Scarlett Johnson explains what drove her to act on behalf of her local schools, and why more parents should do so.

In response to falling standards, former Mequon-Thiensville school board member launches charter school

The full presentation of “Critical Race Theory and the Miseducation of America’s Youth” presented by the Center for the American Experiment and the Badger Institute.

Michael Jahr joined a panel of experts to discuss how expanding the dental therapy profession in Wisconsin would bridge the access gap for many individuals through use of free market principles.

Milwaukee Public Schools are closed again, further depriving students of the classroom instruction they desperately need.

Hear a special message from Badger Institute President Mike Nichols.

Listen to a special message from our staff.

Watch the complete presentation of our 2021 Annual Dinner, featuring Robert Doar, president of the American Enterprise Institute.

Watch a forward-looking update on the life changing work of the Badger Institute

Civil Rights Leader Bob Woodson from the Woodson Center joins the Badger Institute to discuss his alternative to Critical Race Theory. Originally live-streamed on July 22nd, 2021.

The Badger Institute recently hosted a virtual discussion with two Wisconsinites who have seen firsthand the need for expungement reform: State Public Defender Kelli Thompson and Shanyeill McCloud, founder of Clean Slate Milwaukee.

If Wisconsin policymakers want to reform the state’s criminal justice system in a way that achieves better outcomes for taxpayers, communities and offenders, they will need detailed, accurate and robust data.

Strategies for improving community-police relations

In 2020, Missouri joined a growing coalition of states in reforming their occupational licensure laws. We hosted an event with Rep. Derek Grier (R-Chesterfield) and Sen. Brian Williams (D-St. Louis) to discuss how they accomplished this

For more than a year, bureaucratic delays and hurdles imposed by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) deprived Meggan Thompson of a job and an income, and deprived Wisconsinites with debilitating mental health issues of the help she could have long ago provided.

The Badger Institute hosted a roundtable discussion on work, poverty and the use of federal safety nets to promote self-reliance.

The Joseph Project, a program championed by Senator Ron Johnson, connects the formerly incarcerated and others from disadvantaged Milwaukee neighborhoods with good-paying jobs.

Angela Rachidi, resident scholar in poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Eloise Anderson, former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and a Badger Institute visiting fellow, discuss safety net programs and work in Wisconsin. Rachidi is author of the January 2020 Badger Institute report “Wisconsin’s missing rung: Policies linked to work are critical to lifting people out of poverty.”

1.2 million Wisconsinites live in dental care shortage areas. Children, seniors, veterans & the disabled are most likely to lack access to oral care. Here’s a successful effort to provide dental care to underserved populations without relying on taxpayers.

The Hop, a $128 million streetcar that travels a 2.1-mile loop in downtown Milwaukee, is a classic boondoggle made possible by federal grants (i.e., taxpayer money). Meanwhile, the Joseph Project, a Milwaukee transportation enterprise that rejects government funding, is helping central city residents secure good-paying manufacturing jobs in neighboring counties. With a small fleet of church vans (most of them donated), the Joseph Project creates taxpayers instead of fleecing them.