By: Beanie Geoghegan

Roman philosopher Cicero believed that “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

The future of our country depends upon the education and cultivation of a virtuous citizenry. As we work alongside administrators and educators to restore excellent education in states, districts, and schools across the country, we at Freedom In Education also strive to exemplify and promote the virtues that we hope are cultivated through that education. Whether you agree or disagree with Cicero, gratitude is a great place to start. In America, we are fortunate to have a national holiday set aside to express that gratitude.

As an organization that is only two and a half years old, we are incredibly thankful for the tremendous opportunities we have had to make a positive difference in the education landscape in such a short period of time. Although our vision when we set out was grand, we did not anticipate the enthusiastic response or eagerness to explore our solutions from so many involved. For that, we are truly grateful.

As we set out to connect with parents and teachers and rebuild bridges between the two groups that were burned in recent years, we have been delighted to see relationships blossom around what is best for the children involved. Freedom In Education strives to ensure that the line of communication between parents and teachers is open and unsullied by those seeking to divide the two. 

In an effort to equip parents with the information they need to be well-informed advocates for their children, we created the Back To School Toolkit full of helpful tips and resources. Often, knowing what questions to ask and how to articulate them well is half the battle. Our toolkit provides a blueprint for that.

This past summer at the Teacher Freedom Alliance, our Outreach Director, who is a mother of four, hosted two panel discussions with a veteran educator to help educators understand how to bridge the gap. We have found that the majority of parents and teachers share similar views and objectives regarding what is best for students. When parents and teachers work together, students win. Freedom In Education is incredibly grateful to be a part of bridging the gap between them.

Our organization was partly born out of frustration over what was and wasn’t being taught in the classroom. We realized early on that Standards drive curriculum, and curriculum determines what is taught. With that in mind, we set out to develop Academic Standards that would increase rigor, restore the focus on content, and provide clarity for teachers using them. 

Our Franklin Science Standards were developed to provide students with a solid foundation for engaging with science as discerning citizens or for pursuing a science career. The explicit scaffolding of the standards aims to cultivate scientific curiosity beginning in kindergarten while teaching clear vocabulary and the methods of scientific reasoning. Several states have already utilized these Standards in their revision process. This restoration of K-12 science education will impact millions of students, and for that, we are grateful.

Building on our expanding catalogue of resources to improve education, we also developed The Archimedes Math Standards. Like the Franklin Science Standards, these are rigorous, content-rich, and clear. They build on the fundamentals that help students gain automaticity and confidence in their math skills, preparing them for more challenging content. 

The Archimedes Math Standards provide students with a solid foundation to engage with math as a way to make sense out of the everyday world or pursue a math and science career. Like the science standards, these were developed by a team of K-12 teachers, college professors, and industry experts to provide students with the best model. Bringing these teams together to create solutions was incredibly rewarding and fruitful. We are grateful to have been a catalyst in doing that. 

We’ve had more successes than we can list, and we’re deeply grateful to everyone whose generous support made them possible. It is our goal to always offer our solutions to state, district, and school leaders at no cost. To do that, we rely on those who share our vision and are willing to invest in our mission. Those investors get to share in our successes, and they are the beneficiaries of our deepest gratitude.