Education Week

Education scientists nationwide are fighting to stabilize a research system roiled by ongoing federal funding disruptions and political fights—and the specter of increased political interference in education research. Thousands of researchers and teachers, as well as scientific and advocacy organizations, have called for the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider a grant overhaul that, they say, would gut evidence and destabilize education research.

Two months ago, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced proposed changes to Head Start that would dismantle several regulations of the federally funded program, which provides early education, health, and parenting services to more than 700,000 low-income children from birth to 5 and their mothers. Kennedy said on Aug.

As elementary schools coordinate broad efforts to address gaps in students’ math and reading abilities, science education can sometimes take a back seat. That lack of emphasis is reflected in a dearth of quality instructional materials for young students. Elementary school teaching often relies on “summer camp science"—flashy experiments that wow students without engaging them in larger questions, said Andrea Meyer, a 3rd through 6th grade science specialist in Boston.

Police fired tear gas to control crowds in Paris and elsewhere in France on Tuesday as more than a quarter of a million people rallied nationwide to support high school students demanding more education funding, according to government figures. The protests increased pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. As pupils blockaded high schools, large crowds waving flags and placards gathered in Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities.

The Supreme Court won’t hear a challenge to a school district’s ban on shirts with the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon.” The phrase is a jab at former President Joe Biden with a coded reference to profanity. A Michigan mother of two says the school’s ban is a First Amendment violation. The school told her sons to take off the sweatshirts she bought them for Christmas in 2022.

As we move deeper into another school year focused on instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management, I invite school leaders to consider a less likely participant in your school year prep: shame. Shame, while rarely discussed, shapes countless decisions teachers make in classrooms every day. In my work with novice teachers, we engage deeply with theories of classroom management and how to embed best practice within their classrooms.

A large share of school board members are retired and have never worked in education, according to a new survey that sheds light on who serves on these influential panels. This summer, the EdWeek Research Center surveyed 478 school board members to gauge the biggest sources of tension in their communities, the barriers to building bridges between schools and families, and steps boards are taking to close the gaps.

Sophomore Tamira Mitchell, right, helps kindergartner Winter Smith with a writing assignment at Detroit International Academy for Young Women. The school's founder, Beverly Hibbler, says all-girl schools are an "important choice" to keep available for girls.

I’ve long thought family structure deserves far more attention in making sense of educational outcomes. While race and poverty always feature prominently in such analyses, conservatives argue that much of the story may be the difference between single-parent and two-parent households. Well, my AEI colleague Ian Rowe, a long-time champion of the “success sequence” and the importance of marriage, recently published an eye-opening look on the effects of household structure.

School districts are under enormous pressure to boost students’ reading skills, from early grades through high school. Many states and school systems are trying to invest in research-based strategies to make that happen. But beyond the work of teaching key skills, schools face a broader problem: How can teachers and school district leaders ensure students are reading enough?