Thomas Toch is FutureEd’s director. He is a former senior partner at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and director of the foundation’s Washington office. Toch is a founder and former co-director of the think tank Education Sector, a former guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, and he has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Toch helped launch Education Week, as a writer and co-managing editor. He served for a decade as an education correspondent and editor at U.S. News and World Report and has contributed to The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Post MagazineThe New Republic, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Wilson Quarterly, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Monthly. He is the author of two books on American education, In the Name of Excellence and High Schools on a Human Scale.

Work by Thomas Toch

Testimony: How to Retain Teacher Talent in the District of Columbia

FutureEd Director Thomas Toch presented written testimony to the Council of the District of Columbia on December 8, 2023, addressing principal and teacher…

Q&A: Meckler on the Long Arc of Voluntary School Desegregation in Shaker Heights

In a new book titled Dream Town: Shaker Heights and the Quest for Racial Equity, Washington Post education correspondent and Shaker Heights native Laura Meckler chronicles the evolution of the city’s pathbreaking crusade to integrate its neighborhoods and its schools as it continues to evolve in dramatic new directions today.

Tackling Teacher Shortages With Targeted Strategies

Smart responses to teacher shortages

Leaning In: The New Power of Parents in Public Education

A profile of the changing parent landscape in public education

An Analysis of Local School Districts’ Ambitious Post-Covid Tutoring Plans

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden called on local educators to use their federal Covid-relief aid for tutoring programs that…

How D.C. Public Schools Improved Teacher Quality, Diversity

Many states and school districts are working to bolster their teacher workforces as educators endure a third school year under the pandemic…

The Hidden Provision Driving Tax Breaks for Private School Tuition

A federal tax provision allowing families to devote money tax free to private school tuition

Changing the Narrative: The Push for New Equity Measures in Education

The movement to introduce new indicators of school performance