Imagine you are making a cake for a loved one and serving it later in the day. You don’t have a lot of time. Do you opt for the tried-and-true family recipe or just put together the key ingredients — some flour, eggs, butter and baking soda — until it feels right? Schools have a...

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month and the signs and advertisements celebrating the culture are abundant. I feel, as I often do this time of year, mixed emotions. As a Mexican-American educator, I understand the good intentions behind the signs; celebrating diversity and honoring different cultures should be applauded. But if we really want to celebrate the...

The 21st century has launched an unprecedented focus on science and STEM education. In this age of pandemics, climate change, food shortages and other global issues, the country absolutely needs more scientists. However, it’s clear that scientific thinking isn’t just for scientists anymore. Basing decisions on evidence and separating fact from fiction are fast becoming...

The students in classrooms today are the leaders of tomorrow’s workforce, but even before the pandemic, learners didn’t feel high schools were doing enough to prepare them for long-term career choices. Only 52% of students felt high school prepared them for the world of work, and over the past two years, the pandemic has made the journey...

Summer was over, and with students starting another school year, Mister Rogers had something to say.  The television host entered the set the way he always did: He changed his shoes, zipped his sweater and spoke directly into the camera. “I’ve just come from the neighborhood school,” he told his TV neighbors. “I’m trying to...

Schools have been trying to return to normal after three years of closures, disruption and setbacks, so it’s no surprise that the pandemic has taken a toll on educators’ morale. Yet, thus far, public school educators nationally have not left their jobs at notably higher rates than before the pandemic began. Even so, poor morale...

Each of the nearly 4 million students who graduated high school this spring faces major decisions this summer. Do they want to pursue further education? If so, what do they want to study and where? How will they afford it? Will they begin working immediately? If so, are they moving out of their family home? Are they...

In June, after decades of inaction on gun violence, the federal government enacted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. While limited in its scope compared to the magnitude of America’s gun violence crisis, the law still presents an enormous opportunity to save lives — particularly the lives of children. But that’s not guaranteed. As gun violence...

Schools are places where health care happens, an essential part of the nation’s public health infrastructure. During COVID-19, schools across the country responded to the call to action to vaccinate students and community members and to provide nutritious meals and mental health counseling services to kids — despite shuttered classrooms. Even before the pandemic, schools were providing care that supports...

There’s an old conversational set piece in the lively world of early education policy that goes something like this: a study comes out showing that pre-K programs do a solid job of raising children’s knowledge and skills, and even improve kindergarten readiness, but seem to be less effective at producing higher third-grade reading scores or some other...