David Ruenzel

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David Ruenzel
Former Education Journalist,
Education Week

David Ruenzel was an education journalist and teacher whose work influenced national debates and reforms in education. He was a contributing writer for Education Week and spent a decade as a features writer for Teacher Magazine, where he was a National Magazine Awards finalist for excellence in public affairs reporting. He began his career as an English teacher at Park-Tudor School in Indianapolis and later served as English department chair at the University Lake School. Ruenzel also taught journalism, literature, and writing at The Athenian School in Danville, California. Most recently, he was part of “The Cadre of Writers” at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A published author and poet, he also led adult education programs at his church. Ruenzel earned his BA in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his MFA in creative writing from Indiana University-Bloomington.

updated 2025

Publications by David Ruenzel
Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities for Improvement
Accountability for student performance is on the minds of everyone in U.S. education—from policymakers to district administrators to principals. While the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has claimed center stage in the national…
Are the Reform Pieces Fitting Together?
"Crucial Issues in California Education 2000" is a successor to "Conditions of Education," a PACE publication since 1984. Conditions combined up-to-date data and ongoing trends in a wide variety of indicators relevant to state education policy. In…
California's School Voucher Initiative—Proposition 38
California voters will decide whether to create a voucher program in which all families with school-age children could participate. If Proposition 38 is approved, parents could obtain a chit from the state worth $4,000 and move their child from…