in red states advocated for these policies, fewer than in blue or swing states.

Perhaps most striking: In blue states, more than half of GOP nominees took a pro-charter position, but in red states, not a single GOP nominee did. They were also four times more likely to advocate for more K-12 funding than their blue-state GOP counterparts.

Smarick said that perhaps red-state GOP nominees saw less of a need than their blue-state counterparts to fret about instructional crises in schools 鈥� or that perhaps their states鈥� public schools perform well enough to lessen the need to advocate for school-choice and charter reforms.

But it may also suggest a kind of 鈥渞emarkable鈥� generational change around charter schools, he said.

鈥淚f we go back 10, 15, 20 years ago, lots of Republican candidates were more willing to talk about charter schools than school choice,鈥� Smarick said. 鈥淣ow it seems to have flipped.鈥�

And since many of those pro-school-choice Republicans won their races, he said, 鈥渋n red states, we’re going to see the tax credits, more ESA [Education Savings Account] stuff. And this is different than it was, certainly, a generation ago.鈥�

Overall, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Republicans in Smarick鈥檚 analysis talked about supporting school choice, while just one Democrat, Pennsylvania鈥檚 Josh Shapiro, mentioned it.

When it came to how these issues played out, Smarick found a few surprises: Increasing K-12 funding was a 鈥渢op-five鈥� issue among winners in blue, swing, and red states.

Matt Hogan, a partner at the Democratic polling firm , said he wasn鈥檛 surprised. He said Impact鈥檚 polling has consistently shown that increasing K-12 funding 鈥渋s very popular and its continued popularity is consistent with voters鈥� desire a focus on bread-and-butter issues when it comes to education, rather than engaging in culture war fights.鈥� 

For Democrats, Harvard鈥檚 West noted, the push for more K-12 funding was paired with expanding Pre-K and community college, two investments 鈥渨ith which K-12 funding will have to compete.鈥� That may help to explain why states that switch from Republican to Democratic control have traditionally on K-12 schools, he said.

In the end, what might be most significant in Smarick鈥檚 findings is what鈥檚 not mentioned: teacher shortages. They got 鈥渕inimal attention鈥� from candidates, with just three of 72 even mentioning the issue.

鈥淚 kept looking through these websites, expecting half or three-quarters of candidates to talk about it, and they just didn’t,鈥� Smarick said.

Though the issue was , 鈥淚t was the dog that didn’t bark鈥� on candidates鈥� websites. 鈥淲hich makes you think maybe we ought to take a look at what’s happening in states as opposed to just following national narratives about education policy.鈥�

Offered the job by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, Carvalho in private, then presided over a televised school board meeting that featured three hours of supporters all but begging him to stay. In the end, Carvalho remained.

greeted the move in Miami, but it didn鈥檛 go over so well in New York, home to the nation鈥檚 largest school district: Eric Phillips, de Blasio鈥檚 press secretary, , 鈥淲ho would ever hire this guy again?鈥�

Four years later, Phillips has his answer: Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation鈥檚 second-largest school system.

The drama of the hire was underscored by Pedro Noguera, dean of the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, who likened the move to 鈥�LeBron coming to the Lakers.鈥� But Los Angeles offers only the most recent example of an oversize personality with huge ambitions taking over a district鈥檚 top job. Right now, all three of the nation鈥檚 largest school systems are run by energetic reformers, a rarity even in big-city schools circles.

All of them greet Spring 2022 full of promise 鈥� and problems. Over the next few years, they鈥檒l enjoy unprecedented funding as taxpayers throw billions of dollars at schools to scrub away deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But all three districts are rapidly losing students. And unions, emboldened by 2021 victories around remote instruction and, in recent years, high-profile strikes, could be formidable obstacles to their priorities. In Chicago, new schools CEO has already faced down a citywide teacher walkout.

In addition to Carvalho and Martinez, who are both immigrants, New York City Mayor Eric Adams in December named , the founder of a small network of public boys鈥� schools, as the new school chancellor. Banks鈥檚 schools have stood out for, among other reasons, employing many male teachers of color.

All three 鈥渄efinitely seem reform minded, which I think is super exciting and a real breath of fresh air,鈥� said , superintendent of the Catholic independent Partnership Schools network. 

鈥淚 think it really speaks to the moment we’re at as we’re coming out of COVID,鈥� she said. The pandemic 鈥減rovided an uncomfortable reminder鈥� of the need for leaders who will put children鈥檚 needs first. 

Billions in new funding 鈥� until 2024

Martinez, Chicago鈥檚 new schools CEO, is of Chiefs for Change, a group that advocates for increased school choice, effective teacher preparation, and standards-aligned curricula. But it also rails against 鈥渙nerous bureaucracy鈥� in schools. That credo will certainly be challenged by the sheer scale of federal intervention: some in COVID-related relief since 2020.

In New York, state lawmakers in 2021 increased funding to New York City by nearly half a billion dollars. By next year, a lawsuit settled last year to equalize urban school funding could bring that to $1 billion, said president of Bank Street College and New York City鈥檚 former senior deputy chancellor. 鈥淪o there is a significant infusion of new dollars into the school system that can be used to dig into systemic issues. And that’s very rare.鈥�

As in districts large and small elsewhere, the three leaders are 鈥渁ll drinking from a firehose鈥� of funding, said of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. But that also places extra responsibility on them: 鈥淣o one can blame lack of funding as their excuse for not getting things done,鈥� she said.

But unless Congress acts, all that extra funding will run out in 2024. None of the three new leaders agreed to be interviewed for this piece.

, who leads the AASA, the nation鈥檚 school superintendent鈥檚 association, said many leaders are using the cash to upgrade facilities. But spending it on generous raises or new instructional positions could actually put them at odds with unions, since those jobs won鈥檛 be sustainable.

鈥淭he financial cliff is only two years away,鈥� he said.

A 鈥榝riend of charters back at the helm鈥�

A product of New York City鈥檚 public schools, Banks cut his teeth founding and the network of five unionized Eagle Academy public schools in New York City and Newark.

While the schools aren鈥檛 charters, Banks has said he supports charter schools. He told in December that families 鈥渁re desperate for quality seats, quality schools 鈥� And if the traditional public schools were offering that, you wouldn鈥檛 see such a mass rush to the charter schools.鈥�

Banks created the Eagle Academy schools to serve academically struggling boys of color in grades six through 12 who often face harsh discipline. As chancellor, he said, his first priorities are to expand early childhood education, improve career pathways for older students, and to combat students鈥� trauma.

, president of the United Federation of Teachers, the city鈥檚 union, has known Banks for years. 鈥淚’ve been at his schools and I found them to be quite well-run,鈥� he said. All the same, running the largest school district in the nation will force him to tame the city schools鈥� 鈥渕ammoth bureaucracy.鈥� 

The last two mayors have restructured the school system six times, Mulgrew said. 鈥淎nd every time, all they did was add another layer.鈥�

In his , Banks on March 2 acknowledged that many families have 鈥渄ecided to vote with their feet, and to say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to find other alternatives and other choices for our children.鈥欌�� 

He promised an overhaul of the bureaucracy, including requiring district superintendents to reapply for their jobs. And he took direct aim at the way many schools teach reading, criticizing a method developed by a Columbia University Teachers College professor that 鈥渉as not worked鈥� with many children. He promised to shift to a method that emphasizes explicit phonics instruction, among other changes.

Banks has also said he鈥檇 like to transform city schools from the bottom up by handing to 鈥減rincipals who know what they鈥檙e doing,鈥� according to the speech. He also wants to tweak how standardized tests are used, allowing students to show they鈥檝e mastered content in other ways.

His ascendance stands in contrast to previous leaders who have looked suspiciously on the charter sector. New York actually caps the number of charter schools statewide at 460, with just 290 allowed for nearly 1 million students in New York City. While it鈥檇 take a state-level change to allow more, choice advocates said Banks can eloquently make the case.

鈥淚t feels to me like this is the moment where we can really see that there is a friend of charters back at the helm of New York City schools, which I think is really great to see, and I know is probably sending some shockwaves,鈥� said Porter-Magee.

So far, at least, Banks hasn鈥檛 forcefully pushed to lift the cap, in December, 鈥淲e want to scale excellence. So if that means opening a few more charter schools, that’s what we’re going to do … if we can get the state to approve it.鈥� But he said he鈥檚 also encouraging the philanthropic community 鈥渢o lean in on the traditional public school system, because at the end of the day, most of our children will continue to go to our traditional public schools.鈥�

Enrollment downturns

Carvalho, who led Miami-Dade schools for 14 years, has been able to compete with charters by creating centralized data systems that allowed him to keep track of students鈥� academic progress better than most big-city leaders during the pandemic, Rees said. 

A Portuguese immigrant, Carvalho grew up in Miami and worked restaurant and construction jobs early on. He came up through the ranks in Miami-Dade, starting out as a high school science teacher and becoming a new breed of area leader: one who sticks around. Before he took the top job in 2008, Miami-Dade 鈥渨as a revolving door for superintendents coming and going,鈥� Domenech said.

Sticking around paid off. In 2012, the district won the coveted $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education, which recognizes school districts that have shown academic improvement while narrowing the achievement gap. More recent findings from the district鈥檚 Office of Academics and Transformation paint a : While Black students鈥� graduation rates rose from 62.4 percent in 2011 to 85.6 percent in 2020, just 40 percent of Black students in 2019 were proficient in reading; 44 percent were proficient in math. 

With parents clamoring to remediate lost instructional time during the pandemic, Domenech said Carvalho brought in 鈥渁 very creative鈥� program that contracted with camps to provide summer school.

Carvalho鈥檚 long tenure 鈥� the average big-city leader sticks around 鈥� is 鈥渁 testament to his savvy in terms of the politics, in dealing with the board, in dealing with the community, in dealing with employee groups,鈥� Domenech said.

He鈥檒l need that savvy in Los Angeles, which also has recently featured a revolving door of superintendents, a strong union and an outspoken, ever-shifting school board 鈥� it currently has three seats open in the next election. In Los Angeles, Carvalho will work at the pleasure of the school board. Meanwhile, Banks and Martinez will work for the mayors of their respective cities.

During his second week at LAUSD, Carvalho unveiled a that includes expanded preschool, year-round learning and a 鈥淧arent Academy鈥� offering coursework to help parents understand their children鈥檚 education. He鈥檇 also lengthen the school year and offer teachers more professional development. He acknowledged that he鈥檇 have to negotiate with the city鈥檚 teachers union about those last two ideas.

Carvalho last month told 社区黑料 the district must expand school choice if it wants to keep from 鈥渂leeding out students鈥� from a system that, while much bigger than Miami, has fewer than one-third as many school choice options.

Los Angeles students, he said, basically have two choices at the moment: magnet schools and charter schools. 鈥淲hoever decided to restrict choice on the basis of those parameters?鈥� he asked. 鈥淲here are the programs in L.A. where we see long waiting lists of parents? Why aren鈥檛 we expanding more of those programs to where the demand is?鈥�

He has the district consider an 鈥渆xplosion of offerings鈥� for students, including dual-enrollment programs, International Baccalaureate programs, fine and performing arts magnet schools, and single-gender schools, among others. 鈥淚鈥檓 less concerned about the dynamic of dialogue that usually separates people into two camps: charter versus non-charter. I鈥檓 more interested in programmatic offerings that benefit kids 鈥� period.鈥�

Carvalho suggested that the district analyze which programs motivate students to travel long distances from their neighborhoods and offer more of these. 鈥淚 can fill an entire wall with a repertoire of options for parents. Why aren鈥檛 we offering all of that?鈥�

Throughout the pandemic, all three cities have struggled to retain and, in some cases, even find their students. All have seen in .

of the California Charter Schools Association said a crashing birth rate across California is a cause for concern. And net migration has actually dipped 鈥渋nto the negatives鈥� as home due to anti-immigration policies and economic uncertainty.

鈥淭his is not about 鈥楾he affluent went to Tahoe during the pandemic to hunker down,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭his is real and it’s permanent and it’s creating challenges across the state.鈥�

An 鈥榠nnovative and data-informed鈥� school integration experiment

Born in Mexico, Martinez emigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was 5. He is in a family of 12 children with deep ties to Chicago鈥檚 public school system 鈥� three of his sisters and some 28 nieces and nephews attend local public schools. 

Martinez was working in finance for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2003 when then-Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Arne Duncan hired him as chief financial officer. He remained there until 2009 鈥� Duncan moved on to serve as U.S. Education Secretary under President Obama. Martinez made a name for himself leading the San Antonio Independent School District through a redesign, beginning in 2015, that 社区黑料 dubbed 鈥渙ne of America鈥檚 most innovative and data-informed school integration experiments.鈥�

Using family income data, he mapped poverty levels for each city block. Then he integrated schools not by race but by income and, among other factors, by parents鈥� education levels. Three years later, San Antonio鈥檚 90 schools and 47,000 students were among the fastest-improving in Texas.

In Chicago, he faces something entirely different: a 330,000-student system that鈥檚 as families leave the city. Recent enrollment data show that while 43,500 new students enrolled for the first time this year, 54,000 left between the last school year and this one.

On the job in Chicago for seven months, Martinez has already his first major crisis: the city鈥檚 teachers in early January voted to not show up for work until COVID-19 safety demands were met. 

Martinez proposed a host of measures, including building-level testing to determine when to close schools. But the union, with memories of an that ended with millions in extra spending, insisted on more strict measures, including negative PCR tests for all staff, students, and volunteers in order to keep schools open. 

The strike lasted just under a week after the district agreed to increase testing options, allow remote learning on a case-by-case basis, and secure more KN95 masks. Despite the agreement, union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates Mayor Lori Lightfoot as 鈥渦nfit to lead our city. She鈥檚 on a one-woman kamikaze mission to destroy our public schools.鈥�

鈥楾his is the moment that unions should be at their strongest鈥�

, a school consultant and occasional columnist for 社区黑料, said the political climate in all three cities reflects a desire by voters more broadly and parents specifically, to pull back from 鈥渟uper-progressive鈥� policies, such as the Defund the Police movement, to more centrist strategies that simply ensure a solid education for all. Parents 鈥渏ust want a school system they can count on, that’s reliable, that is just serving their kids.鈥�

, president of the education advocacy group 50CAN, said Adams, the New York mayor, campaigned on not just a return to moderation but normalcy: 鈥淭he schools are open, the subways are safe. The restaurants work. People are back in their offices. That’s almost nostalgia now, and people crave that. And I think these candidates got that. And their education choices reflect that too.鈥�

At the same time, unions are on the ascent. With their to in-person instruction amid COVID-19 spikes and a handful of recent in recent years, they鈥檝e seen their and influence grow after years of declining membership. 

鈥淭his is the moment that unions should be at their strongest,鈥� said , a resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a libertarian Washington, D.C., think tank. 鈥淭his is a health crisis, and unions are designed to make sure that they’re protecting the health and safety of their members.鈥�

But over the past few years, he said, unions in many places have 鈥渙verplayed their hands鈥� by demanding that instruction stay remote. The arrival of these new leaders may signal something different altogether: The new leaders are by no means union supporters, even if voters in each of their solidly blue cities are.

Rees, of the charter schools group, noted that Banks hired Dan Weisberg as first deputy chancellor. Since 2015, Weisberg has served as , a national nonprofit (formerly called The New Teacher Project) that has trained thousands of teachers outside of traditional teachers colleges. Since its founding in 1997, it has had a complicated relationship with unions. 

In 2018, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt unions a blow by making a portion of members鈥� dues optional, Weisberg wrote that he disagreed with the decision, calling it 鈥渁 matter of basic fairness that teachers who reap the benefits of collective bargaining should also share in the costs.鈥�

But Weisberg also called the decision 鈥渁 blessing in disguise鈥� for unions, which he said 鈥渁re now forced to finally confront an existential threat that鈥檚 been brewing for years: They鈥檙e losing touch with more and more of their members.鈥�

Rees said Weisberg鈥檚 hiring 鈥済ives us confidence that there’s a new sheriff in town and that things are going to be a little bit different, or at least that the reform community and the charter school community will have a seat at the table.鈥�