Category: school

  • Why in-building coverage is a lifeline for school safety

    Why in-building coverage is a lifeline for school safety

    Key points:

    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. Yet, across the country, there is an unseen danger confronting school staff, students, and emergency personnel. This is inadequate communication connectivity within school buildings.

    For years, schools have implemented fortified doors, cameras, and lockdown exercises. This is because communication is the unseen link that connects each safety measure. However, communication can weaken once someone enters a structure composed of concrete, steel, and reinforced glass. This is unacceptable during a time when almost every call to 9-1-1 is generated by a cell phone.

    The changing face of emergency response

    More than 75 percent of emergency calls now come from wireless phones, according to the Federal Communications Commission. When something goes wrong in a classroom or gym, the first instinct isn’t to reach for a landline–it’s to pull out a smartphone.

    But what happens when that signal can’t get out?

    This problem becomes even more pressing as the nation moves toward Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911), a major upgrade that allows dispatchers to receive text messages, images, and even live video. These new capabilities give first responders eyes and ears inside the building before they arrive–but only if the network works indoors.

    At the same time, new laws are raising the bar. Alyssa’s Law, named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a student killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting, requires schools in several states to install silent panic alarms directly linked to law enforcement. Similar legislation is spreading nationwide. These systems rely on strong, reliable indoor wireless coverage–the very thing many older buildings lack.

    When walls become barriers

    School buildings weren’t designed for today’s communications reality. Thick concrete walls, metal framing, energy-efficient glass, and sprawling multi-story layouts often block or weaken wireless signals. During an active-shooter event or a tornado warning, students may shelter in basements, cafeterias, or interior hallways–places where signal strength is weakest.

    After several high-profile incidents, post-incident reports have revealed the same pattern: first responders losing radio contact as they entered, dispatchers unable to locate or communicate with callers, and delays caused by poor in-building connectivity. These breakdowns aren’t just technical–they’re human. They affect how quickly students are found, how fast responders can coordinate, and how well lives can be protected.

    Technology that saves seconds–and lives

    Fortunately, there are solutions available, and they are becoming more accessible.

    The Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems (ERRCS) can also be referred to as Distributed Antennas Systems (DAS) within a public safety setting. The technology is responsible for extending radio communication coverage within building infrastructures. ERRCS are required within schools due to measures put into place within fire regulations.

    For communication and safety needs, cellular DAS, also known as small cells, are required to expand cellular coverage on a campus. These enable students, faculty, and staff to make calls, send texts, and exchange vital multimedia messages to 9-1-1 dispatchers, which is crucial during the NG911 era.

    Despite such technologies, smaller schools on more limited budgets can still leverage signal boosters and repeaters to fill coverage gaps within gyms, cafeterias, and other similar areas. At the same time, newer managed Wi-Fi solutions that offer E911 functionality can serve as a backup safety net that can transmit multimedia messages over secure Internet communications when cellular connectivity is no longer available.

    Best practices for schools

    Start with a coverage assessment. A comparison of where signals are dropping, not only for public safety communications but generally across each of the main cellular providers, will provide school administration with information on where to make improvements.

    Schools should then coordinate with the fire departments, the office of emergency management, and wireless service providers prior to implementing any system. This will ensure that they comply with local regulations and interoperability with first responders.

    Finally, maintenance and functionality are just as important as final installation. Communication systems should receive periodic tests, preferably during safety drills to verify that they work well under stress.

    Bridging the funding gap

    Improving in-building communications infrastructure can sound costly, but several funding pathways exist. Some states offer school-safety grants or federal assistance programs that cover technology investments tied to life safety. Districts can also explore partnerships with local governments or leverage E-rate-style funding for eligible network upgrades.

    Beyond compliance or funding, though, this is an equity issue. Every student, teacher, and responder deserves the same chance to communicate in a crisis–whether in a small-town elementary school or a large urban high school.

    A call to action

    A school is more than its classrooms and hallways, it is also a community of individuals each relying on others during times of fear and uncertainty. Perhaps one of the most straightforward ways to make this community more resilient is to provide a strong indoor building communication environment, both for public safety communications and cellular devices.

    The time has come to make connectivity a vital safety component rather than a luxury, because silence is simply not an option when seconds are at stake.

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  • Cutting costs without cutting corners

    Cutting costs without cutting corners

    Key points:

    With the end of federal COVID-19 emergency funding and the inherent volatility of state income tax revenues, California school districts are in an era of financial uncertainty. Fortunately, Jurupa Unified School District is already several years into the process of finding ways to track and control expenses while still supporting teachers and staff so they can provide the best possible educational experience for our students. Here’s how we’re making staffing and payroll processes more efficient, starting with the perennially challenging extra duty.

    Getting a handle on extra duty

    In addition to our salaried staff, we have a number of part-time, hourly, and what we call “extra duty” assignments. Because a significant amount of our funding comes from grants, many of our assignments are temporary or one-time. We fill those positions with extra duty requests so we’re not committed to ongoing payroll obligations.

    For many years, those extra duty requests and time cards were on paper, which meant the payroll department was performing redundant work to enter the information in the payroll system. The request forms we used were also on paper, making it very difficult to track the actual time being used back to the request, so we could be sure that the hours being used were within the limitations of the request. We needed a better control mechanism that would help school sites stay within budget, as well as a more formal budget mechanism to encumber the department and site budgets to cover the extra duty requests.

    Budgeting can get very complicated because it’s cross-functional. It includes a position-control component, a payroll component, and a financial budgeting component. We needed a solution that could make all of those universes work together. The mission was either to find a system or build one. Our county office started a pilot program with our district to build a system, but ultimately decided against continuing with this effort due to the resources required to sustain such a system for 23 county districts. 

    Our district engaged in a competitive process and chose Helios Ed. Within six months, our team developed and launched a new system to address extra duty. Since then, we have saved more than $100,000 in staffing costs, time expenses, and budget overruns because of the stronger internal controls we now have in place.

    A more efficient (and satisfied) payroll department

    Eliminating redundant data entry and working with data instead of paper has allowed us to reduce staffing by two full-time equivalents–not through layoffs, but through attrition. And because they have a system that is handling data entry for them, our payroll department has more time to give quality to their work, and feel they are working at a level more aligned to their skills.

    Finding efficiencies in your district

    While Jurupa Unified has found efficiencies and savings in these specific areas, every school district is different. As many California district leaders like to say, we have 1,139 school districts –and just as many ways of doing things. With that in mind, there are some steps to the process of moving from paper to online systems (or using online systems more efficiently) that apply universally.

    1. Sit down and identify your objectives. What are the critical components that you must have? 
    2. Make the decision to make or buy. When COVID first hit, Jurupa Unified created its own invoice-routing system through SharePoint. We’ve also built an excursion request process in PowerApps that handles travel, conferences, and field trips. As our county office found out, though, when you’re bringing a number of functionalities together, it can make more sense to work with a vendor you trust.
    3. If you choose to buy software, be certain that it can do precisely what you need it to. If a vendor says they can develop a functionality along the way, ask to see the new feature before you buy.
    4. Be certain the vendor will be responsive. When it comes to a function such as payroll, you’re dealing with people’s livelihoods, and you need to know that if there’s something wrong with the system, or if you need help, that help is just a phone call away.

    Putting in a new payroll management system has made an enormous difference for our district, but it’s not the end of our cost-cutting process. We’re always looking at our different programs to see where we can cut back in ways that don’t impact the classroom. Ultimately, these changes are about ensuring that resources stay focused where they matter most. While budgets fluctuate and funding streams remain unpredictable, my team and I come to work every day because we believe in public education. I’m a product of public education myself, and I love waking up every day knowing that I can come back and support today’s students and teachers.

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  • What school leaders need to know

    What school leaders need to know

    Key points:

    Special education is at a breaking point. Across the country, more children than ever are being referred for evaluations to determine whether they qualify for special education services. But there aren’t enough school psychologists or specialists on staff to help schools meet the demand, leaving some families with lengthy wait times for answers and children missing critical support. 

    The growing gap between need and capacity has inspired districts to get creative. One of the most debated solutions? Remote psychoeducational testing, or conducting evaluations virtually rather than face-to-face. 

    Can a remote evaluation accurately capture what a child needs? Will the results hold up if challenged in a legal dispute? Is remote assessment equivalent to in-person? 

    As a school psychologist and educational consultant, I hear these questions every week. And now, thanks to research and data released this summer, I can answer with confidence: Remote psychoeducational testing can produce equivalent results to traditional in-person assessment. 

    What the research shows

    In July 2025, a large-scale national study compared in-person and remote administration of the Woodcock-Johnson V Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Achievement (WJ V), the latest version of one of the most widely-used and comprehensive assessment systems for evaluating students’ intellectual abilities, academic achievement, and oral language skills. Using a matched case-control design with 300 participants and 44 licensed school psychologists from across the U.S., the study found no statistically or practically significant difference in student scores between in-person and remote formats. 

    In other words: When conducted with fidelity, remote WJ V testing produces equivalent results to traditional in-person assessment.

    This study builds on nearly a decade of prior research that also found score equivalency for remote administrations of the most widely used evaluations including WJ IV COG and ACH, RIAS-2, and WISC-V assessments, respectively. 

    The findings of the newest study are as important as they are urgent. They show remote testing isn’t just a novelty–it’s a practical, scalable solution that is rooted in evidence. 

    Why it matters now

    School psychology has been facing a workforce shortage for over a decade. A 2014 national study predicted this crunch, and today districts are relying on contracting agencies and remote service providers to stay afloat. At the same time, referrals for evaluations are climbing, driven by pandemic-related learning loss, growing behavioral challenges, and increased awareness of neurodiversity. 

    The result: More children and families waiting longer for answers, while school psychologists are facing mounting caseloads and experiencing burnout. 

    Remote testing offers a way out of this cycle and embraces changes. It allows districts to bring in licensed psychologists from outside their area, without relocating staff or asking families to travel. It helps schools move through backlogs more efficiently, ensuring students get the services they need sooner. And it gives on-site staff space to do the broader preventative work that too often gets sidelined. Additionally, it offers a way to support those students who are choosing alternate educational settings, such as virtual schools. 

    Addressing the concerns

    Skepticism remains, and that’s healthy. Leaders wonder: Will a hearing officer accept remote scores in a due process case? Are students disadvantaged by the digital format? Can we trust the results to guide placement and services?

    These are valid questions, but research shows that when remote testing is done right, the results are valid and reliable. 

    Key phrase: Done right. Remote assessment isn’t just a Zoom call with a stopwatch. In the most recent study, the setup included specific safeguards:

    • Touchscreen laptops with screens 13” or larger; 
    • A secure platform with embedded digital materials;
    • Dual cameras to capture the student’s face and workspace;
    • A guided proctor in-room with the student; and
    • Standardized examiner and proctor training protocols.

    This carefully structured environment replicates traditional testing conditions as closely as possible. All four of the existing equivalency studies utilized the Presence Platform, as it already meets with established criteria.

    When those fidelity conditions are met, the results hold up. Findings showed p-values above .05 and effect sizes below .03 across all tested subtests, indicating statistical equivalence. This means schools can confidently use WJ V scores from remote testing, provided the setup adheres to best practices.

    What district leaders can do

    For remote testing to succeed, schools need to take a thoughtful, structured approach. Here are three steps districts can take now.

    1. Vet providers carefully. Ask about their platform, equipment, training, and how they align with published research standards. 
    2. Clarify device requirements. Ensure schools have the right technology in place before testing begins.
    3. Build clear policies. Set district-wide expectations for how remote testing should be conducted so everyone–staff and contractors alike–are on the same page. 

    A path forward

    Remote assessment won’t solve every challenge in special education, but it can close one critical gap: timely, accurate evaluations. For students in rural districts, schools with unfilled psychologist positions, virtual school settings, or families tired of waiting for answers, it can be a lifeline.

    The research is clear. Remote psychoeducational testing works when we treat it with the same care and rigor as in-person assessment. The opportunity now is to use this tool strategically–not as a last resort, but as part of a smarter, more sustainable approach to serving students. 

    At its best, remote testing is not a compromise; it’s a path toward expanded access and stronger support for the students who need it most.

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  • What K-20 leaders should know about building resilient campuses

    What K-20 leaders should know about building resilient campuses

    Key Points:

    When a school building fails, everything it supports comes to a halt. Learning stops. Families scramble. Community stability is shaken. And while fire drills and lockdown procedures prepare students and staff for specific emergencies, the buildings themselves often fall short in facing the unexpected.

    Between extreme weather events, aging infrastructure, and rising operational demands, facility leaders face mounting pressure to think beyond routine upkeep. Resilience should guide every decision to help schools stay safe, meet compliance demands, and remain prepared for whatever lies ahead.

    According to a recent infrastructure report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the nation’s 98,000 PK-12 schools received a D+ for physical condition–a clear signal that more proactive design and maintenance strategies are urgently needed.

    Designing for resilience means planning for continuity. It’s about integrating smarter materials, better systems, and proactive partnerships so that learning environments can bounce back quickly–or never go down at all.

    Start with smarter material choices

    The durability of a school begins at ground level. Building materials that resist moisture, mold, impact, and corrosion play a critical role in long-term school resilience and functionality. For example, in flood-prone regions, concrete blocks and fiber-reinforced panels outperform drywall in both durability and recovery time. Surfaces that are easy to clean, dry quickly, and don’t retain contaminants can make the difference between reopening in days versus weeks.

    Limit downtime by planning ahead

    Downtime is costly, but it’s not always unavoidable. What is avoidable is the scramble that follows when there’s no plan in place. Developing a disaster-response protocol that includes vendors, contact trees, and restoration procedures can significantly reduce response time. Schools that partner with recovery experts before an event occurs often find themselves first in line when restoration resources are stretched thin.

    FEMA’s National Resilience Guidance stresses the need to integrate preparedness and long-term recovery planning at the facility level, particularly for schools that often serve as vital community hubs during emergencies.

    Maintenance as the first line of defense

    Preventative maintenance might not generate headlines, but it can prevent them. Regular inspections of roofing, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems help uncover vulnerabilities before they lead to shutdowns. Smart maintenance schedules can extend the lifespan of critical systems and reduce the risk of emergency failures, which are almost always more expensive.

    Build flexibility into the design

    Truly resilient spaces are defined by their ability to adapt, not just their physical strength. Multi-use rooms that can shift from classroom to shelter, or gymnasiums that double as community command centers, offer critical flexibility during emergencies. Facilities should also consider redundancies in HVAC and power systems to ensure critical areas like server rooms or nurse stations remain functional during outages.

    Include restoration experts early

    Design and construction teams are essential, but so are the people who will step in after a disaster. Involving restoration professionals during the planning or renovation phase helps ensure the layout and materials selected won’t hinder recovery later. Features like water-resistant flooring, interior drainage, and strategically placed shut-off valves can dramatically cut cleanup and repair times.

    Think beyond the building

    Resilient schools need more than solid walls. They need protected data, reliable communication systems, and clear procedures for remote learning if the physical space becomes temporarily inaccessible. Facility decisions should consider how technology, security, and backup systems intersect with the physical environment to maintain educational continuity.

    Schools are more than schools during a crisis

    In many communities, schools become the default support hub during a crisis. They house evacuees, store supplies, and provide a place for neighbors to connect. Resilient infrastructure supports student safety while also reinforcing a school’s role as a vital part of the community. Designs should support this extended role, with access-controlled entries, backup power, and health and sanitation considerations built in from the start.

    A resilient mindset starts with leadership

    Resilience begins with leadership and is reflected in the decisions that shape a school’s physical and operational readiness. Facility managers, superintendents, and administrative teams must advocate for resilient investments early in the planning process. This includes aligning capital improvement budgets, bond proposals, and RFP language with long-term resilience goals.

    There’s no such thing as a truly disaster-proof building. But there are schools that recover faster, withstand more, and serve their communities more effectively during crises. The difference is often found in early choices: what’s designed, built, and maintained before disaster strikes.

    When resilience guides every decision, school facilities are better prepared to safeguard students and maintain continuity through disruption.

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  • 49 predictions about edtech, innovation, and–yes–AI in 2026

    49 predictions about edtech, innovation, and–yes–AI in 2026

    As K-12 schools prepare for 2026, edtech and innovation are no longer driven by novelty–it’s driven by necessity. District leaders are navigating tighter budgets, shifting enrollment, rising cybersecurity threats, and an urgent demand for more personalized, future-ready learning.

    At the same time, AI, data analytics, and emerging classroom technologies are reshaping not only how students learn, but how educators teach, assess, and support every learner.

    The result is a defining moment for educational technology. From AI-powered tutoring and automated administrative workflows to immersive career-connected learning and expanded cybersecurity frameworks, 2026 is poised to mark a transition from experimental adoption to system-wide integration. The year ahead will test how effectively schools can balance innovation with equity, security with access, and automation with the irreplaceable role of human connection in education.

    Here’s what K-12 industry experts, stakeholders, and educators have to say about what 2026 will bring:

    AI becomes fully mainstream: With clearer guardrails and safety standards, AI will shift from pilot projects to a natural part of daily classroom experiences. AI tackles the biggest challenges: learning gaps and mental health: Chronic absenteeism, disengagement and widening readiness levels are creating urgent needs, and AI is one of the only tools that can scale support quickly. Hyper-personalized learning becomes standard: Students need tailored, real-time feedback more than ever, and AI will adapt instruction moment to moment based on individual readiness. AI tutoring expands without replacing teachers: Quick, focused bursts of AI-led practice and feedback can relieve overwhelmed teachers and give students support when they need it most. The novelty era of AI is over: In 2026, districts will prioritize solutions that measurably improve student outcomes, relevance and wellbeing, not just cool features.
    –Kris Astle, Education Expert and Manager of Learning and Adoption, SMART Technologies

    In 2026, workforce readiness will no longer be seen as someone else’s responsibility, but will become a collective mission. Schools, employers, families, and policymakers will increasingly work together to connect students’ strengths to real opportunities. Career and technical education (CTE) and industry certifications will move to the center of the conversation as districts rethink graduation requirements to prioritize alignment between student aptitudes and workforce demand. The goal will shift from ‘graduation’ to readiness. Students don’t lack ambition, they lack connection between what they’re good at and where those talents are needed. When education, industry, and community align, that connection becomes clear. The result? A generation that enters the world not just credentialed, but confident and capable.
    —Edson Barton, CEO & Co-Founder, YouScience

    As the number of edtech applications continues to surge across classrooms nationwide, teachers and administrators will need to become increasingly discerning consumers. The challenge for 2026 won’t be finding tools, it will be identifying which ones truly move the needle for teaching and learning. To maximize impact, district leaders should look for tools that demonstrate clear instructional value, support data-driven teaching, and extend what humans alone can accomplish. This includes intentionally selecting tools that embody strong learning science, effectively personalize the learning experience, empower teachers with meaningful data, and align tightly to instructional goals. If a tool doesn’t demonstrably provide purposeful practice to enhance student learning or make teachers’ work easier, it’s unlikely to earn a place in the modern classroom.
    –Dr. Carolyn Brown, Chief academic Officer & Co-Founder of Foundations in Learning, Creator of WordFlight

    In 2026, schools will continue to prioritize clear, consistent communication between families, students and staff. The expectations around what good communication looks like will rise significantly as communication modality preferences evolve and expand. Parents increasingly rely on digital tools to stay informed, and districts will feel growing pressure to ensure their online presence is not only accurate but intuitive, engaging, accessible and available in real time. New elements such as AI chatbots and GEO practices will shift from “nice-to-have” features to essential components of a modern school communication toolbox. These tools help families find answers quickly, reduce the burden on office staff and give schools a reliable, user-friendly way to reach every stakeholder with urgent updates or important news at a moment’s notice. Historically, digital methods of school-to-home communication have been overlooked or deprioritized in many districts. But as competition for students and teachers increases and family expectations continue to rise, schools will be forced to engage more intentionally through digital channels, which are often the only reliable way to reach families today. As a result, modernizing communications will become a core strategic priority rather than an operational afterthought.
    –Jim Calabrese, CEO, Finalsite

    Educator wellness programs will increasingly integrate with student well-being initiatives, creating a truly holistic school climate. Schools may roll out building-wide morning meditations, joint movement challenges, or shared mindfulness activities that engage both staff and students. By connecting teacher and student wellness, districts will foster healthier, more resilient communities while boosting engagement and morale across the school.
    —Niki Campbell, M.S., Founder/CEO, The Flourish Group

    In 2026, we will see more talk about the need for research and evidence to guide education decisions in K-12 education. Reports on student achievement continue to show that K-12 students are not where they need to be academically, while concerns about the impact of new technologies on student well-being are on the rise. Many in the education space are now asking what we can do differently to support student learning as AI solutions rapidly make their way into classrooms. Investing in research and development with a focus on understanding  teaching and learning in the age of AI will be vital to addressing current education issues.
    —Auditi Chakravarty, CEO, AERDF

    District leaders will harness school safety as a strategic advantage. In 2026, K-12 district leaders will increasingly see school safety as a key driver of their biggest goals–from increasing student achievement to keeping great teachers in the classroom. Safety will show up more naturally in everyday conversations with teachers, parents, and students, underscoring how a secure, supportive environment helps everyone do their best work. As districts point to the way safer campuses improve focus, attract strong educators, and build community trust, school safety will become a clear advantage that helps move the whole district forward.
    —Brent Cobb, CEO, CENTEGIX 

    Learning is no longer confined to a classroom, a schedule, or even a school building. New models are expanding what’s possible for students and prompting educators to reconsider the most effective strategies for learning. A key shift is asking students, “What is school doing for you?” Virtual and hybrid models provide students the space and time to reflect on this question, and these non-traditional approaches are expected to continue growing in 2026. Education is shifting from a focus on test-taking skills to an approach that helps students become well-rounded, self-directed learners who understand what motivates them and are better prepared for career readiness and long-term success. With that comes a need for a stronger emphasis on fostering independence. It’s equally important that students learn to build resilience themselves, and for parents and teachers to recognize that letting students stumble is part of helping them without life-altering consequences will support the best citizens of the future. Aligning education with these priorities is crucial to advancing learning for the next generation.
    –Dr. Cutler, Executive Director, Wisconsin Virtual Academy

    With reading skills continuing to lag, 2026 will be pivotal for improving K–12 literacy–especially for middle school students. Schools must double down on evidence-based strategies that foster engagement and achievement, such as targeted reading interventions that help students build confidence and reconnect with reading. We’ll likely see a strong push for tools like digital libraries and personalized reading programs to help learners gain ground before entering high school. Audiobooks and other accessible digital formats can play a key role in supporting comprehension and fluency, particularly when paired with interactive resources and educator guidance. Middle school remains a crucial stage for developing lifelong reading habits that extend beyond the classroom. The top priority will be closing learning gaps by cultivating meaningful, enjoyable reading experiences for students both in and out of school.
    –Renee Davenport, Vice President of North American Schools, OverDrive

    Virtual set design, which is popular in professional theaters and higher education institutions, is now making its way into K-12 theaters. It allows schools to use the technologies they are familiar with such as short-throw projection technology, and combine it with computer graphics, 3D modeling, real-time rendering, and projection mapping technologies to create visually-stunning sets that could not be created by building traditional sets. A great example of this is highlighted in this eSchool News’ article. Overall, virtual sets elevate theater productions at a fraction of the cost and time of building physical sets, and when students are involved in creating the virtual sets, they learn a variety of tech-related skills that will help them in future careers.
    –Remi Del Mar, Group Product Manager, Epson America, Inc.

    In 2026, more school districts will take deliberate steps to integrate career-connected learning into the K–12 experience. As the workforce continues to evolve, educators recognize that students need more than academic mastery – they need technical fluency, transferable skills, and the confidence to navigate unfamiliar challenges. Districts will increasingly turn to curricula that blend rigorous instruction with meaningful, hands-on experiences, helping students understand how what they learn in the classroom connects to real opportunities beyond it. In turn, we’ll see a growing emphasis on activity-, project-, and problem-based learning that promotes relevance, exploration, and purposeful engagement. This shift will also deepen partnerships between schools, local industries, and higher education to help ensure learning experiences reflect real workforce expectations and expose students to future pathways. By embedding these experiences into daily learning, schools can help students develop a strong foundation for lifelong learning and adaptability–redefining educational success to include readiness for life and work.
    –David Dimmett, President & CEO, Project Lead the Way

    AI will push America’s century-old education system to a breaking point. AI will make it impossible to ignore that our current education priorities are obsolete and, for millions, downright harmful. The root cause? Education’s very failed ‘success’ metrics. At long last, high-school math will get its day of reckoning, with growing calls for redirecting focus toward the ideas that matter, not micro-tidbits that adults never use and smartphones perform flawlessly. Society is in a technology revolution, but how we teach our youth hasn’t changed. Frustration is growing. Students are bored and disengaged. Parents are fearful for their children’s future. Career centers will soon become ghost towns as young people question the relevance of what and how they’re being prepared for the future. The schools that rebuild around problem-solving, reasoning, and genuine human creativity will thrive, while the rest stagnate in unavoidable debate about whether their model has any real-world value.
    —Ted Dintersmith, Founder, What School Could Be

    In 2026, I anticipate several meaningful shifts in early childhood education. First, with growing recognition of the academic, social-emotional, and physical benefits of outdoor learning, more schools will prioritize creating intentional outdoor learning environments. More than just recess time, this means bringing indoor activities outdoors, so children have the chance to not only learn in nature but about nature. Additionally, as we see expansion in early childhood programs across the nation, I expect a continued focus on play-based learning. Research indicates that is how children learn best, and while there is pressure for academics and rigor, early childhood educators know play can provide that very thing. Lastly, while it’s widely known that children use their senses to learn about the world around them, I see educators being more intentional about meeting the sensory needs of all learners in their classrooms. We’ll continue to see a quest to provide environments that truly differentiate to meet individual needs in an effort to help everyone learn in the way that works best for them.
    –Jennifer Fernandez, Education Strategist, School Specialty

    As district leaders look ahead to 2026, there is a widening gap between growing special ed referrals and limited resources. With referrals now reaching more than 15 percent of all U.S. public school students, schools are under increasing pressure to make high-stakes decisions with limited staff and resources. The challenge is no longer just volume–it’s accuracy. Too often, students–especially multilingual learners–are placed in special ed not because of disability, but because their learning needs are misunderstood. Ensuring that every student receives the right support begins with getting identification right from the start. The districts that will make the most progress in the new year will focus more on improving assessment quality, not speed. This means leveraging digital tools that ease the strain on special ed teachers and school psychologists, streamlining efficiency while keeping their expert judgment at the heart of support. When accuracy becomes the foundation of special ed decision-making, schools can reallocate resources where they’re needed most and ensure that every learner is understood, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive.
    —Dr. Katy Genseke, Psy.D., Director of Clinical Product Management, Riverside Insights

    In the coming year, we’ll see more districts formalize removing cell phone access in classrooms and during the school day, along with reducing passive screen time, as educators grapple with student disengagement and rising concerns about attention, learning, and well-being. This shift will spark a renewed emphasis on real-world, hands-on learning where students can physically explore scientific principles and understand where mathematical and scientific ideas come from. Schools will increasingly prioritize experiences that connect scientific concepts to the real world, helping students build curiosity and confidence in their science and math skills. Ultimately, these changes will result in learners seeing themselves in roles connected to these experiences, such as health sciences, bio tech, engineering, agricultural science, and many more, as a way to engage and prepare them for meaningful and in-demand postsecondary professions or further education.
    –Jill Hedrick, CEO, Vernier Science Education

    Across the country, I’m inspired by how many districts are embracing evidence-based literacy practices and seeking stronger alignment in their approach. At the same time, I see areas where teachers require more consistent training, tools, and support to implement these practices effectively. This moment presents a genuine opportunity for leaders to foster greater coherence and enhance implementation in meaningful ways. Looking toward 2026, my hope is that district leaders embrace a comprehensive, long-term vision for literacy and commit to true alignment across classrooms and grade levels. That means giving teachers the time, structure, and support required for effective implementation; leading with empathy as educators adopt new practices; and recognizing that real change doesn’t come from training alone but from ongoing coaching, collaboration, and commitment from leadership. National data make the urgency clear: reading gaps persist in the early grades and beyond, and too many students enter adolescence without the foundational literacy skills they need. It’s time to change the story by building teacher capacity, strengthening implementation, and ensuring every learner at every level in every classroom has access to high-quality, science-backed reading instruction.
    —Jeanne Jeup, CEO & Founder, IMSE

    If 2023-2025 were the “panic and pilot” years for AI in schools, 2026 will be the year habits harden. The policies, tools, and norms districts choose now will set the defaults for how a generation learns, works, and thinks with AI. The surprise: students use AI less to shortcut work and more to stretch their thinking. In 2023 the fear was simple: “Kids will use AI to cheat.” By the end of 2026, the bigger surprise will be how many students use AI to do more thinking, not less, in schools that teach them how. We already see students drafting on their own, then using AI for formative feedback aligned to the teacher’s rubric. They ask “Why is this a weak thesis?” or “How could I make this clearer?” instead of “Write this for me.” Where adults set clear expectations, AI becomes a studio, not a vending machine. Students write first, then ask AI to critique, explain, or suggest revisions. They compare suggestions to the rubric and explain how they used AI as part of the assignment, instead of hiding it. The technology didn’t change. The adult framing did.
    –Adeel Khan, CEO, MagicSchool

    School safety conversations will include more types of emergencies. In a 2025 School Safety Trends Report that analyzed 265,000+ alerts, 99 percent of alerts were for everyday emergencies, including medical incidents and behavioral issues, while only 1 percent involved campus-wide events, such as lockdowns. Effective school safety planning must include a variety of types of emergencies, not just the extreme. While most people think of lockdowns when they hear “school safety,” it’s critical that schools have plans in place for situations like seizures or cardiac arrest. In these scenarios, the right protocols and technology save lives–in fact, approximately 1 in 25 high schools have a sudden cardiac arrest incident each year. In 2026, I believe wearable panic buttons and technology that maps the locations of medical devices, like AEDs, will become the standard for responding to these incidents.
    —Jill Klausing, Teacher, School District of Lee County 

    One quarter of high seniors say they have no plans for the future, and that percentage will only grow. Educators, nonprofits, and policymakers must work to connect learning with real world skills and experiences because most kids don’t know where to start. DIY digital career exploration and navigation tools are dramatically shaping kids’ futures. High quality platforms that kids can access on their phones and mobile devices are exploding, showing options far beyond a college degree.
    –Julie Lammers, CEO, American Student Assistance

    A significant trend emerging for 2026 is the focus on evidence-based learning strategies that directly address cognitive load and instructional equity. For example, as districts implement the Science of Reading, it will become even more imperative for every student to audibly distinguish soft consonant sounds and phonemes. The hidden challenge is ambient classroom noise, which increases extraneous cognitive load, forcing students to expend unnecessary mental energy just trying to hear the lesson, and diverting their focus away from processing the actual content. Therefore, instructional audio must be treated as foundational infrastructure—as essential to learning as curriculum itself. By delivering the teacher’s voice to every student in the classroom, this technology minimizes the hearing hurdle, enabling all learners to fully engage their brains in the lesson and effectively close achievement gaps rooted in communication barriers.
    –Nathan Lang-Raad, VP of Business, Lightspeed

    AI-driven automation will help schools reclaim time and clarity from chaos: School districts will finally gain control over decades of ghost and redundant data, from student records to HR files through AI-powered content management. AI will simplify compliance, communication, and collaboration: By embedding AI tools directly into content systems, schools will streamline compliance tracking, improve data accuracy, and speed up communication between departments and families. Accessible, data-driven experiences will redefine engagement: Parents and students will expect school systems to deliver personalized, seamless experiences powered by clean, connected data.
    –Andy MacIsaac, Senior Strategic Solutions Manager for Education, Laserfiche

    In the K-12 sector, we are moving away from a ‘content delivery’ model, and toward what I call ‘The Augmented Educator.’ We know that AI and predictive algorithms are improving on the technical side of learning. They can analyze student performance data to spot micro-gaps in knowledge – like identifying that a student is struggling with calculus today because they missed a specific concept in geometry three years ago. That is predictive personalization, and it creates a perfect roadmap for what a student needs to learn. However, a roadmap is useless if the student isn’t fully on board. This is where human-connection becomes irreplaceable. AI cannot empathize with a frustrated 10-year-old. It cannot look a student in the eye and build the psychological safety required to fail and try again. The future of our industry isn’t about choosing between AI or humans; it’s about this specific synergy: Technology provides the diagnostic precision, but the human provides the emotional horsepower. I predict that the most successful tutors of the next decade will be ‘coaches’ first and ‘teachers’ second. They will use technology to handle curriculum planning, allowing them to focus 100 percent of their energy on motivation, pedagogy, and building confidence. That is the only way to keep K-12 students engaged in a digital-first world.
    —Gaspard Maldonado, Head of SEO, Superprof

    If there’s one thing we see every day in classrooms, it’s that students learn differently and at their own pace, which is why committing to personalized learning is the next big step in education. This means moving beyond the old “one-size-fits-all” model and finally embracing what we’ve always known about how learning actually works. Personalization gives students something incredibly powerful: a clear sense of their own learning journey. When the curriculum, instruction, and pacing are tailored to their strengths, interests, and needs, students have better clarity and allow them to engage with their education in a way that they wouldn’t be able to in other ways. And for teachers, this shift doesn’t have to mean more complexity. With the support of smarter tools, especially AI-driven insights, the administrative burden lightens, making space for what matters most: mentoring, connecting, and building meaningful relationships with students. But personalization isn’t just about improving academic outcomes. It’s about helping students grow into resilient, self-directed thinkers who understand how to navigate their own path. When we move from generalized instruction to student-centered learning, we take a real step toward ensuring that every student has the chance to thrive.
    –Lynna Martinez-Khalilian, Chief Academic Officer, Fusion Academy

    The conversation around AI in education won’t be about replacement, it will be about renaissance. The most forward-thinking schools will use AI to automate the mundane so teachers can focus on what only humans can do: connect, inspire, and challenge students to think critically and create boldly. The future belongs to those who can harness both computational power and human imagination.
    –Jason McKenna, VP of Global Educational Strategy, VEX Robotics

    Across sectors, educational ecosystems are rapidly evolving toward skills-focused, technology-enabled, models that prepare students for a dynamic future of work. Learners are using online platforms such as iCEV to access course work, create artifacts, and share their knowledge of the subject in a creative and improved manner. Platforms like this will be utilized by CTE teachers to assist learners in building technical competencies by implementing a variety of learning models.
    –Dr. Richard McPherson, Agricultural Science Teacher, Rio Rico High School in the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District

    In 2026, districts will confront a widening gap between the growing number of students diagnosed with specialized needs and the limited pool of clinicians available to support them. Schools will continue to face budget constraints and rising demand, which will push the field toward greater consolidation and more strategic partnerships that expand access, especially in regions that have long lacked adequate services. The organizations that succeed will be those able to scale nationally while still delivering localized, student-first support. We expect to see more attention focused on the realities of special education needs: the increasing number of students who require services, the truly limited resources, and the essential investment required in high-quality, integrated support systems that improve outcomes and make a measurable difference in students’ lives.
    –Chris Miller, CEO, Point Quest Group

    The future of K-12 projectors lies in integrated, high-performance chipsets that embed a dedicated Small Language Model (SLM), transforming the device into an AI Instructor Assistant. This powerful, low-latency silicon supports native platforms like Apple TV while primarily enabling real-time, on-board AI functions. Instructors can use simple voice commands to ask the projector to perform complex tasks: running real-time AI searches and summarization, instantly generating contextual quizzes, and providing live transcription and translation for accessibility. Additionally, specialized AI handles automated tasks like instant image auto-correction and adaptive light adjustment for student eye health. This integration turns the projector into a responsive, autonomous edge computing device, simplifying workflows and delivering instant, AI-augmented lessons in the classroom. Epson makes a great ultra short throw product that is well suited for a chipset such as this in the future.
    –Nate Moore, Executive Director of Technology, Kearsley Community Schools

    I anticipate a renewed focus on the classroom technologies that most directly strengthen student engagement. In recent research, 81 percent of K–12 IT leaders reported that student engagement is their primary measure of success, and 91 percent expect interactive tools like interactive displays, classroom cameras, and headsets to increase classroom participation in the coming year. This signals a shift toward investing in tools that enable every student to see and be seen, and hear and be heard across all learning environments. Rather than investing in the next big trend, I believe districts will prioritize technologies that consistently help learners stay focused and engaged. The year ahead will be defined not by rapid experimentation, but by the thoughtful adoption of tools that make learning more immersive, inclusive, and meaningful.
    —Madeleine Mortimore, Global Education Innovation and Research Lead, Logitech

    Technology advancements will continue to accelerate in 2026 which will have a direct impact on teaching and learning. As schools seek out new and innovative ways to engage students and support deeper learning, I predict immersive technologies such as VR (virtual reality), XR (extended reality), and hybrid learning models which integrate traditional in-person teaching and online learning with VR experiences, will become more mainstream.
    –Ulysses Navarrete, Executive Director, Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS)

    In 2026, mathematics education will continue to shift toward teaching math the way the brain learns, prioritizing visual and meaningful context over rote memorization. By presenting concepts visually and embedding them in engaging, real-world context first, students can better understand the structure of problems, build reasoning skills, and develop confidence in their abilities. Districts that implement research-backed, neuroscience-informed approaches at scale will help students tackle increasingly complex challenges, develop critical thinking, and approach math with curiosity rather than anxiety—preparing them for a future where problem-solving and adaptive thinking are essential.
    –Nigel Nisbet, Vice President of Content Creation, MIND Education

    My prediction for 2026 is that as more people start to recognize the value of career and technical education (CTE), enrollment in CTE programs will increase, prompting schools to expand them. Technology will enhance curricula through tools such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, while partnerships with industry will provide students with essential, real-world experiences. Moreover, there will be a greater emphasis on both technical and soft skills, ensuring graduates are well-prepared for the workforce.
    –Patti O’Maley, Vice Principal & CTE Coordinator, Payette River Tech Academy & Recently Profiled in Building High-Impact CTE Centers: Lessons from District Leaders

    In 2026, schools are poised to shift from using AI mainly as a time saver to using it as a genuine driver of better teaching and learning. Educators will still value tools that streamline tasks, but the real momentum will come from applications that sharpen instructional practice and strengthen coaching conversations. Observation Copilot is already giving a glimpse of this future. It has changed the way I conduct classroom observations by capturing evidence with clarity and aligning feedback to both district and state evaluation frameworks. As tools like this continue to evolve, the focus will move toward deeper instructional insight, more precise feedback, and richer professional growth for teachers.
    –Brent Perdue, Principal, Jefferson Elementary School in Spokane Public Schools

    The upper grades intervention crisis demands action. Most science of reading policies focus on K-3, but the recent NAEP scores showing historically low literacy among graduating seniors signal where policy will move next. States like Virginia are already expanding requirements to serve older students, and I expect this to be a major legislative focus in 2026. The pandemic-impacted students are now in seventh grade and still struggling. We can’t ignore them any longer.
    –Juliette Reid, Director of Market Research, Reading Horizons

    High schools and career and technical education (CTE) centers are increasingly seeking out opportunities to provide immersive, hands-on experiences that prepare students for the workforce. In 2026, we will see a surge in demand for virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) tools to fill this need. VR/AR experiences promote deeper understanding, better knowledge retention and faster skills acquisition, giving students a realistic way to experience different careers, understand job expectations, and learn transferable skills like communication and teamwork. Whether it’s by letting students virtually step into the role of a nurse, welder, or chef; or enabling them to participate in a VR simulated job interview, VR/AR helps students build knowledge, skills and confidence as they explore career paths and it will be a critical technology for workforce development in 2026 and beyond.
    –Gillian Rhodes, Chief Marketing Officer, Avantis Education, Creators of ClassVR

    In 2026, expect growing urgency around middle school literacy. The students who were in K–3 during the pandemic are now in middle school, and many still haven’t caught up–only 30 percent of eighth graders are reading proficiently, with no state showing gains since 2022. While there is a myth that students transition from learning to read to reading to learn after third grade, the reality is that many older students need ongoing reading support as they take on more complex texts. Years of testing pressure, fragmented time for reading instruction, and limited focus on adolescent literacy have left students underprepared for complex, content-rich texts. In 2026, expect more states and districts to invest in systemic literacy supports that extend beyond elementary school: embedding reading across subjects, rethinking instructional time, and rebuilding students’ stamina and confidence to tackle challenging material. The middle school reading crisis is as much about mindset as mechanics – and solving it will require both.
    —Julie Richardson, Principal Content Designer for Literacy, NWEA

    In 2026, I expect AI in education to shift from novelty to essential infrastructure, provided we keep human involvement and student safety at the center. Across districts we’ve worked with, we consistently see that the  real value of AI is not just in creating faster workflows, but in providing students and teachers with personalized support to result in more effective teaching and learning outcomes. Research and pilot programs show the strongest gains when AI augments human teaching, offering individualized feedback and tailored practice while educators focus on higher-order instruction and student connection. As adoption accelerates, the work ahead is less about whether to use AI and more about building systems that ensure it’s safe, equitable, and pedagogically sound. Beyond just product development,  means districts will need AI strategies that center governance, privacy protections, and investing in professional development so educators have the tools and confidence they need to use AI responsibly.
    —Sara Romero-Heaps, Chief Operating Officer, SchoolAI

    In 2026, K–12 education will reach a critical moment as students navigate an increasingly complex, AI-enabled world. The widening gap between the skills students develop in school and the demands of tomorrow’s workforce will draw growing attention, underscoring the need for Decision Education in classrooms nationwide. Students, parents, teachers, and education leaders are all experiencing uncertainty about the future. Schools and districts will need to integrate Decision Education more systematically so students build the dispositions and skills to make informed choices about their learning, careers, and lives. Strengthening decision-making skills gives students greater agency and helps them navigate uncertainty more effectively. Education leaders who prioritize practical approaches to closing this skills gap will be best positioned to help students thrive in a rapidly changing world.
    –David Samuelson, Executive Director, Alliance for Decision Education

    I believe 2026 will be defined by the power of local communities stepping up. We’ll see grassroots networks of educators, families, and community organizations building new models of support at the city, state, and regional levels. There will be even greater local reliance on family engagement organizations and public-private partnerships ensuring no learner gets left behind. The resilience and creativity of local communities will be education’s greatest strength in the year ahead.
    —Julia Shatilo, Senior Director, SXSW EDU

    Chronic absenteeism hasn’t eased as districts hoped–it’s proving sticky. At the same time, families are exploring and normalizing hybrid and home learning models. These two patterns may share roots in flexibility, agency, and the search for alignment between how students learn and how schools operate. Taken together, they suggest ​​significant changes in how families relate to school. In response, we’ll likely see districts and states focus on earlier, more flexible outreach and clearer visibility into alternative learning pathways–not sweeping reform, but steady adjustments aimed at keeping students connected, however and wherever learning happens.
    —Dr. Joy Smithson, Data Science Manager, SchoolStatus

    The goal for literacy remains the same: Every child deserves to become a capable, confident reader. But our understanding has deepened, and this will shape conversations and best practices ahead. Too often, we’ve examined each dimension of literacy in isolation–studying how children decode words without considering how teachers learn to teach those skills; creating research-backed interventions without addressing how schools can implement them with integrity; and celebrating individual student breakthroughs while overlooking systemic changes needed for ALL students to succeed. We now recognize that achieving literacy goals requires more than good intentions or strong programs. It demands clarity about what to teach, how to teach, how students learn, and how schools sustain success. The future of literacy isn’t about choosing sides between competing approaches, but about understanding how multiple sciences and disciplines can work together through an interdependent, systems-thinking approach to create transformative change. We must strengthen pathways into the profession, provide high-quality teacher preparation programs, support strong leadership, and focus on effective implementation that facilitates high-impact instruction at scale. These aren’t technical challenges but human ones that require solutions that emerge when multiple sciences and systems-thinking converge to drive lasting literacy change–and educational change more broadly.
    –Laura Stewart, Chief Academic Officer, 95 Percent Group

    In 2026, K-12 leaders are done tolerating fragmented data. Budgets are tightening, every dollar is under a microscope, and districts can’t keep making uninformed decisions while insights sit scattered across disconnected systems. When 80 percent of spending goes to people and programs, guesswork isn’t an option. This is the year districts flip the script. Leaders will want all their insights in one place–financial, staffing, and student data together–eliminating silos that obscure the ROI of their initiatives. Centralized visibility will be essential for confident decision-making, enabling districts to spot ineffective spending, remove redundant technology, and strategically redirect resources to interventions that demonstrably improve student outcomes.
    –James Stoffer, CEO, Abre

    America’s 250th anniversary this year will offer an opportunity to connect students with history and civic learning in more interactive and engaging ways. Educators will increasingly rely on approaches that help students explore the stories behind our nation’s landmarks, engage with historical events, and develop a deeper understanding of civic life. By creating hands-on and immersive learning experiences–both in-person and virtually–schools can help students build connections to history and foster the skills and curiosity that support informed citizenship.
    –Catherine Townsend, President & CEO, Trust for the National Mall

    In 2026, AI will move beyond static personalization to create truly adaptive learning paths that adjust in real time. We’ll see systems that can read engagement, emotional tone, and comprehension using signals like voice cues, interaction data, or optional camera-enabled insights. These systems will then adjust difficulty, modality, and pacing in response. The result will be the early stages of a personal tutor experience at scale, where learning feels less like a fixed curriculum and more like a responsive conversation that evolves with the learner. We are going to increasingly see the exploration of immersive learning, and how we can use VR or XR to create tailored experiences to meet specific learning goals. The real potential comes from immersive learning which is backed by learning science and has clear pedagogical patterns: brief, targeted activities that reinforce concepts, whether through gamified exploration or realistic skill-building. The market will mature into offering both creative conceptual journeys and hands-on practice, making immersive learning a strategy for deepening understanding and building real-world skills.
    —Dave Treat, Global CTO, Pearson

    In 2026, edtech will move decisively beyond digital worksheets toward tools that truly enrich the teaching experience. Educators will increasingly expect platforms that integrate curriculum, pedagogy, and professional learning–supporting them in real time, not adding to their workload. With AI and better learning design, edtech will help teachers focus more on student inquiry and collaboration, igniting deeper learning rather than just digitizing old practices.
    —Chris Walsh, Chief Technology & Product Officer, PBLWorks

    This year, a major pivot point will be how schools choose to allocate funding—toward emerging AI programs like ChatGPT’s education initiatives or toward hands-on materials and science equipment that ground learning in the physical world. Determining how we leverage edtech and AI without sacrificing teacher expertise, nuance, or the human connection that makes classrooms thrive will be especially important.
    –Nick Watkins, Science Teacher, Franklin Pierce School District & Vernier Trendsetters Community Member

    In 2026, independent schools will continue to navigate a period of momentum, with many experiencing rising applications and stronger retention. At the same time, leaders will face ongoing challenges: managing tighter staffing ratios, rising operational costs, and the growing gap between financial aid need and available resources; schools that prioritize strategic and nimble framing of the school’s future, innovative partnerships and programs, and intentional community engagement will be best positioned to support their students and families effectively. Independent schools will also face new opportunities and challenges that come from external forces such as the expansion of school choice and the growth of artificial intelligence. Their overall focus will continue to be on creating sustainable, student-centered environments that balance academic excellence and engagement with social-emotional care and access, ensuring independent schools remain resilient, inclusive, and impactful in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.
    –Debra P. Wilson, President, National Association of Independent Schools

    In 2026, technological advancements will continue to transform test preparation, making learning more accessible, personalized, and efficient. AI, adaptive learning, and optimized UI/UX will enable students to focus on mastering content rather than managing resources or navigating cognitive overload. These tools allow learners to target areas of improvement with precision, creating study experiences tailored to individual strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. AI will play an increasingly central role in personalizing education, such as smarter study plans that adapt in real time, instant explanations that accelerate comprehension, and 24/7 AI tutoring that provides continuous support outside the classroom. As these technologies evolve, test prep will shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to highly customized learning journeys, enabling students to optimize their preparation and achieve measurable outcomes more efficiently. The next wave of AI-driven tools will not just assist learning, they will redefine it, empowering students to engage more deeply and achieve higher results with greater confidence.
    –Scott Woodbury-Stewart, Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep

    Edtech is advancing at an extremely rapid pace, driven by the proliferation of AI and immersive tools. In the next year, there will be leaps in how these technologies are integrated into personalized learning pathways. Specifically, schools will be able to utilize technology to make education much smarter and more personalized via AI, and more immersive and experiential via augmented and virtual reality. Additionally, the integration of gamification and true learning science is likely to broaden the ways students will engage with complex material. With these advancements, educators can expect the emergence of holistic and integrated ecosystems that go beyond just teaching academic content to ones that monitor and support mental health and well-being, build work-applicable skills, offer college and career guidance, develop peer communities, and follow students throughout their academic careers.
    –Dr. A. Jordan Wright, Chief Clinical Officer, Parallel Learning

    In 2026, meaningful progress in math education will depend less on chasing the next new idea and more on implementing proven instructional practices with consistency and coherence. Schools and districts will need to move beyond fragmented reforms and align leadership, curriculum, and instruction around a shared vision of high‑quality math learning. This includes cultivating strong math identity for learners and educators, balancing conceptual understanding with procedural fluency, and ensuring learning builds logically and cumulatively over time. When systems commit to these evidence‑based principles and support teachers with aligned professional learning, the conditions are set for sustained improvements in student math outcomes nationwide.
    –Beth Zhang, Co‑President of Lavinia Group, K12 Coalition

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  • Being a principal just got harder–and here’s why

    Being a principal just got harder–and here’s why

    eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #3 focuses on challenges in school leadership.

    This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

    There is a squeaky old merry-go-round in my neighborhood that my own children play on from time to time. Years of kids riding on it have loosened its joints so it spins more freely and quickly. The last time they played on the merry-go-round, my children learned the important lesson that the closer to the center they sit the more stable and in control they feel.

    While being a school leader has always felt like being on a spinning piece of playground equipment, leading since the inauguration of President Donald Trump has made me feel as if I moved from the center to the edges in this merry-go-round metaphor. Immigration raids and attacks on civil liberties have made the work feel blindingly fast.

    The school I serve has a large population of immigrant students. Teens who just weeks ago felt like our school was a safe and secure place now carry a new level of concern into our classrooms and hallways. My school has seen a significant drop in attendance since January with parents and guardians citing the desire to keep their children home instead of sending them to school and putting them in harm’s way as ICE raids happen across the city.

    Our staff feels the impact of the rhetoric and policy shifts out of Washington as well. They fear for the physical and emotional safety of our students when they leave the school.

    For my part, I wonder if my decisions that prioritize equity and inclusion will make me the target of criticism–or worse, an investigation. This year, we have had ongoing professional development opportunities to teach staff how they can better support our queer students and employees. Each time we engage in these discussions, I find myself worrying about the repercussions.

    But I am determined that the programs and people in place to support and protect our most vulnerable students will not go away. Rather, they will be reinforced. My role as a school leader is to create an environment so safe and accepting that students and staff never feel like they must look over their shoulder while they are at school. We want them to breathe easily knowing that, at least during the school day, they can be seen, safe, and successful.

    To be sure, this job has always been a juggle, which includes instructional leadership, behavioral support, budgeting, staffing, and–in my case–fighting the stigma of historically being identified as a low-performing school by the Colorado Department of Education. But the changes out of Washington have taken things to the next level. As I navigate it all, I do my best to be energetic, optimistic, and reliable. Each day is an exercise in finding joy in my interactions with students and staff.

    I find joy in seeing students cheer on their peers at basketball games. I find joy in watching a teacher sit with a student until they grasp a challenging concept. I find joy when I see staff members step in to teach a class for a colleague who is sick or just needs a break. I find joy and hope in my daily interactions with students and staff; they are the core of my work and are the bravest people I have worked with in my career.

    When I push my children on the merry-go-round, I tell them to get to the center because the spinning seems to slow down and the noise decreases. This is the same advice I would give to school leaders right now. Get right to the center of your work by being with students and staff as much as possible. Even at the center, the spinning does not stop. The raids, political attacks, and fear tactics do not decrease, but the challenge of facing them becomes a little more manageable. While every force out there may be pushing leaders away from the center of their work, prioritizing that values-based work reminds us exactly why we do what we do.

    Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

    For more news on school leadership, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub.

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  • Chronic absenteeism could derail K-12 education

    Chronic absenteeism could derail K-12 education

    eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #9 focuses on chronic absenteeism.

    Key points:

    The biggest problem in education is that kids aren’t showing up to school. Last year, 26 percent of students missed a month of class or more, leading to dramatic declines in academic performance. Chronic absenteeism accounted for 27 percent of the drop in math scores and 45 percent of the decline in reading scores from 2019 to 2022. Students who are chronically absent are 7x more likely to drop out before graduating, and while state and district leaders are scrambling for solutions, kids are falling further behind.

    Why chronic absenteeism is hard to solve

    In 2019, only 13 percent of students in the U.S. were chronically absent. Typically, these students missed school because of significant personal reasons–long-term illness, gang involvement, clinical depression, working jobs to support their families, lacking transportation, drug use, unplanned pregnancy, etc.–that aren’t easily fixed.

    However, since the pandemic, the rate of chronic absenteeism has doubled from 13 percent to 26 percent.

    The change is cultural. For the last hundred years, it was drilled into the American psyche that “school is important.” A great effort was made to provide bussing to any child who lived too far to walk, and the expectation was that every child should come to school every day. Cutting class was sure to land you in the principal’s office or potentially even lead to police showing up at your door.

    During the Covid-19 pandemic, this narrative flipped. As parents began working from home, their kids sat beside them. With lectures recorded and assignments posted online, attending class began to feel optional. When school doors reopened, many families didn’t fully come back. Common excuses like being tired, missing the bus, or simply not feeling like going were validated and excused rather than admonished. While students who skip school were once seen as delinquent, for many families it has become culturally acceptable–almost even expected–for kids to stay home whenever they or their parents want.

    Overwhelmed by the drastic rise in absenteeism, school staff are unable to revert cultural norms about attendance. And it’s not their fault.

    The root of the problem

    Each student’s situation is unique. Some students may struggle with reliable transportation, while others skip certain classes they don’t like, and others still are disengaged with school entirely. Without knowing why students are missing school, staff cannot make progress addressing the root cause of chronic absenteeism.

    Today, nearly 75 percent of student absences are “unexplained,” meaning that no authorized parent called or emailed the school to say where their children are and why they aren’t in class. This lack of clarity makes it impossible for schools to offer personalized solutions and keep students engaged. Unexplained absences only deepen the disconnect and limit schools’ ability to tackle absenteeism effectively.

    Knowing why students are missing school is critical, but also very difficult to uncover. At a high school of 2,000 students with 85 percent average daily attendance, 225 students will be absent each day without providing any explanation. In an ideal world, schools would speak with every parent to find out the reason their child wasn’t in class–but schools can’t possibly make 225 additional phone calls without 3-5 additional staff. Instead, they rely on robocalls and absence letters, and those methods don’t work nearly well enough.

    Normalize attendance again: It takes a village

    Improving attendance is about more than just allocating additional resources. It’s about shifting the mindset and fostering a culture that prioritizes presence. This starts with schools and communities making attendance a shared responsibility, not just a policy.

    First, schools must take the initiative to understand why students are missing school. Whether through modern AI-driven attendance systems or with more traditional methods like phone calls, understanding the root causes is critical to addressing the issue.

    Next, categorize and recognize patterns. Small adjustments can have big impacts. One district noticed that students who were 0.9 miles away from school were much more likely to not show up because their bussing policy was for families living 1 mile away from school or further. By changing their policy, they saw a surge in attendance. Similarly, pinpointing specific classes that students are skipping can help tailor interventions, whether through teacher engagement or offering additional support.

    Lastly, schools should focus resources on students facing the most severe challenges. These students often require personalized solutions, such as home visits for unresponsive parents or help with transportation. Targeted efforts like these create a direct impact on reducing absenteeism and improving overall attendance.

    When communities unite to make school attendance a priority, students receive the support they need to succeed. Tackling chronic absenteeism is not an easy task, but with focused effort and a culture of engagement, we can reverse this troubling trend and give students the foundation they deserve for future success.

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  • Why every middle school student deserves a second chance to learn to read

    Why every middle school student deserves a second chance to learn to read

    Key points:

    Between kindergarten and second grade, much of the school day is dedicated to helping our youngest students master phonics, syllabication, and letter-sound correspondence–the essential building blocks to lifelong learning.

    Unfortunately, this foundational reading instruction has been stamped with an arbitrary expiration date. Students who miss that critical learning window, including our English Language Learners (ELL), children with learning disabilities, and those who find reading comprehension challenging, are pushed forward through middle and high school without the tools they need. In the race to catch up to classmates, they struggle academically, emotionally, and in extreme cases, eventually disengage or drop out.

    Thirteen-year-old Alma, for instance, was still learning the English language during those first three years of school. She grappled with literacy for years, watching her peers breeze through assignments while she stumbled over basic decoding. However, by participating in a phonetics-first foundational literacy program in sixth grade, she is now reading at grade level.

    “I am more comfortable when I read,” she shared. “And can I speak more fluently.”

    Alma’s words represent a transformation that American education typically says is impossible after second grade–that every child can become a successful reader if given a second chance.

    Lifting up the learners left behind 

    At Southwestern Jefferson County Consolidated School in Hanover, Ind., I teach middle-school students like Alma who are learning English as their second language. Many spent their formative school years building oral language proficiency and, as a result, lost out on systematic instruction grounded in English phonics patterns. 

    These bright and ambitious students lack basic foundational skills, but are expected to keep up with their classmates. To help ELL students access the same rigorous content as their peers while simultaneously building the decoding skills they missed, we had to give them a do-over without dragging them a step back. 

    Last year, we introduced our students to Readable English, a research-backed phonetic system that makes English decoding visible and teachable at any age. The platform embeds foundational language instruction into grade-level content, including the textbooks, novels, and worksheets all students are using, but with phonetic scaffolding that makes decoding explicit and systematic.

    To help my students unlock the code behind complicated English language rules, we centered our classroom intervention on three core components:

    • Rhyming: The ability to rhyme, typically mastered by age five, is a key early literacy indicator. However, almost every ELL student in my class was missing this vital skill. Changing even one letter can alter the sound of a word, and homographic words like “tear” have completely different sounds and meanings. By embedding a pronunciation guide into classroom content, glyphs–or visual diacritical marks–indicate irregular sounds in common words and provide key information about the sound a particular letter makes.
    • Syllabication patterns: Because our ELL students were busy learning conversational English during the critical K-2 years, systematic syllable division, an essential decoding strategy, was never practiced. Through the platform, visual syllable breaks organize words into simple, readable chunks that make patterns explicit and teachable.
    • Silent letter patterns: With our new phonics platform, students can quickly “hear” different sounds. Unmarked letters make their usual sound while grayed-out letters indicate those with a silent sound. For students frustrated with pronunciation, pulling back the curtain on language rules provided them with that “a-ha” moment.

    The impact on our students’ reading proficiency has been immediate and measurable, creating a cognitive energy shift from decoding to comprehension. Eleven-year-old Rodrigo, who has been in the U.S. for only two years, reports he’s “better at my other classes now” and is seeing boosts in his science, social studies, and math grades.

    Taking a new step on a nationwide level

    The middle-school reading crisis in the U.S. is devastating for our students. One-third of eighth-graders failed to hit the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) benchmark in reading, the largest percentage ever. In addition, students who fail to build literacy skills exhibit lower levels of achievement and are more likely to drop out of school. 

    The state of Indiana has recognized the crisis and, this fall, launched a new reading initiative for middle-school students. While this effort is a celebrated first step, every school needs the right tools to make intervention a success, especially for our ELL students. 

    Educators can no longer expect students to access grade-level content without giving them grade-level decoding skills. Middle-school students need foundational literacy instruction that respects their age, cognitive development, and dignity. Revisiting primary-grade phonics curriculum isn’t the right answer–educators must empower kids with phonetic scaffolding embedded in the same content their classmates are learning. 

    To help all students excel and embrace a love of reading, it’s time to reject the idea that literacy instruction expires in second grade. Instead, all of us can provide every child, at any age, the chance to become a successful lifelong reader who finds joy in the written word.

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  • How Superior Public Schools united curriculum and data

    How Superior Public Schools united curriculum and data

    Key points:

    Creating consistency between classrooms and ensuring curriculum alignment school-wide can be challenging, even in the smallest of districts. Every educator teaches–and grades–differently based on their experience and preferences, and too often, they’re forced into a solution that no longer respects their autonomy or acknowledges their strengths.

    When Superior Public Schools (SPS), a district of 450 students in rural Nebraska, defined standards-referenced curriculum as a priority of our continuous improvement plan, bringing teachers in as partners on the transition was essential to our success. Through their support, strategic relationships with outside partners, and meaningful data and reporting, the pathway from curriculum design to classroom action was a smooth one for teachers, school leaders, and students alike.

    Facing the challenge of a new curriculum

    For years, teachers in SPS were working autonomously in the classroom. Without a district-wide curriculum in place, they used textbooks to guide their instruction and designed lesson plans around what they valued as important. In addition, grading was performed on a normative curve that compared a student’s performance against the performance of their peers rather than in relation to a mastery of content.

    As other educators have discovered, the traditional approach to teaching may be effective for some students, but is inequitable overall when preparing all students for their next step, whether moving on to more complex material or preparing for the grade ahead. Kids were falling through the cracks, and existing opportunity gaps only began to grow.

    SPS set out to help our students by instituting standards-referenced instruction at both the elementary and secondary levels, allowing us to better identify each child’s progress toward set learning standards and deliver immediate feedback and intervention services to keep them on the path toward success.

    Take it slow and start with collaboration

    From day one, school leaders understood the transition to the new curriculum needed to be intentional and collaborative. 

    Rather than demand immediate buy-in from teachers, administrators and the curriculum team dedicated the time to help them understand the value of a new learning process. Together, we took a deep dive into traditional education practices, identifying which set students up for success and which actually detoured their progress. Recognizing that everyone–teachers included–learns in different ways, administrators also provided educators with a wide range of resources, such as book studies, podcasts, and articles, to help them grow professionally.

    In addition, SPS partnered with the Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices across all content areas, schools, and grade levels. On-site CLI coaches worked directly with teachers to interpret standards and incorporate their unique teaching styles into new instructional strategies, helping to ensure the new curriculum translated seamlessly into daily classroom practice.

    To bring standards-referenced curriculum to life with meaningful insights and reporting, SPS integrated the Otus platform into our Student Information System. By collecting and analyzing data in a concise manner, teachers could measure student performance against specific learning targets, determining if content needed to be re-taught to the whole class or if specific students required one-on-one guidance.

    With the support of our teachers, SPS was able to launch the new curriculum and assessment writing process district-wide, reaching students in pre-K through 12th grade. However, standards-reference grading was a slower process, starting with one subject area at a time at the elementary level. Teachers who were initially uncomfortable with the new grading system were able to see the benefits firsthand, allowing them to ease into the transition rather than jump in headfirst. 

    Empowering educators, inspiring students

    By uniting curriculum and data, SPS has set a stronger foundation of success for every student. Progress is no longer measured by compliance but by a true mastery of classroom concepts.

    Teachers have become intentional with their lesson plans, ensuring that classroom content is directly linked to the curriculum. The framework also gives them actionable insights to better identify the skills students have mastered and the content areas where they need extra support. Teachers can adjust instruction as needed, better communicate with parents on their students’ progress, and connect struggling students to intervention services.

    Principals also look at student progress from a building level, identifying commonalities across multiple grades. For instance, if different grade levels struggle with geometry concepts, we can revisit the curriculum to see where improvements should be made. Conversely, we can better determine if SPS needs to increase the rigor in one grade to better prepare students for the next grade level.

    While the road toward standards-referenced curriculum had its challenges, the destination was worth the journey for everyone at SPS. By the end of the 2024-2025 school year, 84 percent of K-5 students were at or above the 41st percentile in math, and 79 percent were at or above the 41st percentile in reading based on NWEA MAP results. In addition, teachers now have a complete picture of every student to track individual progress toward academic standards, and students receive the feedback, support, and insights that inspire them to become active participants in their learning.

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  • School Specialty LLC Announces Acquisition of Nasco Education U.S.

    School Specialty LLC Announces Acquisition of Nasco Education U.S.

    Greenville, Wis – December 8, 2025 – School Specialty®, a leading provider of learning environments, supplies and science curriculum to the preK-12 education market, today announced the acquisition of Nasco Education U.S., a trusted name in specialized, curated education solutions for K-12 schools. This strategic acquisition enhances School Specialty’s ability to serve its core customers by enhancing its value proposition to schools across the country.

    “We estimate that nearly two-thirds of Nasco Education U.S.’s customers are already School Specialty buyers,” said Ryan Bohr, CEO of School Specialty. “Like School Specialty, Nasco Education U.S. has been an industry fixture of supplying schools for decades. Combining our companies will bring procurement efficiencies to our customers and expand the scope of products available to them.”

    School Specialty has more than 60 years of leadership in transforming classrooms into future-ready learning spaces for preK-12 educational institutions, serving five in every six school districts nationwide and curating products from hundreds of trusted brands. Nasco Education U.S.  offers a broad selection of specialized products, including hands-on, activity-based resources that support instruction across subjects like science, math, and the arts. Both companies share a deep commitment to providing high-quality, relevant resources that empower teachers and students.

    Both organizations will operate independently for the near term.  School Specialty expects to integrate the businesses gradually to ensure a seamless experience for the longstanding customers of both organizations. 

    “Together, we will be able to provide even greater support, innovation, and value to schools nationwide, helping them deliver the best possible learning experiences for their students,” said Ryan Bohr, CEO of School Specialty.

    About School Specialty, LLC 

    With a 60-year legacy, School Specialty is a leading provider of comprehensive learning environment solutions for the pre-K12 education marketplace in the U.S. and Canada. This includes essential classroom supplies, furniture and design services, educational technology, sensory spaces featuring Snoezelen, science curriculum, learning resources, professional development, and more. School Specialty believes every student can flourish in an environment where they are engaged and inspired to learn and grow. In support of this vision to transform more than classrooms, the company applies its unmatched team of education strategists and designs, manufactures, and distributes a broad assortment of name-brand and proprietary products. For more information, go to SchoolSpecialty.com.

    About Nasco Education U.S.

    Nasco Education U.S. is a leading developer and distributor of instructional materials, offering a wide range of hands-on learning products for the preK-12 education market with 80+ years of experience. Nasco Education U.S. provides schools and educators with the educational materials needed to create impactful classroom experiences that enhance student engagement and academic performance. For more information, go to NascoEducation.com.

    eSchool News Staff
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