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Learning and love: A lesson from Mr. Rogers for the start of a new school year

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...
By Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski | September 15, 2022
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LA schools and the mystery of the missing ransom note

As the shady ransomware gang Vice Society took credit for a hack that sent Los Angeles school officials scrambling last week, cybersecurity experts noticed something peculiar. Vice Society, an “intrusion, exfiltration and extortion” group that experts believe is based in Russia, has become notorious for waging cyber warfare against K-12 schools, leveraging the theft of...
By Mark Keierleber | September 14, 2022
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Analysis: Educators’ poor morale matters, even if they don’t quit. Here’s why

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...
By Elizabeth D. Steiner, Heather Schwartz & Melissa Kay Diliber | September 14, 2022
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California implements later school start time, other states considering

California middle and high schools began the academic day later this year, implementing a state law other states are now considering. After long-standing research showed the devastating impact of early classes on teens’ health, California’s district middle schools will start no earlier than 8 am; and high schools will start no later than 8:30 am....
By Jasmine De Leon | September 13, 2022
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Teens have changed their higher ed plans — survey shows they may never go back

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...
By John Kristof & Colyn Ritter | September 12, 2022
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‘Focused, angry, concerned about creating justice’: Debunking 5 myths about Generation Z

Ask a Boomer or Millenial what they think of Gen Zers and their observations are far from flattering: Overly sensitive, socialist, disengaged, dependent on technology. But those stereotypes have little basis in reality, according to the book, Fight: How Gen Z is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America, released earlier this year. John Della Volpe,...
By Marianna McMurdock | September 8, 2022
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Analysis: School safety is about more than keeping guns out of the classroom

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...
By Roseanna Ander & Monica Bhatt | September 7, 2022
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New poll: Majority of adults don’t trust educators to handle sensitive topics

New polling on the American education system shows widespread approval of local schools — along with ominous signs of dissatisfaction among both parents and the public at large. In a report published today by PDK International, a professional organization for teachers, over 1,000 adults expressed higher levels of faith in their community’s public schools than have ever...
By Kevin Mahnken | September 6, 2022
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Q&A: Education reporter Anya Kamenetz on COVID failures & students’ Stolen Year

At the moment in March 2020 when American schools were transitioning to remote instruction — around the time when people were making jokes about Corona beer and commentators still mused about spending two weeks to “flatten the curve” — Anya Kamenetz was making calls. Kamenetz had spent years covering the heaviest stories on the education...
By Kevin Mahnken | September 1, 2022
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Commentary: School is where health care happens for kids. Changes in Medicaid can help

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...
By Donna Mazyck | August 31, 2022