4-Year-Olds Pose Messy Challenge for Elementary Schools: Toilet-Training

More 4-year-olds across California are entering transitional kindergarten (TK) this year — curious and eager to play and learn. But some aren’t fully potty-trained, posing an unexpected challenge for schools. “They are younger, and they’re going to have more accidents,” said Elyse Doerflinger, a TK teacher in the Woodlake Unified School District in Tulare County. […]

The Back Channel: How Tech Directors Quietly Share Solutions, Save Money and Stay Sane

Joanna Cook, chief technology officer at East Noble School Corporation in Indiana, had a problem. “We were transitioning from iPads to Chromebooks, but I was getting pushback from our elementary school special needs educators.” Cook emailed the situation to the 1,600 members on the HECC (Hoosier Educational Computer Coordinators) listserv. Within hours, tech leaders from […]

Teachers Try to Take Time Back Using AI Tools

Heather Gauck has spent most of her three-decade teaching career sleep-deprived — turning in after midnight and waking up at dawn. The Michigander made the sacrifice to ensure she completed all the lesson planning and grading needed to serve her special education students in Grand Rapids Public Schools while raising three children of her own. […]

What Stanford Learned By Crowdsourcing AI Solutions for Students With Disabilities

What promise might generative artificial intelligence hold for improving life and increasing equity for students with disabilities? That question inspired a symposium last year, hosted by the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, which brought together education researchers, technologists and students. It included a hackathon where teachers and students with disabilities joined AI innovators to develop product […]

As Data Centers Expand, Should That Concern Schools?

Over the last three years, generative artificial intelligence made its way into many classrooms. Now, a White House initiative could plant the pervasive technology right outside of schools as well. Late last month, the Trump administration rolled out its “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” detailing efforts to accelerate innovation, build AI infrastructure […]

Study: Kids Suffer as Nearly Half of U.S. Families Struggle to Meet Basic Needs

As families face difficulty affording housing, food or health care, young children experience ripple effects, including emotional distress and developmental delays, according to new national research. The latest findings from Stanford University’s RAPID survey in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center show that children’s well-being is at risk. Four in 10 families are […]

Teaching Creativity and Durable Skills in an AI World

When a high school student uses AI to design a community mural or a college freshman collaborates with peers across continents on a digital storytelling project, it’s clear the boundaries of learning are shifting. Classrooms are no longer just spaces for absorbing information; they’re becoming creative studios where students use technology to solve real-world problems. […]

Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: How School Districts Choose Edtech That’s Culturally Relevant

As classrooms across America become increasingly diverse, with growing populations of multilingual learners and students from various cultural backgrounds, school districts face a critical challenge: selecting educational technology that truly serves all students. According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 5.3 million English learners in K-12 public schools […]

Could Podcasts Fix Screen Time Woes for Children?

As Deborah Nichols traversed from Kansas City to Lawrence, Kansas, daily for her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kansas, her preteen son in the backseat, a familiar story flowed out from the car speakers: Every day, they listened to the same cassette tape detailing Disney’s story of Bambi. Nichols is now an associate professor […]

Block by Block: The Student Skilling Journey

As technology reshapes the workforce, digital and AI literacies are becoming essential for every student. From early problem-solving to advanced AI skills, learners build critical thinking, ethical technology use and career-ready competencies — block by block. The progression of skills at each educational stage ensures that students are well-prepared for future challenges and can pursue […]

Inside a New Partnership to Help Schools Keep Students Safe Online

Schools increasingly find themselves on the front lines of managing the ripple effects of students’ online lives — from digital distractions that interfere with learning to online bullying and harmful content — leaving educators to address these challenges without the tools or authority to intervene effectively. In response, one social media platform is partnering directly […]

What Will Kids Lose If PBS Gets Cut?

Near a cardboard cutout of Daniel Tiger, a small stuffed version of Curious George and plenty of promotional posters in the PBS Kids office, there sits thick stacks of graduation invitations. Most are accompanied with handwritten letters from students extolling the influence children’s television shows had on their journeys to donning the cap and gown […]

Why Districts Are Turning to Esports to Reach More Learners

The energy was electric: Three teams of students from three neighboring school systems faced off in a high-stakes competition, their colorful jerseys and team pride on full display. But this wasn’t your typical sporting event; students were navigating block-based worlds, racing against the clock to design sustainable, hurricane-resistant schools. This was the South Florida Showdown, […]

How Teachers Are Making Computer Science Click

“Let’s do it!” That was Alexis Johnson’s reaction when she saw professional learning opportunities focused on computational thinking. A first grade teacher with no formal CS background, she jumped at the chance to explore how computer science principles could enhance early literacy instruction — and ended up transforming her classroom in the process. Johnson is […]

Dual Enrollment Unpacked [Podcast] | EdSurge News

With declining college enrollment, institutions are rethinking the traditional four-year model. Dual enrollment has emerged as a significant growth area, with high schools increasingly prioritizing these programs and colleges finding that dual enrollment students now comprise a significant portion of their student body. This trend has developed alongside the shift toward virtual and asynchronous course […]

Coding, Creativity and the New Digital Fluency

Students light up when they create something meaningful, and every educator has seen that spark. Self-expression fuels learning, and creativity lies at the heart of the human experience. As AI rapidly reshapes software development, computer science (CS) education must move beyond syntax drills and algorithmic repetition. Coding alone isn’t enough; students must also learn to […]

A District, a Diagnostic and a Drive for AI Readiness

Picture this: Tomorrow’s graduates walk into workplaces where AI tools are as common as email — diagnosing patient symptoms, analyzing market trends, optimizing supply chains or designing new infrastructure. From healthcare to marketing to engineering, nearly every field is being transformed. Are our schools preparing them for this new reality? And do we have an […]

Montessori Schools Are Hot — Until They’re Not. What Does That Mean About Education?

There was a moment in the mid-2010s when Montessori was inescapable. The century-old education philosophy, which prioritizes independence from a young age, had turned into a lifestyle brand. Blocks and other wooden activity sets were remarketed as “Montessori toys.” Parents flocked toward outdoor learning, which often involved livestock on a farm, sometimes dubbed “Montessori farms.” […]

Emergent Bilingual Students Find Their Voice With Real-Time Translation

As classrooms across the country become more linguistically diverse, educators face a growing challenge: ensuring that every student, regardless of English proficiency, can access learning, participate fully and feel included. Today, emergent bilingual (EB) students, also known as English learners, account for 10.6 percent of U.S. public school students — more than 5.3 million nationwide […]

How Bold Leadership Builds Personalized Pathways

If you’ve ever watched a student light up after cracking a tough problem or finally connecting the dots, you know learning is personal. Every classroom is filled with students who bring their own strengths, quirks and questions to the table. Personalized learning is about meeting kids where they are — helping each one move forward […]

Trimming the Edtech Fat: How Districts Are Streamlining Their Digital Ecosystems

During the pandemic, school districts amassed an enormous amount of digital tools — sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of urgency. But with pandemic relief funding winding down and pressure mounting to demonstrate educational impact, many districts are now facing a new challenge: cleaning house. According to LearnPlatform, U.S. school districts used an average of […]

Making Math Class Relevant to Real Life

“When would I ever use this?” It’s a question that high school and middle school math teachers have heard many times. Some educators think it’s because math instruction is stuck in a rut. Procedural, boring and, in some cases, “totally outdated,” math lessons just don’t seem to pull students in. Solving this motivation problem is […]

Hundreds of STEM Grants Have Been Terminated. K-12 Math Educators Will Lose Out

Bruce McLaren has committed his career to understanding how education technologies, especially digital games and intelligent-tutoring systems, can help children learn. At the Human Computing Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, McLaren develops digital learning games to study how effective they are in the classroom and beyond. One such game is called Decimal Point. It’s […]

One District’s Approach to Successful AI Integration

Schools across the country are racing to integrate artificial intelligence into classrooms, but the real challenge isn’t just adopting the technology — it’s making sure it works for all students. Will AI be a tool for innovation or yet another factor widening educational gaps? As districts explore AI’s potential, they must also confront critical questions […]

The Evolving Landscape of CTE

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are evolving, becoming more deeply integrated into mainstream high school curricula. Alongside this transition is an expanded perspective on career exploration, and a stronger emphasis on student agency and well-being. In this first episode of a new series, The Idea Spark podcast, host Carl Hooker speaks with Elyse Monahan, […]

States Agree About How Schools Should Use AI. Are They Also Ignoring Civil Rights?

Several years after the release of ChatGPT, which raised ethical concerns for education, schools are still wrestling with how to adopt artificial intelligence. Last week’s batch of executive orders from the Trump administration included one that advanced “AI leadership.” The White House’s order emphasized its desire to use AI to boost learning across the country, […]

Ending USDA Programs for School Meals Will Impact Learning, Experts Warn

Health leaders, educators and farmers throughout the country are growing increasingly concerned about the impact to children’s nutrition after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut two programs — totaling more than $600 million in funding — that helped to put fresh farm food in schools. “We’re really disappointed, particularly given that there’s this focus on […]

Trump Executive Order Calls for Artificial Intelligence to Be Taught in Schools

Since generative artificial intelligence burst onto the scene a few years ago, schools and educators have grappled with how to approach the powerful-but-experimental technology. Ban it? Embrace it? A new executive order plants the White House firmly in the latter camp. On April 23, President Donald Trump signed Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth. […]

Head Start’s Future Is Uncertain. Rural Americans Aren’t Ready for What Happens Next.

Along the Canadian border in north central Washington’s Okanogan County, where the closest major city is at least 100 miles away and infrastructure is sparse, the Okanogan County Child Development Association oversees nine Head Start centers in the region. In an area where wages haven’t kept up with inflation, forcing working families to make measured […]

Helping Educators Reimagine AI’s Role in Transformational Learning

From customer service chatbots to personalized shopping recommendations, artificial intelligence has become integral to our daily lives. Mainstream generative AI tools, which can create original content, have risen dramatically in popularity. Many educators have begun exploring these tools to streamline administrative tasks — from composing parent emails to analyzing assessment data and differentiating instruction. Yet, […]

Federal Cuts Threaten Student Data

“Hey, I’m a principal at a school, and I forgot my password,” the voice said. “Can you help me?” The call came into a help desk at Beaverton School District. A city in Portland’s metropolitan area, Beaverton is home to a Nike factory and is the site of upcoming expansions for semiconductor manufacturing, funded by […]

In Elementary School, Many Teachers Have a Shaky Grasp of Math. Can Preparation Programs Change That?

When it comes to math, students are struggling. The recent national assessment underscored that by revealing that 24 percent of fourth graders are still performing below basic math skills, also shining a spotlight on an ever-growing inequality in math performance across the country. Other assessments — such as the critical thinking-focused international PISA exam — […]

How Open Standards Are Breaking Down Data Barriers

Colleges and universities are at a crossroads when it comes to student data. They have more information at their fingertips than ever before, yet harnessing it to drive meaningful change remains a challenge. A 2022 UCLA-MIT Press study found that higher education struggles to capture and leverage data for impact. This digital disconnect isn’t just […]

A Supreme Court Case Could Change How We Think About and Pay For Religious Schools

Under the first couple of months of the new administration, education has come in for significant and contested revamping. The federal education department has suffered deep cuts, which are the subject of a lawsuit from Democratic state attorneys general. A bitterly disputed executive order has tasked Education Secretary Linda McMahon, wife of the wrestling impresario, […]

How Educators Are Leading the Future of Learning With AI Initiatives

Technology in today’s classrooms is advancing rapidly, reshaping the way students learn and teachers teach, especially with advancements in AI. Educators play a vital role in shaping meaningful and impactful learning opportunities for students through emerging technologies like AI. It’s more important than ever to provide teachers with tools and opportunities to explore technology to […]

As Immigration Raids Stoke Anxiety, What Are the Implications for How Children Learn?

Panicked calls from parents. More empty desks in classrooms. Higher anxiety. Those are some of the effects school officials from around the country say their communities have been experiencing in the weeks since the Trump administration rolled back a federal policy that restricted Immigrations and Customs Enforcement from conducting raids on school grounds. No ICE […]

Why Digital Fluency, Adaptability and AI-Powered Learning Matter More Than Ever

The future isn’t just approaching — it’s moving fast. As industries evolve and workforce demands shift, schools and districts have a critical role in ensuring students are prepared for what’s ahead. Traditional education models, which focus on knowledge retention alone, aren’t enough. Students need digital fluency and adaptability to succeed in an era of constant […]

What Will Districts Do With All Those Empty School Buildings? Some Look to Fill Them With Younger Kids

Several years ago, Oklahoma City Public Schools shuttered more than a dozen of its school buildings. It was part of a realignment process in the district to right-size student populations within schools — some were overcrowded, others were underenrolled — and to make the school experience better and more consistent for students across the city. […]

Maximizing Tier 1 Instruction: Strategies and Benefits of Effective Scaffolding [Infographic]

Scaffolding in Tier 1 instruction helps all students access grade-level content by providing temporary support that is gradually removed as students gain independence. Key strategies include activating prior knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary, using visual aids, modeling and encouraging student discourse. This approach ensures diverse learning needs are met, fostering gradual mastery of skills and promoting student […]

Early Numeracy as a Cornerstone of Long-Term Academic Success

Early literacy often dominates conversations around foundational learning in today’s educational system. However, despite the emphasis on STEM in later years, the importance of early numeracy in shaping long-term academic success is equally critical yet sometimes overlooked. Recognizing the role of early numeracy skills in academic and career readiness can unlock transformative opportunities for student […]

Cultivating Joy Among the ‘Community of Learners’

Nita Creekmore is coauthor of Every Connection Matters: How to Build, Maintain, and Restore Relationships Inside the Classroom and Out. A longtime instructional coach, presenter and education consultant, Creekmore has returned to the classroom as a fifth-grade teacher. In this interview with Educational Leadership magazine, Creekmore discussed how she approaches each day with joy and […]

A Reading Expert’s Case for Rethinking Fluency

Reading fluency — the ability to read accurately, automatically and with appropriate expression — remains a critical yet often overlooked component of literacy development. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 68 percent of U.S. students are not reading at proficient levels. By fourth grade, students transition from learning to read to reading […]

Teachers Say Parental Engagement Can Make or Break Efforts to Close Learning Gaps

The recent unveiling of national reading and math scores revealed some disheartening trends about learning recovery with the collective main headline: Students Are Doing Worse Than Before the Pandemic Started. Parsing education data into snack-sized servings. The factors behind the continued dip in scores are multilayered, but teachers might tell you that the key reason […]

Students Are Not Well, and It’s Our Job to Save Them

During my eight-year teaching career in Colorado, I’ve heard many schools and districts claim they want to “develop the whole child.” For example, the Colorado Department of Education supports statewide infrastructure and systems to promote a whole-child approach called Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child . Furthermore, Denver Public Schools Ends Policy requires all students […]

Using Technology to Build a Culture of Authentic Student Engagement

To support improved student outcomes, educators increasingly look to technology. But how do they fuel authentic engagement, using technology as a tool to not only enhance learning but also inspire curiosity and strengthen connections? Recently, EdSurge spoke with Kelly Mitchell, Digital Learning and Teaching Facilitator with Onslow County Schools in North Carolina. Mitchell spent four […]

How Creative AI Is Reshaping Education [Infographic]

The Creativity with AI in Education 2025 Report, based on insights from over 2,800 educators across the United States and UK, reveals how AI technology is transforming classrooms by enhancing creative thinking, supporting multimedia content creation and developing essential communication skills. The findings demonstrate AI’s potential to foster academic success, career readiness and personal growth […]

When Early Learning Serves as a Catalyst for Change

Early learning is taking center stage in education, and for good reason. As schools across the country face resource constraints and potential teacher shortages, innovative approaches to early childhood education are yielding impressive results. By using data to guide instruction, building community ties and focusing on targeted help for students, some districts are seeing remarkable […]

New Education Department Officials Say Book Bans Are a ‘Hoax.’ Teachers Disagree.

“U.S. Department of Education ends Biden’s book ban hoax.” That headline from a recent press release by the federal agency has sparked outcry from free speech advocates and teachers who dispute that President Joe Biden’s administration exaggerated the pervasiveness of book bans in the nation’s schools. In fact, educators say they’ve been subjected to censorship […]

Nation’s Report Card Shows Students Struggle With Basic Reading Skills

The pandemic jostled students off course, disrupting learning around the country. Billions in federal relief dollars later and rigorous assessments show that students are still struggling to recover. A federally mandated evaluation of student performance, the National Assessment of Educational Progress — known as the “nation’s report card” — is considered one of the most […]

Relationships Are Key to Kids’ Growth — And They’re in Crisis, Expert Says

Education in the 21st century is obsessed with assessing children, attempting to measure every aspect of their intelligence, learning and growth. Yet we are not, according to Isabelle Hau, measuring what matters: relationships. “There’s a disconnect between what we know is really critical and then what we’re paying attention to,” says Hau, executive director of […]

Is Classroom Discussion a Dying Art?

One of Kevin Gannon’s favorite class discussion activities doesn’t involve much talking. Inspired by complete-the-story games in which players each write a line of a tale that builds off a previous person’s idea, Gannon, director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence at Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, uses a similar concept […]

Supporting All Learners: Building an Inclusive Classroom With Universal Design for Learning

Schools should provide a window through which all students can see the future they want for themselves. Students arrive in the classroom with a diverse range of needs, and helping them succeed isn’t always straightforward. Centering instruction in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and implementing both direct and student-driven instruction can help engage learners, address […]

4 Benefits a Digital Credential Program Offers Right Now

Imagine a recent graduate armed with a degree but struggling to convey their specific skills to potential employers. Now picture that same graduate confidently presenting a suite of microcredentials that precisely showcase their abilities. This scenario isn’t just possible; it’s becoming increasingly necessary in today’s competitive job market. Yet, some educational institutions view microcredentials with […]

As Humanities Fight for Support, New Journal Aims to Celebrate Their Role in Public Life

Like air, humanities-driven work is everywhere but taken for granted, so much a part of life it’s easy to overlook. A scholarly book or article about history or philosophy counts. So does a local oral-history project, an art exhibit, or a dinner-table conversation about books, movies, or music. A new peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Public Humanities, […]

Does School Choice Need a Lemon Law?

When she moved her daughter into a reputable private school in Washington at the beginning of the pandemic, Ashley Jochim never imagined that she was preparing her daughter for failure. Jochim, a mother of four and an education researcher, thought her second-grader would do better in the smaller, more flexible environment the private school offered. […]

Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies Have a Direct Impact on Youth Mental Health. So Does Support.

Findings from a recent survey by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, show transgender, gay and nonbinary teens have worse mental health than their peers—and school policies targeting them contribute to their mental health struggles. Parsing education data into snack-sized servings. The data comes from the Trevor Project’s 2024 […]

What Does It Mean to Be AI Ready? [Infographic]

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing society, workplace and education. To be prepared for the college and career opportunities of today and the future, students must learn to be “AI Ready.” AI readiness ensures that students can thrive in the future as informed users and developers of emerging technologies, including AI. Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) […]

What Does It Take To Successfully Implement Personalized Learning at Scale?

At its core, personalized learning is about recognizing that no two students learn exactly the same way. It moves beyond the one-size-fits-all approach by focusing on each student’s strengths, needs and learning pace. By creating more flexible, student-centered classrooms, personalized learning empowers students to take ownership of their education, developing the skills they need to […]

Rethinking Digital Citizenship | EdSurge News

The need to teach responsible and ethical digital habits has never been more pressing. For students, digital citizenship isn’t just a skill — it’s essential to navigating everything from staying connected with their friends to learning about the world around them, to preparing for college and career. But with technology advancing so quickly, how can […]

With Card Games, Coloring Sessions and ‘Hang Out Times,’ Professors Rethink Office Hours

Office hours for Patrick Cafferty’s biology classes are anything but traditional. Sometimes, students will go on runs with Cafferty, who is a teaching professor at Emory University. Other times, they’ll meet for coloring sessions or use chalk to draw anatomical diagrams on the sidewalk outside the medical school on campus. This year, the office hours […]