Education leader Ian Rowe joined Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the climate on America’s campuses following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Rowe, founder of Vertex Partnership Academies and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, argued that the violence cannot be separated from the culture of silencing that has taken root in schools and universities.
Rowe pointed to the more than 7,000 students who signed petitions to disinvite Kirk before the event. “That attempt at silencing,” he said, “ultimately creates the conditions where one deranged person thinks the only solution is violence.” He noted that while one individual pulled the trigger, thousands had already embraced the idea that debate and disagreement are too dangerous to allow.
The conversation turned to K–12 education, where Rowe said many of these attitudes are first cultivated. Instead of teaching reading, math, and reasoning, some schools are pushing political narratives that label dissenting voices as morally illegitimate. He warned that when students are not taught to grapple with opposing arguments, they come to see those arguments as threats rather than ideas to be examined.
Rowe also highlighted alarming new national test results. According to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, 40% of fourth graders now read below a basic level, while 12th graders are posting the lowest reading and math scores in the exam’s history. “It’s a catastrophe,” Rowe said, adding that the problem is not a lack of knowledge about how to improve schools but a lack of political will to implement proven reforms.
One reform Rowe praised is a new federal tax credit for school choice scholarships, set to begin in 2027. The program allows individuals to donate up to $1,700 to scholarship-granting organizations in exchange for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. These scholarships can then be used by families for tutoring, test prep, or private school tuition. But Rowe noted that governors must opt in for their states to participate, and while Republican governors have signaled support, many Democratic governors have resisted.
For Rowe, the stakes could not be higher. “All kids—especially low-income kids—deserve the power to choose a great education,” he said. Blocking that opportunity, he argued, only deepens the cycle of failure and division.