I feel education in the US depends a lot on the community, PTA and grassroots efforts. Community influence matters, and when parents care, children benefit
Discussion
Full disclosure: the COO of MyLibrarian is president of their PTA so I hear a lot about this topic. I get a lot of Montessori school and art teacher perspectives too
Plus who can forget my lunch lady friend. People care that kids eat healthy and they put good energy into making the experience better