We should be investing in our young people and keeping that investment right here at home.

When I was in first grade, my teachers placed me with third graders for math and reading because I was a fast learner. I loved it, until the program was shut down for being “unfair” to others. That moment stuck with me because it showed how often potential gets stifled instead of nurtured.

From there, I saw how a lack of resources holds back too many talented students. At Mastery Charter Shoemaker, advanced courses were cut because students weren’t meeting benchmarks—not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t have the support to succeed. Hundreds of kids with dreams of becoming engineers, doctors, and scientists lost their chance before it even began.

I was one of the lucky ones. I transferred to The Haverford School, where I found incredible support. Too many young people don’t get that shot.

That’s why I’m proposing the Homegrown Scholars Initiative: a plan to invest directly in our students and educators by redirecting a portion of funds from programs like Fulbright back into our own communities.

Instead of sending all of that money abroad, we’ll use a fraction of it to support students from underfunded zip codes who return home during college to tutor, mentor, or fill in as a teaching assistant. Those who do would receive stipends for their work, and graduates who move back to their hometowns would qualify for a $3,000 “community reinvestment credit.”

Too often, our most vulnerable neighborhoods suffer from brain drain—the cycle where our brightest minds have to leave to find opportunity. This policy changes that by investing in those who invest in us.

If we can fund global educational exchanges, we can also fund the rebuilding of our own communities. Let’s keep our best and brightest close to home, and make sure every child in Philadelphia has a chance to learn, thrive, and give back.

Pell Grants for the Real American Dream

For decades, Pell Grants have only been available to students going to college, and yet college is no longer the guaranteed pathway it once was. Tuition has exploded, degrees are becoming less valuable, and entire job sectors are being automated by AI billionaires who admit openly that their goal is to replace workers. It makes no sense that we force young people to take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt for a degree that may not even lead to a stable job.

It’s time to modernize how America invests in its next generation.

Under my plan, every high school graduate would receive access to their Pell Grant eligibility — even if they choose not to attend college. That money could be used for:

• Starting a small business

• Workforce training or trade programs

• A savings account or investment account

• A first-home down payment

• Tools, equipment, or certifications needed to launch a career

College is one path to the American Dream — but it should not be the only one our government supports. By expanding Pell Grant eligibility, we’re giving young people the freedom to invest in themselves without taking on predatory debt designed to lock them into a broken system.

Mandatory Financial Literacy Education

We cannot expect young people to build wealth if we never teach them how. Too many students graduate high school without understanding credit, budgeting, taxes, interest rates, homeownership, or how predatory loans trap families in debt. Meanwhile, banks and corporations profit from that confusion.

My plan makes financial literacy a mandatory course for every high school student. Students would learn:

• How to build credit and avoid predatory lending

• How to budget, save, and invest responsibly

• How mortgages, interest rates, and taxes actually work

• How to evaluate job offers, benefits, and retirement plans

If we want the next generation to build stable lives, buy homes, avoid crushing debt, and grow their wealth, we must give them the knowledge that our system has withheld for decades.

Universal Pre-K and Childcare for Every Family

Every child deserves a strong start, and every parent deserves the freedom to work, study, or build a stable life without being crushed by childcare costs. I support universal pre-K and universal childcare so that every family has access to safe, high-quality early education, and that no working-class family has to pay more than 7 percent of their income on .

This investment strengthens child development, reduces long-term educational gaps, and boosts our economy by allowing parents to fully participate in the workforce. No family should have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their children.

Ending Charter School Tax Loopholes

Too many wealthy investors use charter schools as tax shelters rather than as real investments in children. If someone wants to claim federal tax benefits for building a charter school in a low-income neighborhood, then that school must meet clear performance and accountability benchmarks. Education should never be a loophole that enriches investors while failing the very students it is supposed to serve. My plan ensures that any school receiving these tax advantages delivers real results for children and real value for the community.

Tackling Truancy

Chronic absenteeism is one of the most overlooked crises in our education system, and charter schools are no exception. In Philadelphia, more than 50 percent of students at charter schools are chronically truant — a rate that in some cases is higher than nearby public schools. Yet charter schools continue to receive full taxpayer funding for every student they enroll, even if that student is frequently absent or ultimately pushed out. And when a charter school expels or forces out a student mid-year, they are not required to return that money to the district or to the public school that must then educate that child.

This creates a system where charters can benefit financially from high enrollment numbers without being held accountable for attendance, retention, or actual educational progress. That is unacceptable.

Charter schools should only receive full funding if they show measurable progress in reducing truancy and keeping students engaged. Schools that consistently fail to maintain attendance or push out high-need students should face funding adjustments and be required to implement mandatory improvement plans. Taxpayer dollars should follow student success, not enrollment games.