District leaders’ examples of successful teaching of critical thinking skills, a necessary component of deeper learning, boils down to four main categories:

• Teachers posing high-level questions
• Project-based learning
• Real-world problem-solving activities
• Activities that students chose rather than assigned

That’s according to the from RAND Corporation, which surveyed district leaders on how they believe middle and high schoolers’ critical thinking skills are best developed. The examples above have been determined by leaders to be best aligned with research on effective methods for teaching critical thinking.

Project-based learning, for instance, is a popular strategy used in schools, most commonly in the form of science, technology, engineering, math and career and technical education classes. However, some districts reported embedding PBL in every grand and subject.

Additionally, seven in 10 district leaders reported collecting students’ input about teaching and learning, another component of deeper learning. The changes made based on student feedback often resulted in more engaging and hands-on instruction.

Take a look at the to learn more.

Identifying effective facilities grants

Facilities grants are often used for the upkeep and expansion of public schools, primarily offered from outside the state department of education. More likely than not, many of you frequently engage in these sorts of discussions with key stakeholders in your communities and/or states.

In their latest briefing, Burbio, a K12 spending and operations data aggregator, has outlined several facilities grants from across the country that may spark ideas for you in your conversations with other leaders. Here are some examples:

• In Alaska, the state offers s to districts with six-year plans that meet a variety of administrative requirements. Awarded projects cover everything from new school buildings to roof and exterior repairs, HVAC upgrades and more.
• In Washington, the are used to address non-recurring urgent small repair projects at public schools and can cost as much as $500,000.
• In West Virginia, the Building Authority Major Improvement Projects (MIP) Grants allow for major improvements in existing facilities that are non-refundable through the local maintenance budgets, which can range from $50,000 to $1 million

VP debate points on education

In this week’s vice presidential debate, K12 education made an appearance, unlike last month’s spar between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Their discussions focused primarily on gun violence and what steps needed to be taken to prevent school shootings.

Tim Walz, Harris’ vice presidential candidate, spoke of his 17-year-old son’s experience witnessing a shooting at a community center. “Those things don’t leave you,” he said.

He also said we need to be careful of stigmatizing mental health as it relates to gun violence.

“Just because you have a mental health issue doesn’t mean you’re violent,” said Walz. “And I think what we end up doing is we start looking for a scapegoat.”

JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential candidate, said a large number of gun violence is caused by those who obtain them illegally. As for keeping kids safe in schools, he said the “unfortunate” solution is to increase security in America’s schools.

“We have to make the doors stronger. We’ve got to make the windows stronger. And of course, we’ve got to increase school resource officers because the idea that we can magically wave a wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it doesn’t fit with recent experience,” said Vance.

New from 91心頭

As always before you go, be sure to check out油District 91心頭istration’s油latest coverage:

Enrollment drops are forcing leaders to make tough choices

For some schools, it may take decades to reverse pandemic-related enrollment declines. As a result, many of them are forced to close their doors, especially those that are underperforming.

‘Talking Out of School’ podcast: How to reconnect with conflict resolution

Superintendents rarely exit a school tenure without a few battle scars stemming油from hostile school board relationships油or incendiary comments from the community. But superintendents and community leaders must learn the tools to ease conflict, lessen tension and foster stronger relationships, Katy Anthes, the former seven-year commissioner of education in Colorado, says on this episode of ���Talking Out of School.���

The post Know this for next week: Education debuts in vice presidential debate appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

School shootings and social media threats

I’m sure many of you have been keeping up with the news surrounding Wednesday’s deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia’s Barrow County Schools. The suspect has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Gray, an Apalachee High School student.

The shooting resulted in four deaths, including two students and two teachers, according to the .

In Ohio, at least one Cincinnati-area school district closed in response to shooting threats posted to social media, the 油reports. The online threats suggested violence against multiple schools, according to police reports.

“We cannot verify the validity of this threat as we do not have sufficient time to complete a full investigation before school begins tomorrow morning,” Mt. Healthy City Schools said in a letter to families on Wednesday ahead of its decision to close.

As many as four other districts, including Cincinnati Public Schools, held classes with increased police presence on Thursday.

“The district is taking extra precautions as the safety of students and staff is of paramount importance,” CPS said in a statement.

In light of these recent events, I encourage you to read up on some of油District 91心頭istration’s油recent coverage featuring safety experts who offer comprehensive advice on bolstering your school’s security measures. Here are a few resources to help you get started:

AI-powered ransomware is inevitable. Heed this advice

In the next two years, AI-powered ransomware will modify malware code in real time to avoid detection, predicts one expert. Here’s what you can do to prepare.

‘Talking Out of School’ podcast: How to improve school safety beyond metal detectors

“We don’t want to blame everything on COVID, but COVID did have a notable, marketable impact on school safety,” says Ken Trump, president of the National School Safety and Security Services.

How to improve reading instruction

Few studies have addressed teachers’ impact on reading and instruction and whether they feel they have the knowledge and resources to support students who have difficulty reading instructional materials. New research from uncovers public school teachers’ perceptions of students’ challenges with reading in grades 3-8 and what educators need to help students become proficient readers.

Here are some of the findings:

• Third- through eighth-grade teachers across all subjects reported that students spend more than half of their class time reading and writing.
• 44% of their students always or nearly always experience difficulty reading the written content within their instructional materials.
• 40% of teachers have misconceptions about how students develop reading skills, and nearly half of teachers say their primary source of knowledge about reading instructions comes from their experiences in the classroom.
• Nearly three-fourths of teachers say they desire more access to resources to identify and support students with reading difficulties.

Learning from leaders

Before you go, the National Association of Secondary School Principals announced this week its three finalists for the 2025 National Principal of the Year award. Read our coverage highlighting each finalist here.

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Teachers’ views on smartphone bans

A of more than 1,100 middle and high school teachers by Study.com offers candid feedback on how K12 smartphone bans are shaping up. The researchers outline four things teachers are saying:

• Improvements to classroom management (68% of teachers)
• Increased student engagement (76% of teachers)
• Enhanced student safety (70% of teachers)
• Strict policies work better: Teachers in schools with flexible policies lose more instruction time policing smartphones

Teachers who work in schools with more lenient smartphone policies, for instance, are 21% more likely to lose more than an hour of learning time each week. “I’m always teaching to divided attention,” said one high school teacher in Prince William County, Virginia, “There’s one eye on me, and one eye on the phone.”

“When we tell them to put it away, it’s not like they’re defiant,” they add. “They do put them away. But then you see them leaning over, trying to look into their backpack and read their messages, or they have to go to the bathroom to go read their messages.”

Click to view the full survey.

Views of K12 improve from record low

Last year, Gallup asked Americans to rate the quality of K12 education, and the results were grim. Following 2023’s record-low perceptions of education, we’re seeing signs of improvement.

Forty-three percent of Americans say they’re satisfied with the quality of K12 education, 7% higher than last year’s recording. Meanwhile, 55% of respondents said they’re “completely” or “somewhat dissatisfied.”

On another note, school safety continues to grow in importance for parents. Forty-four percent of K12 parents say they’re concerned about their child’s safety up from last year’s 38%.

Take a look at the full survey .

The state of student engagement

Our final top-of-mind research item for you this week is LEGO Education’s latest “,” a global survey of more than 6,000 administrators, teachers, parents and students that uncovers “what engages, inspires and builds confidence in students and educators.”

Here are the key takeaways from the report:

1. Students aren’t engaged

The researchers note that student engagement is lower than we want it to be. Only 31% of U.S. administrators describe their students as engaged, compared to 33% of teachers and 35% of parents.

Many attribute this lack of engagement to student absenteeism. Forty-seven percent of administrators believe absenteeism and enrollment declines are related to disengagement.

2.油Engagement improves academic outcomes

Engagement should not be restricted to “Fun Fridays” or extracurriculars. The more engaged a student is with the material, the better their academic performance. Educators should start by posing a question or challenge for students to solve that promotes open-ended creativity and collaboration.

3.油Improving student engagement improves retention

Roughly 80% of teachers say they’d be happier with their job if their students were more engaged, the report confirms. However, they also say they’re starting to feel the weight of not having enough support from administrators.

“There is a clear opportunity to provide better tools and approaches that support teachers in meeting diverse student needs,” the survey reads.

Whether it’s a pilot or a district-wide rollout, districts should have a comprehensive plan that includes support and ongoing professional learning.

4.油Purposeful play is the key to increased engagement

Across nearly every grade level, working with classmates is students’ favorite way to learn.油 Furthermore, 89% of students say they enjoy learning through interactive experiences.

While incorporating play into the classroom can feel daunting, it’s a legitimate and effective way to boost performance outcomes, the researchers contend. Here are four tips for implementation:

• Let students take the lead
• Embrace the messiness of play
• Make it relevant to each classroom and community
• Give permission to play

New from 91心頭

As always, be sure to check out油District 91心頭sitration’s油latest coverage, including a timely webinar with Jonathan Haidt, the author of油The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. He shared with attendees how smartphones significantly disrupted the play-based child and how schools can take collective action to restore this lost framework.

You can access the webinar recording anytime by clicking here.

Podcast: How to empower teachers to excite students about STEM

Jeremy Anderson walks us through how the National Math + Science Initiative connects districts with state and federal programs to close opportunity gaps and increase college access through advanced STEM education.

The post ���TGIF Time-saver���: 4 important reasons smartphone bans work appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

Takeaways for public school leaders

According to the latest survey published this week, eight in 10 Americans chose these two items as priorities. Other policies attracted broad support too, including:

• Increasing focus on student mental health
• Helping students who have fallen behind academically
• College affordability

Lower down the list but still garnering majority support are油protecting students from discrimination (58%) followed by the availability of preK programs (56%).

Furthermore, just four in 10 Americans would like their child to take up teaching in public schools as a career. When this question was first asked in 1969, that percentage was 75%.

You can look at the full report .

Your chronic absenteeism briefing

Since the pandemic, schools have been battling one common issue: attendance. In its most recent , the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 22% of 4th-graders reported being absent five or more days in the previous month. Eighth-graders cited similar habits.

In light of this research, the National Assessment Governing Board issued a new resource detailing how chronic absenteeism is captured on NAEP. The primer clarifies national attendance data and provides access to resources at the federal and state levels.

These federal resources for public school leaders include:

• : A collection of surveys administered by the National Center for Education Statistics.
• The Office of Civil Rights: Reports “” by race, ethnicity, gender, English language status and special education status.
• : Located within the U.S. Department of Education, it offers data on the 2021-22 school year, during which 14.7 million students were chronically absent.

You can take a look at this comprehensive resource .

A successful state takeover?

Last year, we witnessed the of the Houston Independent School District. Former Dallas school superintendent Mike Miles has caught flack several times since his appointment for making significant changes in the system, including budget cuts to make up for a and creating a “” among his principals.

Now, unofficial accountability ratings suggest the district’s F-rated schools are making big gains. Out of its roughly 265 schools with ratings, 149 improved their A-through-F scores by one or more letter grade, the油油reports. Eighty-seven saw no change and 29 witnessed slips.

“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to achieve in one year,” Miles said in a statement on Monday. “Across the district, schools delivered significant improvements in student achievement on state assessments.”

New from 91心頭

As always, be sure to check out油District 91心頭istration’s油latest coverage, including our most recent episode of “The Talking Out of School Podcast” where we discuss how charter schools can improve special education.

Gregory-Portland ISD leader wants her district to ‘wonder constantly’

How Superintendent Michelle Cavazos encourages her staff at a top rural school district to be disruptive and innovative for students.

Tackle these 4 big risks when experimenting with AI

Interactions with large language models feel conversational, which often causes users who interact with them to assume that the technology “knows” or “understands” the particular topic at hand.

Learn from one state that bested chronic absenteeism

Rhode Island’s chronic absenteeism rates ballooned to 34% during the pandemic. Here’s what leaders did to fix that.

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Defining absenteeism by grade

High school students are more likely to miss school when they lack strong relationships with their teachers, report low self-efficacy and have negative experiences with their school’s climate, according to from Panorama Education.

Similarly, elementary students who feel safe at school are less likely to be chronically absent. For middle school students, safety and a positive school climate are linked to higher attendance.

The researchers advise leaders to conduct surveys based on these indicators to better understand how they impact absenteeism among their students. I recommend that you take a closer look at the .

Where are our bus drivers?

I recently reported on the issue surrounding teacher shortages and how districts are addressing their vacancies as the new school year begins. What we’re also seeing is that staff shortages are impacting school transportation, too.

According to HopSkipDrive’s , 91% of school leaders have reported being impacted by bus driver shortages in 2024. These figures remain elevated and in line with last year’s data, when 92% of leaders said the same.

Sixty percent of leaders also said they’ve been forced to reduce services by cutting or shortening bus routes. Another 38% said their staff is taking time away from core responsibilities or education hours to drive buses or vans.

AI’s latest innovation: cyberattacks

I’d like to take a moment to address one of AI’s more negative consequences���aside from the traditional arguments like plagiarism and cheating. AI-powered ransomware is inevitable and superintendents should be engaging with their IT teams about ways to prepare for this looming threat.

I spoke with the vice president of cyber risk and board relations at Optiv, a cybersecurity services and solutions provider, who explained that AI would make conducting ransomware attacks much easier for less experienced hackers.

He says that eventually, AI-driven ransomware will be able to adapt in real-time by modifying malware code to avoid detection. The same tactic can be used to alter the source code of a piece of malware to avoid antivirus software-triggering rules.

You can read more about my conversation with the expert, James Turgal, here.

New from 91心頭

As always, be sure to check out油District 91心頭istration’s油latest coverage, including a conversation with the CTO/COO of Brainly Bill Salak on the latest episode of “Talking Out of School.” He talks about why cell phone bans, a trend that’s gained popularity in recent months, may not be the smartest move for minimizing distractions in the classroom.

Student mental health: Teens are feeling a little better

The latest data from the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey show that slightly fewer teens in 2023 reported persistent sadness or hopelessness, compared to two years prior.

How are teachers feeling? Here are some fresh answers

In a handful of states, leaders have asked teachers how they feel ahead of 2024-25. Here’s what they said.

End of ESSER: How to extend student-support past the deadline

Researchers share how leaders in several states are spending on student well-being���and why these initiatives should continue.

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Predicting 2024-25

Research and national report cards indicate that students are still struggling to catch up academically. It’s a trend that will likely continue if action isn’t taken soon, says one expert.

“As we continue to analyze the latest COVID data, I predict that we will see persistent and potentially widening student achievement if we do not take decisive action,” said Karyn Lewis, director of research and policy partnerships at NWEA. “Pandemic achievement is real, but accepting a new normal of lower achievement and widened inequities is not an option.”

Another issue is chronic absenteeism. Attendance goes hand-in-hand with student achievement. Ayesha Hashim, senior research scientist at NWEA, said it’ll be a top priority for school districts this year.

“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution,” said Hashim. “We must connect with students and their families to understand the barriers students are facing that are preventing them from attending school.”

Leaders must also raise awareness with families on how much absenteeism impacts a child’s future, Hashim added.

Finally, student engagement will emerge as a key focus area for leaders. As schools implement new approaches to assessment, it’s important to consider content and contextual factors, such as the timing of the tests.

“91心頭istering tests at suboptimal times can lead to student disengagement, which in turn may result in an underestimation of their true abilities and potentially misguide educational interventions,” said Megan Kuhfeld, director of growth modeling and analytics at NWEA.

Kamala Harris chooses former educator as running mate

I’m sure you’ve already seen headlines announcing Vice President Kamala Harris’ new running mate, Minnesota Gov. and former educator Tim Walz.

It is the honor of a lifetime to join in this campaign.

I���m all in.

Vice President Harris is showing us the politics of what���s possible. It reminds me a bit of the first day of school.

So, let���s get this done, folks! Join us.

��� Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz)

This announcement has already generated excitement from large teachers unions like the National Education Association. “Educators are fired up and united to get out and elect the Harris-Walz ticket,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, in a .

The other week we dove into Harris’ approach to K12 education. What issues top Walz’s list of priorities?

We can learn a lot from a he wrote for Southwest News Media in which he outlined his views. His pledge to Minnesota at the time was to narrow the achievement gap between white students and students of color, give teachers and administrators more resources and bolster the value of public education.

“If we are going to foster the best education system in the country, every politician, every community and every Minnesotan must value our children receiving a high-quality education,” Walz wrote. “This means valuing our teachers, our principals, our mentors, our paraprofessionals, our bus drivers and, of course, our students.”

More accomplishments under Walz’s governance include:

• Helping Minnesota become the fourth state to to universal school meals.
• by 4% between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
• Providing for hourly school workers

Internships make students employable

The value of a college degree over the years. Roughly half of all adults say it’s less important to have a four-year degree to obtain a well-paying job compared to 20 years ago.

Instead, administrators could be doing more to push high school students toward internships. In fact, the number of businesses offering such opportunities is on the rise. Some 38% of businesses provide high school internships compared to 30% in 2018, a from American Student Assistance suggests.

Businesses that offer such opportunities believe it’s beneficial for students and their businesses overall. Eighty-six of survey respondents said high school interns strengthened their industry pipeline.

The student experience varies on the type of internship too. Here’s what kinds of work-based learning activities are most commonly offered to high school students:

• Mentoring: 48%
• Job shadowing: 46%
• Informational interviews: 46%
• Open house/field trips: 45%
• Classroom presentations: 41%
• Career-related competitions: 40%
• Internships: 37%

New from 91心頭

As always, be sure to check out油District 91心頭istration’s油latest coverage, including the latest episode of the “Talking Out of School” podcast outlining the essential features of a successful portrait of a graduate.

7 new roles technology is creating in schools

Research has shown us how teachers are using AI, but what about administrators? Here’s how they’re leveraging the technology.

Why K12 is more vulnerable to ransomware than you think

Ransomware attacks against the education sector are up 25% over the past year, new research shows. Here’s what to expect this school year.

Principals see more and more reasons to ban smartphones

Principals say students’ smartphones are distracting students from classwork, worsening depression and anxiety, and increasing interpersonal conflicts and bullying.

The post ‘TGIF Time-saver’: 3 predictions for the 2024-25 school year appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

Will new laws prompt better behavior?

State Superintendent Cade Brumley issued a letter to school system leaders this week asking them to “recommit to assertive discipline action” to ensure safe and orderly school environments.

“Students and teachers deserve peaceful schools,” Brumley wrote. He also called their attention to two new behavior-related pieces of legislation that went into effect Aug. 1:

• ACT 400 (Student Discipline & Teacher Rights): Gives teachers the ability to remove disruptive students from their classrooms while prohibiting leaders from being able to discriminate or retaliate against an educator during this process. The law also requires a conference between a teacher and parents before a student returns to class.
• ACT 337 (Mandatory Expulsion in Grades 6-12): Adds expulsion requirements for situations involving knives and drugs. Additionally, administrators can consider expelling 6th- through 12th-graders suspended a third time within the same school year.

“These laws address behavior complications educators and students faced in previous years and aim to improve the school experience,” Brumley wrote. “Affording teachers more disciplinary authority over disruptive students will maintain order in classrooms.”

The state’s Let Teachers Teach workgroup, a coalition of nearly 30 educators around the state tasked with exploring the profession’s challenges, recently designed to improve the teaching experience. I encourage you to explore the comprehensive report, which touches on professional learning, required training, student behavior, non-academic responsibilities and other subjects.

Presidential politics cause K12 polarization

K12 education can quickly become a touchy subject when politics enter the mix. New research finds that when U.S. presidents and presidential candidates take positions on prominent issues in education, it leads to stark polarization.

That’s what the researchers of a . When presidential candidates advocate for issues that are closely aligned with their own party, Americans generally use those comments to learn what either side of the political spectrum believes.

In their experiments, researchers found that when members of a president’s own party learned about the president’s position on a particular K12 policy, they became more supportive of that approach. In contrast, members of the opposite party’s opposition intensified.

“In some cases, people update their own beliefs accordingly,” the researchers wrote in an article from . “In our contemporary political context, presidential engagement largely serves to reinforce partisan divisions.”

Why high schoolers don’t return home

Nowadays, many would hope high school graduates would return to their stomping grounds after college���hopefully, to fill teaching and other k12 staff vacancies! However, fewer graduates are willing to return.

Seventy-two percent of high school students say they don’t plan on returning to their hometowns, a suggests. Instead, young people are more inclined to navigate to traditional “talent magnets”: Texas, New York, Florida, California and others.

However, we’re also seeing folks flock to less-populated areas, perhaps as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as adults are getting comfortable with remote work and flexible schedules.

College towns are also appealing to undergraduates. Sixty-one percent of college students say they plan on finding a job near where they attended college.

New from 91心頭

As always before you go, be sure to read up on the latest from District 91心頭istration, as well as listen to about a high school’s award-winning PBIS program.

Do college degrees lead to better jobs? Typically, yes

Although students’ perspectives of college have changed, new research affirms that a bachelor’s degree will be the best route to a good job by 2031.

AI-based plagiarism: A new tool makes cheating harder

Students are getting caught using AI paraphrasing tools to modify AI-generated texts to avoid detection. This company is putting a stop to it.

Hempstead ISD: Why celebrating students is so important for this superintendent

When Hempstead ISD Superintendent Herbert O’Neil walks through a school with his tripod, students flock to him to find out which of their classmates he’s going to feature in his next video.

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Who is Kamala Harris?

The Biden-Harris administration has strengthened Title IX and championed student loan forgiveness. Now, Harris is gaining support from prominent education figures even in the short time she has been the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Most recently, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, the American Federation of Teachers, during its national convention in Houston.

“The American People have a great choice in Kamala Harris for President,” AFT President Randi Weingarten told ABC13. “We need to stand together on behalf of democracy, human rights and economic rights for working people.”

Harris is also a , which provides money to schools that serve higher shares of students from low-income families. She also has promised to increase funding for Head Start to ensure children receive access to these programs.

Teachers may also benefit under a Harris presidency. During her last campaign, she proposed closing the compensation gap between teachers and similarly educated professionals,油油reports. At the time, she aspired to bump the average teacher pay by $13,500.

So far, Harris’ campaign reports it’s raised after its launch.

Data dive

As always, we’ve got some timely research to share with you. How about a survey that taps into the current challenges and innovations shaping education in the 2024-25 school year? PowerSchool’s “” suggests a need for personalized learning, embracing AI, bold leadership and data utilization, among other priorities.

“The U.S. education system is currently balancing two critical goals: tackling urgent challenges while innovating the student learning experience,” Ryan Imbriale, vice president and head of worldwide education at PowerSchool and former district leader, said in a public statement.

Additionally, our friends at Burbio have released the latest installment of their , which covers school board meetings for more than 2,000 school districts serving more than 55% of the K12 school population. This week, researchers looked into the prevalence of social media and related topics during school board meetings. Here’s what they found:

• Nearly 33% of districts covered “social media,” which includes platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snap and Snapchat.
• Nearly 25% of districts addressed “bullying” and cyber-bullying.
• Around 12% of districts discussed cell phones.
• Nearly 5% of districts covered “phone policy,” which refers to phone ban-related discussions.

New from 91心頭

Before you go, check out some of油District 91心頭istration’s油latest coverage below:

No Wi-Fi? How to keep students online at home

Students will soon be able to check out Wi-Fi hotspots at their school library through a new E-Rate-funded program.

Podcast: Craig Witherspoon: Let your team ‘make the music’ for K12 success

The skills and mindset needed to lead a high school band have harmoniously translated to the superintendency for longtime South Carolina educator Craig Witherspoon.

Superintendent turnover is not slowing down this summer

Several female superintendents are taking the lead in New York and elsewhere in the latest round of turnover at the top.

The post ‘TGIF Time-saver’: How might Kamala Harris approach K12 education? appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

Former OpenAI, Tesla engineer enters edtech space

Earlier this week, computer scientist that he’s launching an AI-integrated edtech platform called , building off of his experience at OpenAI and Tesla.

The platform would allow teachers to design courses aided by an AI teaching assistant to lead students through the learning material, he wrote in a post on X. The company’s first product is LLM101n, an undergraduate-level class that “guides the student through training their own AI, very similar to a smaller version of the AI Teaching Assistant itself,” wrote Karpathy.

“Eureka Labs is the culmination of my passion in both AI and education over about 2 decades.”

Read more about the edtech platform in his X post here:

Excited to share that I am starting an AI+Education company called Eureka Labs.
The announcement:

—
We are Eureka Labs and we are building a new kind of school that is AI native.

How can we approach an ideal experience for learning something new? For example, in the case���

��� Andrej Karpathy (@karpathy)

California’s new gender-identity law met with lawsuit

You might’ve read about banning “forced outing” parental notice policies when a student changes pronouns. It’s the first state in the U.S. to enforce such a ban. Proponents argue it will help shield LGBTQ students who come from unwelcoming households.

In an ongoing legal battle with the state’s policy, the Chino Valley Unified School District has sued Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom arguing that the law violates the rights of parents protected under the U.S. Constitution, the油油reports.

“School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school,” Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, said in a statement.

Student perspective: Strong career aspirations linked to school/life balance

It’s time to ban homework. There, I said it. In all seriousness, a healthy school/life balance is important for teens as it often leads to a clearer understanding of their future aspirations, a from the online public school program Pearson’s Connections Academy concludes.

Less than half (45%) of eighth through 12th grade students feel they have an “excellent” or “good” school/life balance. Another 29% rate theirs very poorly and say it’s having a negative impact on their ability to start career planning. Here’s how you can help:

Students want to know what kinds of skills they need to develop that are desired among employers (49%). They’re also constantly seeking information about work experience, internships and apprenticeships (46%) as well as knowledge on what sorts of education programs are considered the best pathways for their desired careers (42%).

Consider tapping into local partnerships to help students gain entry into their most desired industries, which include:

• Healthcare (26%)
• Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media (24%)
• Business (16%)
• Engineering and architecture (14%)

New from 91心頭

We’ve got lots to offer from the 91心頭 desk this week, including an insightful conversation with South Carolina’s Superintendent of the Year Frank Rodriguez about how his district went from 53rd to first in the state for starting teacher salaries. In just two years, his district has raised starting teacher pay by nearly $20,000.

Also new from油District 91心頭istration:

‘Talking Out of School’ podcast

Superintendent Atiya Perkins wants you to ���pause for the cause���: ���It���s having self-awareness, being a self-reflector,��� Perkins explains in the latest episode of油District 91心頭istration���s油���Talking Out of School��� podcast. ���It���s being able to make decisions accurately. It is building relationships and then establishing connections to understand what other people are thinking���and believing that���s the role of the superintendent.

Changes to the ACT exam

The newly shortened exam is designed to provide greater flexibility for students, who now face fewer questions and can choose whether to complete the science section.

Is summer school outdated?

It starts by strengthening tier I instruction, argues Jeff Feinman, chief of partnerships for The National Sumer School Initiative.油The nonprofit���s five-week summer program matches educators with teaching coaches to create discourse-rich, inquiry-based instruction that will continue through the school year.油

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Summer planning: Addressing post-pandemic issues

Leaders across the country are plagued with financial, political and capacity constraints. The Baltimore City Public School System and Chicago Public Schools have embraced “imperfect strategies” and risk-taking to achieve what’s best for students: academic gains in a post-COVID world.

However, they’ve exhausted their strategies油and now it’s time to look for new ways to close post-pandemic gaps in learning, a report from the asserts. Here are a few solutions Baltimore’s and Chicago’s leaders have油in mind:

• Executive leadership teams are meeting student social-emotional needs through untapped ESSER funding while hoping to avoid cutting into instruction.油
• They’re addressing staff turnover and “newness” by supporting existing staff to become teachers and promoting school leaders from within.
• To mitigate political turbulence and financial strains, they’re insulating schools by taking the political hits themselves and making concessions to demanding stakeholders.

There’s a lot of good info for leaders in similar situations to lean into. I strongly recommend you take a as you work on your summer planning for 2024-25.

Students could still use help with civics

Civics education is often thrown around as a buzzword by news media. Yet, it shouldn’t be underestimated油as a relevant life skill.

Many of you might remember seeing headlines last year about the revealing historic declines in civic scores. However, many of those reports overlooked what students were actually learning in civics instruction, according to the .

The majority of students surveyed on The Nation���s Report Card油reported studying the basics, including the U.S. Constitution, the three branches of government and political parties. Other topics were “barely covered,” such as:

• How laws are made (26%)
• Current political and social issues (28%)
• The rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens (33%).

If you’re interested in enhancing your students’ civics education, .

How CTE can benefit healthcare

This is a bit of a niche topic but should be relevant to leaders who’ve partnered with local healthcare institutions on CTE programs. This from iCEV, an online resource for career and technical education classes, addresses the need for CTE teachers to motivate students for success in future healthcare jobs.

It’s a booming industry but researchers declare that a longer-living population���resulting from medical advancements and higher living standards���has created a crisis. “The demand for healthcare workers has outpaced our ability to train new ones,” President and CEO of iCEV Dusty Moore said in the report.

That’s where CTE comes into play. Students can earn industry certifications while in high school. Some of the most popular recognized credential exams school districts offer include:

• Medical assistant
• Nursing assistant
• EKG technician
• Phlebotomy
• Patient care technician
• Pharmacy technician

However, 60% of district CTE leaders say hiring teachers with industry experience is their No. 1 challenge, followed by finding funding for programs, retaining qualified teachers, developing work-based learning opportunities for students and finding engaging instructional materials.

More from 91心頭

I hope these reports are useful as you continue your summer preparations for 2024-25. In the meantime, be sure to read up on our latest coverage, including:

• 9 ways to promote STEM to your female students
• School boards and AI: Is it the new hot topic?
• 4 ways tech is helping kids avoid summer learning slides

And as always, listen to our latest episode of the “Talking Out of School” podcast. Most recently, we sat down with CAST CEO Lindsay E. Jones, one of the leading voices on the Universal Design for Learning. Jones works with school leaders, teachers and researchers to design learner-centered and inclusive education systems.

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