Colorado Leaders for Academic Success held a policy summit in August 2025. As public education parents, it is essential to understand what each policy summit sponsor and partner supports. What do they want with public schools? What do they think about School Choice? Curricula? Teaching methods?
What is School Boards for Academic Excellence (SBAE)? Who is David Hoyt?
School Boards for Academic Excellence (SBAE) is a nonprofit organization established in 2023 with a clear mission: to “restore academic excellence and parental rights in the American education system.” To achieve this mission, SBAE is focused on creating a national network of state-based organizations and school board members committed to reforming policies and practices. SBAE offers the following resources and tools: Model Policies, Analysis, Curriculum Support and Networking. By providing these resources, SBAE aims to drive positive change in education nationwide.
According to Influence Watch, SBAE’s Executive Director David Hoyt was the executive director of development at the Heartland Institute, director of development at both Young Americans for Liberty and America’s Future Foundation, and regional development officer at Americans for Prosperity. Hoyt is also a co-founder of Cornerstone Classical Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. Cornerstone Classical Academy curriculum utilizes the Core Knowledge Sequence, Explicit Phonics, and Singapore Math. According to the Classical Academy website, “CKS is based upon E.D. Hirsch’s idea of cultural literacy, which makes it the ideal curriculum for a classical school.”
The School Boards for Academic Excellence Curriculum Research articles available on their website cover a variety of topics, including the Science of Reading, the Science of Math, and Core Knowledge. They also discuss E.D. Hirsch’s concept of Cultural Literacy, provide a report on Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension from the Fordham Institute, and include a Heritage Foundation report titled “Pearson’s Radical Leftist Materials: World’s Largest Education Content Publisher Promotes Radical Political Agenda in U.S. Schools and Government.”
Monroe County School Board member Sue Woltanski, a Florida School Board member, attended SBAE’s Education Policy & Training Summit in Orlando. Ms. Woltanski wrote a blog post about her experience at the SBAE’s Summit. “There were maybe 75 attendees, about half were school board members, the rest were vendors and state policy organizations like the Freedom Foundation, the Civics Alliance, the Indiana Family Institute, Massachusetts Family Institute, and the Wyoming Family Alliance.” Be Prepared for MisNAEPery
Did you catch it? Civics Alliance. In 2022, Civics Alliance sought to have the Colorado State Board of Education adopt American Birthright standards. The board refused the standards; however, the Woodland Park School Board did adopt the American Birthright Social Studies Standards. In fact, the Woodland Park school board also approved Core Knowledge Language Arts Curriculum for 2024-25 Academic Year
What is the Leadership Institute?
The Leadership Institute (LI) is a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia. Its mission is to identify, train, and place conservatives in government, politics, and the media. LI aims to enhance the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in public policy. The organization offers a variety of training programs, including workshops and seminars for schools, available both online and in person. The Leadership Institute also offers specialized training for school boards, including the School Board Leadership program and the Learn Right School Board Conference.
Leadership Institute Training: Action Items for Newly Conservative School Boards | CTR
The Learn Right School Board Conference
The 2026 Learn Right School Board Conference is a partnership between the Leadership Institute and Texans for Excellence in Education. According to an article by the Dallas Express, “Texas for Excellence in Education has positioned itself as an alternative to Texas alternative services for local school boards looking to leave the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), marking a significant moment amidst a growing schism in Texas public education.” Texas for Excellence in Education is similar to Colorado Leaders for Academic Success, which has also said they are an alternative to CASB, the Colorado Association of School Boards.
Ryan Walters, the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance and the former Superintendent of Oklahoma, is scheduled to speak at the Learn Right School Board Conference. He is currently under investigation by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for a second ethics complaint alleging potential conflicts of interest related to his departure from office. Additionally, the state Attorney General has ordered an investigative audit of the Department of Education’s spending during his tenure. Ryan Walters attended the Colorado D11 teachers strike to voice his opposition to the strike in Colorado Springs.
What is Advance Colorado?
Advance Colorado is a conservative organization that advocates for policies at the Colorado Capitol, in local communities, and through media to reduce taxes, limit government size, and promote fiscal responsibility. It operates through several integrated entities, including a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institute for research and education and a 501(c)(4) for action-based advocacy. Advance Colorado also promotes school choice and parental involvement in education.
Recently, Advance Colorado sponsored Facebook ads against Douglas School Board member Tim More after he voted against a Charter School proposal that would automatically extend charter contracts, without further review, for an additional 10 years on top of each charter school’s current five-year contract. The proposal failed.
As part of their education initiatives, Advance Colorado has created downloadable Education Reports available on their website. One report, titled “Leverage Points for Closing the Achievement Gap in Education,“ suggests that the key to closing the achievement gap is to teach students the content of a subject to mastery using Direct, Explicit, and Systematic Instruction methods, along with high-dosage tutoring. In this report, Advance Colorado highlights two charter schools that exemplify the success of the direct instruction model: Parker Core Knowledge and Liberty Common School. Notably, Liberty Common School adheres to the Core Knowledge Sequence for grades K-8.
More information on Charter School Study
“Their focus was nine charter schools in Colorado that used the Core Knowledge Sequence to guide instruction between 2010-2016. To set up the experiment, they took advantage of the charters’ lottery systems.” Using a Curriculum Rich in Arts, History, and Science Led to Big Reading Improvements
Inquiry Learning vs. Direct Instruction Debate
- PROOF POINTS: Two groups of scholars revive the debate over inquiry vs. direct instruction | Hechinger Report
- Let’s talk evidence – The case for combining inquiry-based and direct instruction | Science Direct
Another Advance Colorado report, “What to Teach,” raises significant concerns that deserve attention. In the Social Studies section, the report includes the American Birthright Standards and references David Barton’s book, “Four Centuries of American Education.” It also cites the Fordham Institute’s Civics and U.S. History State Standards, as well as the Woodson Center, a prominent conservative organization. The Woodson Center offers essential curriculum resources, valuable training, technical assistance, and grants to grassroots organizations across the country. Among its initiatives are “Voices of Black Mothers United” and the “1776 Unites” program, both of which aim to empower communities and reshape the narrative of American History.
The Science Curriculum concerns include a listing of John Locke’s Franklin Standards for Science. These Science standards were created by the National Association of Scholars/Civics Alliance, and Freedom in Education, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for academic freedom, transparency, and parental rights within the K-12 public school system.
- Advance Colorado’s Education “What to Teach” Report: Concerns and Insights
- Analysis: Conservative Dark Money Group Dominates Colorado’s Ballot Initiative Process for 2026
- The Redprint: How Advance Colorado and Anonymous Donors Shape the Political Landscape
What is Chalk Forge?
ChalkForge is a consulting firm established by Aaron Salt, who formerly served as the President of the Academy School District 20 Board. The firm specializes in providing valuable resources and comprehensive training for school boards and education leaders, empowering them to tackle the challenges of modern education.
What is the Independence Institute?
The Independence Institute is a non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado, that operates as a free-market “action tank.” Its mission is to empower individuals and educate citizens, legislators, and opinion-makers about public policies that promote personal and economic freedom. The Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center advocates for school choice and educational savings accounts, and is a Colorado affiliate member of the State Policy Network, which supports universal school choice.
The Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center web page includes a paper on Merit Academy in the Woodland Park School District. Additionally, the center features an interview with David Randall from Civics Alliance about the American Birthright Social Studies Standards. The Civics Alliance’s American Birthright Standards is a common thread with several of the organizations mentioned above.
What is the Schuck Initiatives?
The Schuck Initiatives, founded by Steve and Joyce Schuck and based in Colorado Springs, advances freedom in public education through research, analysis, and consulting. As education reformers, the Schuck Initiatives empower families to select the schools they believe are best for their children. In 2000, the Schucks established Parents Challenge, a nonprofit organization that has enabled the parents of disadvantaged children to choose learning environments through privately funded education savings accounts. Low-income parents can access scholarships, grants, mentoring, and various educational services that can be used in private, traditional public, charter public, or home schools.
Influence Watch Schuck Initiatives
Final Thoughts
As newly elected Colorado school board directors take their seats, it is imperative to monitor and/or attend school board meetings and review their policies that affect all public school students in their school districts.
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