In other words, while technology can generate information and automate tasks, people still need to evaluate options, weigh tradeoffs, and determine what to do next. These are decision-making skills--and demand for them is rising.
District leaders across the country are grappling with a deepening crisis: Student mental and behavioral health needs are growing more complex. In a recent national survey, 58 percent of school-based providers reported that student mental health has worsened, a noticeable jump from the previous year (46 percent).
School leaders everywhere are working to implement change--new initiatives, new instructional frameworks, new technologies, new approaches to student support.
As children, we play hide-and-seek. There is a kind of logic to it: If you cannot see me, then I cannot see you. As adults, and sometimes as leaders, we can fall into a similar pattern.
When Senator Bill Cassidy recently questioned whether K–12 systems are adequately preparing students for college-level math, he touched a nerve in the national conversation.
Schools have been struggling for nearly a decade with stagnant or declining test scores. Some have blamed external factors like the pandemic or children’s screen use outside of school.
I’ve been a principal for 14 years, during which time I served as the leader of an alternative school, an early college, and a large middle school. Through it all I’ve seen firsthand just how anxious families get during school transitions at every stage of the game.
Every school year brings an influx of IT solutions designed to reinvent K-12 education. Schools are primed to jump on the latest technologies to address the issues most impacting our students.
Chronic absenteeism has stabilized at historically high levels, signaling a long-term engagement challenge rather than a short-term pandemic disruption, according to a new national white paper released by Concentric Educational Solutions.
When I shipped Gramms AI to the App Store, I ran straight into a question that every developer building for kids will eventually face: What does “age-appropriate” actually mean in practice? And how do you build systems that enforce it reliably?
Student use of AI for homework increased in 2025, even as more students are worried the technology may be harming their ability to think critically, according to a new RAND report.
The dominant narrative around today’s students is bleak: declining test scores, post-pandemic learning loss, and widespread concerns about student behavior and mental health.
While prevention remains essential, 2025 has reinforced a hard lesson for district leaders: it’s not a question of if a cyber incident will occur, but how prepared a school system is to respond and recover when an attack happens.
If you’re feeling a bit sluggish (rightly so), most likely your students are. It may not feel like they are the prime audience for learning about multiplication, division, or decimals.
Data has become one of the most important strategic assets in education. Yet across institutions, publishers, and edtech companies, it often remains fragmented, inconsistently governed, and difficult to use with confidence.
Last year, a third-grade teacher in São Paulo told me she had "finally found the perfect AI tool." It generated colorful worksheets in seconds. Vocabulary lists, reading comprehension questions, even a quiz.
Chronic student absenteeism has reached troubling new heights in the post-pandemic K-12 landscape, with one in four students in many systems now missing significant class time.
On the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, only about one in four fourth graders in Michigan scored at or above proficiency in reading--a stark reminder that too many students are moving through elementary school without secure foundational literacy skills.
Traditional education models rely on providing rigid pathways for students to follow. They learn a particular way to solve problems and focus on achieving specific outcomes, rather than focusing on the creative ways that outcome can be achieved.
Artificial intelligence is no longer approaching the classroom--it is already embedded in it. Students are using generative tools to brainstorm, summarize, translate, draft, and revise.
Chronic absenteeism has become one of the most pressing challenges facing K-12 education today. According to the American Enterprise Institute, chronic absenteeism rates are leveling out at 23.5 percent, still far above pre-pandemic attendance levels.
Have you ever been to an escape room? For those unfamiliar with the term, an escape room is a structured, problem-solving experience where participants are locked in a room and must use their wits, tenacity, and deductive skills to find a way out.
Today, about 80 percent of K–12 students use computers or tablets at school--up from about 50 percent before the pandemic. Even as parents worry about too much “screen time,” schools are ramping it up.
Across the country, schools are raising alarms about chronic absenteeism. News stories highlight rising numbers of missed days, legislators are demanding answers from districts, and educators are feeling the stress.
AI is transforming the way students discover, evaluate, and choose colleges, according to a national survey of more than 5,000 high school students conducted by education company EAB.
In our district, families were checking multiple apps just to keep up with school communication. One child’s teacher posted in one platform. Another school used something different. District updates lived somewhere else entirely.
In just one academic year, Marietta City Schools in Georgia saw the percentage of elementary English learners (ELs) working in or above grade level rocket from 11 percent to 67 percent.
Without a doubt, career and technical education (CTE) is priceless for high school students wanting to get real-world, hands-on job skills before they graduate and turn their interests into career paths.
Across the country, districts are confronting a growing PK-12 leadership pipeline crisis. Veteran principals, assistant principals, and district administrators are retiring at increasing rates, yet there is not a sufficiently prepared pool of aspiring leaders ready to step into these roles.
Microschools are small learning environments that typically serve a limited number of students and emphasize personalization and strong relationships. Often blending elements of traditional schooling, project-based learning, and community-based experiences, microschools allow educators to tailor instruction to individual student needs while creating a strong sense of belonging.
In emergencies, time is the most valuable resource--and it’s often the one in shortest supply. Whether a medical crisis, fire, or security threat, the difference between a quick response and a delayed one can significantly shape outcomes.
Who among us has never copied a homework answer in a hurry? Borrowed a friend’s paragraph? Accepted a parent’s “small correction” that eventually became a full rewrite?
School buildings quietly shape everything that happens inside them. When systems work as intended, learning moves forward uninterrupted. When they fail, instruction, safety, and trust can unravel quickly.
Some of the most effective literacy ecosystems today are those where schools and public libraries work not in parallel, but in partnership with parents and students.
We live in an ever-evolving world, powered by advancements across STEM fields. Today, STEM has become increasingly intertwined with how we live our daily lives--from how we learn, to how we work, to entertainment and more.
School Specialty, a leading provider of learning environments, instructional solutions, and supplies for preK-12 education, is proud to celebrate outstanding educators with its 12th annual Crystal Apple Awards.
As a paraprofessional for over 3 years and going on my 5th year as a certified special education resource teacher, I’ve learned that no two learners are ever quite the same.
A purposeful commitment to responsible edtech use--and to professional development for teachers--is necessary to ensure edtech is innovative and transformational, according to CoSN's annual 2026 Driving K-12 Innovation Report.
In schools across the country, teacher turnover and burnout have reached crisis levels. Educators are stretched thin, often working in isolation, and many professional learning communities (PLCs) fail to deliver meaningful results.
In early literacy, the goal is simple but urgent: Help students become independent readers and writers. Every instructional decision we make either moves them closer to that goal or keeps them circling the mountain instead of climbing it.
The conversation around literacy instruction has reached a turning point. After decades of debate, we're finally seeing a broad consensus around evidence-based practices--but the challenge now is moving from understanding what works to actually implementing it in classrooms.
When students learn to read in the early elementary years, developing phonemic awareness, decoding skills, and blending typically take priority. Another essential component of fluent reading, however, is learning to read high-frequency and irregular words.
One day, something clicked for Jacob Griffin's students. Mr. Griffin, a teacher at the NAF Academy of Engineering at Southeast Raleigh High School in North Carolina, found that students who had previously been going through the motions were coming to class more engaged, more driven, and more confident about the potential futures that lay beyond high school.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination against students and other individuals with disabilities, is far less visible than the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in school districts.
Rather than replacing student thinking, when teachers design and guide AI experiences, the technology is most often used to deepen critical thinking and strengthen instruction
As we continue to make strides in understanding the brain--its strengths and weaknesses, how it develops, and its incredible potential--one idea has continued to strike conversation: the profound benefits of cognitive training.
Remember the early 2000s, back when high-speed internet felt like a luxury reserved for the tech elite and the lucky few with deep pockets? We called it the Broadband Gap or Equity of Access, and it influenced who got ahead and who got left behind.
Sixty-five percent of educators use AI to bridge resource gaps, even as platform fatigue and a lack of system integration threaten productivity, according to Jotform's EdTech Trends 2026 report.
Imagine trying to teach a student how to navigate the city of New York in 2026 using a map from 1950. The streets have changed names, new bridges have been built, and the traffic patterns have completely changed and are unrecognizable.
AI has crossed a threshold. In 2026, it is no longer a pilot category or a differentiator you add on. It is part of the operating fabric of education, embedded in how learning experiences are created, how learners practice, how educators respond, and how outcomes are measured. That reality changes the product design standard.
During a school emergency, every minute that passes is crucial, but in those moments, a reliable connection can mean the difference between confusion and coordinated response.
Picture someone sitting at a kitchen table after the kids are finally in bed, laptop open, half-drunk mug of herbal tea nearby. For years, she has had a vague idea for a business--custom curriculum design for small learning pods, for example, or a micro-studio creating bespoke art for local nonprofits.
