Saving America's Schools, with Norton Rainey | Episode 177

0:00Hey, everybody. Welcome to a special edition of Vince on this Thanksgiving week. It is great to have you with us. The best audience. anywhere. I've got a big show ahead for you. When we talk about fixing the problems in our country, it starts with the building blocks of our country, the education of our children. How do we create a more informed, literate populace that can help carry our great country into the future? That is the focus of today's program, and it's a big deal. And I've got something that you can do to help make that happen. That's all ahead on this special edition of Vince. I'm very grateful that you're here with us.

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3:18so earlier this year we got some troubling news in the form of the nation's report card which revealed that among america's fourth and eighth graders they've never been learning less in our nation's schools they don't know how to read and they don't know how to do math not all of them but too many of them are struggling inside of especially a lot of the government schools In fact, one third of the nation's eighth graders are functionally illiterate. That is a catastrophe. And we need to figure out a way out of that. We have to navigate to a world where people can actually read. That seems like the most basic building block imaginable.

4:01My next guest is focused on this, very focused on this, getting us to a place where the nation's children are better educated and then, of course, can become more engaged in making our country great again. Joining me now is Norton Rainey. He is the CEO of Ace Scholarships and a school choice advocate, giving parents options to actually get their kids educated. Norton, it is great to have you with me. Thank you for joining me today. Vince, thank you so much. What an honor to be on your show. Well, I have to say, you know, I'm very grateful for the work you're doing, and I want people to become more familiar with what this means.

4:42You know, usually when we talk about the topic of school choice, giving parents options in terms of where they send their kids, liberating them oftentimes from the government schools, when we talk about school choice, it really comes down to typically, like, does your state have a school choice program or not? Are you allowed to break free of the government schools and take that money with you to go to a private institution? But you have figured out something of a workaround for that, which is like, look, even if your state doesn't do that, it is possible to set this up at the national level. Right, Norton?

5:17Absolutely. And, you know, Vince, I want to talk about what you just said a minute ago, and that is that we saw some very alarming trends in our country. just a few weeks ago when the national assessment came out once again showing that our low-income children were only proficient at 14 and 19 percent in math and reading and as you mentioned so well only a third of these kids in eighth grade are actually literate which is a very alarming data point but here's the deal this is not new information this is something we've known for decades now in our country in fact it dates all the way back to the early 80s when a report came out to our country called a nation at risk, highlighting the difficulties we were having in the crises we were facing in our education system.

6:00And that if we didn't act and do something about it, that we were going to have catastrophic circumstances. And that's what we're now seeing. We've seen a record amount of money being spent in public education, but the results are not actually very good. And our return is abhorrent for our kids. And so we get some big issues in our country right now. So yes, to your point about the opportunity to do something about that, ACE was founded 25 years ago by some remarkable business leaders that believe we could do a lot more for our low-income children, that we should level the playing field, and that your education really should not be dictated by the zip code that you live in, but based on who you are as a human being, that every American should have access to a great school.

6:44In over 25 years, we helped out more than 120 ,000 children with scholarships. We've seen those kids do remarkable things. And at a federal level now, we have this amazing opportunity for the first time ever, where thanks to some heroic leaders in this movement, in the big, beautiful bill this year, President Trump signed a federal school choice tax credit, which will be a game changer for our country. Okay. I want to get into the details of that because I think part of that is obviously how people who are listening to you right now are going to be able to help with this. If you want to see especially low-income students have options and break free of these government schools, there's a way to do that.

7:25But let's just diagnose the difference here. You mentioned record spending. I think we have record spending right now on education. We also have, in many cases, record low outcomes for students. So as the spending goes up like that, the outcomes are going down like that. And that's because the money's not, in the end, getting to the purpose of it, right? I assume, which is the education of the kids. Where's the money going? Well, that's exactly right. And one of the greatest arguments people use, and it's a misnomer, is that we're not spending enough money on our kids. And that's why we're struggling in public education.

7:59And that's not the case at all. In fact, we're actually nearing$1 trillion in annual spending on public schools today. Yet the trends are showing that our kids are actually learning less than they were 30, 40 years ago. So it's not a money issue, but to your point, the money's staying with the administration. It's not actually making its way into the classroom where it should. And I think the average cost per student currently is about$20 ,000 in public schools. That's a lot of money. If you compare that to our private schools, and we work with thousands of schools in 13 states currently, the average tuition is right around$10 ,000 per year.

8:36So it's a misnomer that private schools are all these elite institutions that charge a lot of money. These are remarkable institutions that are actually quite affordable. And they're also really good places where they care as we take better children. So with that, so$20 ,000, the average cost of an education for a student, that's per year is what you're referencing. So that means in some cases we're wasting twice as much money as it would cost to get a quality education for a child. Yeah, we're showing that it's not always about the money. It's about having the right environment for a kid where a parent can choose to put their kid in a school that's right for their kids.

9:16We say that one size doesn't fit all, but we have a system right now where it's basically the zip code you live in dictates the education. If you're poor, we know that those schools are not performing well for our kids. And that's where these parents are really desperate to put their children in great schools the same way that you and I are wealthy families also want to put their kids into the right school. So what is the downside? Obviously, in terms of engaging in life is a huge downside. But what's the downside to illiteracy? Like when for the children, I often hear that reading by third grade is one of the most important benchmarks for a child's education.

9:58What do they lose if they can't read? Well, if you can't read by third grade, you really never catch up. If you can't do basic math by third grade, you really are never able to do the math you need to. So your foundation has not been laid. That's where the foundation is so critical early on to make sure that our kids are educated. But the reality of events, we're giving lip service to arguably the most important issue in our country. We did a survey about two months ago asking Americans what the issues are that they care the most about. And there were five issues ahead of education, including crime and immigration and our health care system.

10:35These are really important issues in our country. But here's the deal. If you educate our kids, you can actually take care of every one of those other issues. So it all begins with education. It's by far the most important issue we face in our country. It dictates everything in America. I'll say if you can't read, I mean, that really is a high probability that you're going to live a life of poverty. And it's also one of the leading indicators. You know, I noticed on your website, the scholarships website, you've got some data points up. And one of the stats that I saw that's staggering, but not not shocking in the end, is that two thirds of all prison inmates are high school dropouts, two thirds.

11:17And there's people who just didn't make it to the end. And stopping that, putting an end to that requires, you know, giving kids a quality education. Yeah, the, you know, the correlation between people who go to jail and education is night and day. That's exactly right. But we also see a huge personal economic impact for these children. If you graduate high school, studies show that your ability to make millions more over the course of your lifetime is greater than a student who doesn't graduate from high school. but also too, let's talk about our welfare system and our government oversight and control of our families is if you're not literate, you're reliant on someone else to help you the rest of your life.

11:57And that's not the American dream. The American dream is that you can live in the greatest country in the world and that through your education, you can advance in life. You can be successful in your career. You can get married. You can have children. And hopefully you can also put your kids in a great school too. So education, once again, dictates what's going to happen in your future. Okay. In a moment, I want to talk with you, Norton, about what people can do about all of this. Because as I mentioned, in so many states, really the government school cartel kind of locks people in and they don't have the option to escape the failing school systems around them that are not serving the children well.

12:36But thanks to your program, there really is an option. And thanks to what President Trump just achieved, this option is about to get supercharged. So in a moment, more with Norton Ramey on what exactly you can do to help save your great country. More ahead right here on this special edition of Vince. Look, every day I drink blackout coffee to get my day started, and they're probably the official coffee of all of us here at Silverlock. There's a reason for that. It's bold, it's unapologetic, it's America first coffee, it's roasted fresh right here in the United States. It's not grocery store junk.

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14:57You don't want that feeling. Prevent that feeling. Help protect your home systems and your wallet with home serve against covered repairs plans start at just four dollars and 99 cents a month go to homeserve.com to find the plan that's right for you that's homeserve.com not available everywhere most plans range between 4.99 and 11.99 a month your first year terms apply on covered repairs see homeserve.com for details now i want to get to the place where everyone can own a home because they got a great education they got a great job and they bought a home And in order to get there, well, it starts with those building blocks, like we're talking about with our great guest, Norton Rainey, with Ace Scholarships.

15:34And Norton, you know, we've talked about the disaster that is the current American education system. Record spending, record low outcomes for the kids. But the way out of this is to give these families options. So you are concentrated on this. Let's just talk about the basics of Ace Scholarships. Essentially, as I understand it, people, generous Americans, they make donations to your program, to A Scholarships. They fund these scholarships. And then you're able to distribute school choice scholarships to low-income students across the country to go somewhere other than the crappy government school that's not serving them.

16:13Is that right? That's right. We operate in 13 states currently. And we do it two ways. We have privately funded scholarships for generous people who believe in what we do. They give contributions. And then we provide partial tuition scholarships to low-income parents to put their kids in the private K-12 school they think is right. This year, we have 16 ,000 kids on scholarship. Here's the beauty of that is that these are partial scholarships. So we're providing about a third of their tuition. The school is coming along our side and also offering a scholarship. And then our families who on average make about$50 ,000 per year are also putting about$2 ,000 into their education.

16:53That is our key to our success. And the reason why 99 % of our kids graduate is because it's a three-way partnership, but it's also parents who have skin in the game. They may be poor, but they care desperately about their kids. And not only do they want them in the right environment, they also, they sacrifice greatly by putting money into their education. And that's really a remarkable thing. So, wait, 99, you said 99 % of your scholarship recipients graduate. How does that compare to the general population? That must be, I mean, that has to be a massive improvement over people who are not in this program.

17:29It is a night and day difference. It's considerably higher. But I think what we like to focus on, because there's so much graduation and grade inflation these days we see in our school system, we focus more on the proficiency of our kids. And we see that our kids in math and reading are about three to four times stronger in math and reading. So we know they actually are getting the basic foundational blocks. They need to actually graduate and go to college. Most of our kids go to college. Most will graduate from college as well, which is incredible. Now they can actually own a home like you just mentioned because now they're securing a job.

18:02They're making money. Or they go to trades in the military, which I think is also a wonderful thing where they can do what they need to in their lives. That's great. That's wonderful. Measurable outcomes. You've been doing it for 25 years now, A scholarships. So you have a scholarship program set up. People continue to support what you're doing. But the big, beautiful bill came along this year. And I remember earlier this year when President Trump was bragging about national school choice. When I first heard it, I was like, wait a second, how would that even work? Nationwide school choice, because these are state programs, the states that manage the school system.

18:39But the secret sauce is actually basically what your organization does and the way President Trump has actually changed the law, the way the Congress has changed the law in order to supercharge programs like ACE scholarships. Describe what the big, beautiful bill did. How is this going to change the country? Absolutely. We're so excited. This is a monumental moment in our country. We'll tell you, transformational. For decades, we've had state tax credits and voucher programs. And as you referenced there, it's only been a statewide issue. But there's been a longtime dream about what can we do federally to make sure that children in all 50 states have access.

19:17And it's been a dream, but really the trifecta happened with a president and a Congress and a Senate that believed in doing something. We actually, in the big, beautiful bill, were able, with some friends and allies around the country, to include a federal tax credit. And it's really simple. It allows every American beginning in 2027 to claim a$1 ,700 tax credit when they give to programs like ACE scholarships. Now, most people don't always know the difference between a deduction and a credit. It's quite simple. Deduction is the normal donation you make to a charity. A credit is incredible. It's like stealing.

19:55The money that you would actually pay in taxes to Uncle Sam every year, you can now give that to an organization like ACE. So it doesn't cost you a penny. And that means that we can actually raise more money, help out more kids. And that's what ACE will now be doing is growing to many more states outside of our 13 state region currently. And my belief is that we're going to go from a program that's helping out a lot of kids to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of kids and seeing a true transformational impact in our country. all right help me understand that because i want to make sure i understand you correctly because i'm a slow i'm a slow learner uh 1700 bucks so if i if i give uh when does this start to start in 26 or 27 that i can start doing this this starts in january of 2027 and we'll start marketing this program aggressively in 2026.

20:45okay so in january 2027 i turn my wife and i go hey let's let's help out these scholarships. I cut you a check for, what is it,$1 ,700? Is that what you said? That's right. I sent$1 ,700 to you and say, let's help these kids out. You're telling me that in the end, I'm not actually spending any money because the government's sending it right back to me in the form of a tax credit? You nailed it. What we'll do is we'll sing your receipt. And then when you file your taxes in 2028, you will actually receive a refund from the government for$1 ,700. So it's really that simple. That's how good it is.

21:20We just have to make sure Americans understand how great this opportunity is. Yeah, I mean, well, actually, what you're describing is basically any American who can afford to wait a few months to get their money back, basically, should probably be doing this if you want to support school choice nationwide. We think there are about 50 million Americans who currently make over$85 ,000 per year. That translates into at least a$1 ,700 credit. it. That's not including all Americans who don't even make$85 ,000 who can claim a portion. And they can also make monthly contributions. So if they can't write a$1 ,700 check immediately, they can actually do this on a monthly basis where it's about$141 per month versus$1 ,700.

22:05But our personal belief is that we're going to have to market this. We need people to know about this. And we think that we have a chance of actually raising billions of dollars at a national level and filling the seats in our schools, making sure that homeschool families have an opportunity. It's also available even in public schools. So it's not just private schools. You have the chance for before and after school programs that enhance your education in public schools. It's amazing. So, you know, as you describe this, I'm starting to realize the scale of how big this could be, because this could actually fundamentally change the entire face of education in the United States.

22:42If enough Americans actually know about this program to utilize it, this seems like a very big deal. You must be chomping at the bit a bit here because you're like, man, it's going to take education to the next level if the whole country has school choice. And now, one thing I think I noticed about this, and correct me if I'm wrong, but can't states opt out of this if they decide they're like, no, we don't want any school choice in our state. Could they tap out if they want to? Yeah, unfortunately, that was a part of this bill, which is not good. And that is that although it's a federal bill, it does enable governors around the country to either opt in or opt out of the program.

23:23And we know that in red states who tend to be more conservative, governors will absolutely opt in. Our greatest challenge is going to be in blue states. And by By the way, it's not to say that blue governors, Democratic governors will not opt in. We actually know, for example, in Colorado, where ACE's home base is, we've had discussions already with Governor Jared Polis. And he's actually been very bullish on school choice in the past. And he's already indicated that he will opt in this program. So we really applaud his leadership as a Democrat. We need more Democratic governors to do the same and also opt in.

23:57The reality is it's about our children. It's not about special interest groups. So yes, we are chomping at the bit on this one here because we know it really can be transformational. And we also know that education is the key to solving our problems. But Vince, what I'd also say, the data is awesome. I mean, we've got so much good data. And this is not even a hypothesis. It is a proven model. But it's the stories. It's the stories of Greta, a mom who spoke at one of our events two weeks ago that shared the story of her oldest son who went to a public school and he got caught up in drugs. and eventually overdosed and died.

24:34And then her younger daughter, who she said, I want my daughter to have a very different outcome in her life. And she put her in a private school and ACE helped her out. And now she's flourishing and doing great things. Those are the stories that keep us going all the time. And it's also the stories of failure. The parents and children who are being left behind, whose cries we hear all the time, like in Chicago, where the governor actually cut a 10 ,000 person scholarship program. And then we have children being left behind and put into a school system that once again is not serving them. So we are really bullish on making sure every child in America can live and fulfill their dreams.