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Colleen Hroncich

Policy Analyst

Colleen Hroncich is a policy analyst with Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom. She maintains the Private Schooling Status Tracker, which tracks private school openings and permanent closures along with tuition and demographic information when available. Each week in the Friday Feature blog series, Colleen shares interesting stories in the education space, from innovative schools and exciting educational programs to inspiring students, parents, and teachers.

A mother of four—whose children have experienced public, private, cyber, and home education—Colleen was well‐​versed in school choice long before she began working to advance it. After 17 years as a stay‐​at‐​home mom, Colleen re‐​entered the policy world through the Koch Fellow Program in 2017. She spent nearly four years as a senior fellow and senior policy analyst with the Commonwealth Foundation working for educational freedom in her native Pennsylvania. She was also a visiting fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum.

Colleen’s commentaries have been published a variety of publications, including The Hill, The Washington Examiner, Education Post, The Daily Signal, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She has testified before the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee and appeared on several radio and television shows.

Colleen has a degree in economics from the University of Maryland. Following college, she interned at the American Enterprise Institute and then joined the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in Pittsburgh as a research associate.

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Private Schooling Status Tracker

No one tracks openings, closings, or enrollment data for all private schools on a continual basis. Many organizations for specific subsets of schools – independent, Roman Catholic, and more – track their membership, but not private schooling broadly. The federal government attempts to track all private schools, but not on a continually updated basis. This tracker is intended to fill the gaps.

Friday Feature

Cato CEF’s Friday Feature gives a glimpse of what is possible in education today. We highlight interesting stories in the education space, from innovative schools and exciting educational programs to inspiring students, parents, and teachers. With modern transportation and technology, the possibilities for individualized education are nearly limitless.