ReportWire

Tag: literacy

  • Sparking civic engagement as we approach America’s 250th

    Key points:

    Imagine students who understand how government works and who see themselves as vital contributors to their communities. That’s what happens when students are given opportunities to play a role in their school, district, and community. In my work as a teacher librarian, I have learned that even the youngest voices can be powerful, and that students embrace civic responsibility and education when history is taught in a way that’s relevant and meaningful. 

    Now is the moment to build momentum and move our curriculum forward. It’s time to break past classroom walls and unite schools and communities. As our nation’s 250th anniversary approaches, education leaders have a powerful opportunity to teach through action and experience like never before. 

    Kids want to matter. When we help them see themselves as part of the world instead of watching it pass by, they learn how to act with purpose. By practicing civic engagement, students gain the skills to contribute solutions–and often offer unique viewpoints that drive real change. In 2023, I took my students [CR1] to the National Mall. They were in awe of how history was represented in stone, how symbolism was not always obvious, and they connected with rangers from the National Park Service as well as visitors in D.C. that day. 

    When students returned from the Mall, they came back with a question that stuck: “Where are the women?” In 2024, we set out to answer two questions together: “Whose monuments are missing?” and “What is HER name?” 

    Ranger Jen at the National Mall, with whom I worked with before, introduced me to Dr. Linda Booth Sweeney, author of Monument Maker, which inspired my approach. Her book asks, “History shapes us–how will we shape history?” Motivated by this challenge, students researched key women in U.S. history and designed monuments to honor their contributions. 

    We partnered with the Women’s Suffrage National Monument, and some students even displayed their work at the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. Through this project, questions were asked, lessons were learned, and students discovered the power of purpose and voice. By the end of our community-wide celebration, National Mall Night, they were already asking, “What’s next?” 

    The experience created moments charged with importance and emotion–moments students wanted to revisit and replicate as they continue shaping history themselves. 

    Reflecting on this journey, I realized I often looked through a narrow lens, focusing only on what was immediately within my school. But the broader community, both local and online, is full of resources that can strengthen relationships, provide materials, and offer strategies, mentors, and experiences that extend far beyond any initial lesson plan. 

    Seeking partnerships is not a new idea, but it can be easily overlooked or underestimated. I’ve learned that a “no” often really means “not yet” or “not now,” and that persistence can open doors. Ford’s Theatre introduced me to Ranger Jen, who in turn introduced me to Dr. Sweeney and the Trust for the National Mall. When I needed additional resources, the Trust for the National Mall responded, connecting me with the new National Mall Gateway: a new digital platform inspired by America’s 250th that gives all students, educators and visitors access to explore and connect with history and civics through the National Mall. 

    When I first shared the Gateway with students, it took their breath away. They could reconnect with the National Mall–a place they were passionate about–with greater detail and depth. I now use the platform to teach about monuments and memorials, to prepare for field trips, and to debrief afterward. The platform brings value for in-person visits to the National Mall, and for virtual field trips in the classroom, where they can almost reach out and touch the marble and stone of the memorials through 360-degree video tours. 

    Another way to spark students’ interest in civics and history is to weave civic learning into every subject. The first step is simple but powerful: Give teachers across disciplines the means to integrate civic concepts into their lessons. This might mean collaborating with arts educators and school librarians to design mini-lessons, curate primary sources, or create research challenges that connect past and present. It can also take shape through larger, project-based initiatives that link classroom learning to real-world issues. Science classes might explore the policies behind environmental conservation, while math lessons could analyze community demographics or civic data. In language arts, students might study speeches, letters, or poetry to see how language drives change. When every subject and resource become hubs for civic exploration, students begin to see citizenship as something they live, not just study. 

    Students thrive when their learning has purpose and connection. They remember lessons tied to meaningful experiences and shared celebrations. For instance, one of our trips to the National Mall happened when our fourth graders were preparing for a Veterans Day program with patriotic music. Ranger Jen helped us take it a step further, building on previous partnerships and connections–she arranged for the students to sing at the World War II Memorial. As they performed “America,” Honor Flights unexpectedly arrived. The students were thrilled to sing in the nation’s capital, of course. But the true impact came from their connection with the veterans who had lived the history they were honoring. 

    As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, we have an extraordinary opportunity to help students see themselves as part of the story of America’s past, present, and future.

    Encourage educator leaders to consider how experiential civics can bring this milestone to life. Invite students to engage in authentic ways, whether through service-learning projects, policy discussions, or community partnerships that turn civic learning into action. Create spaces in your classes for collaboration, reflection, and application, so that students are shaping history, not just studying it. Give students more than a celebration. Give them a sense of purpose and belonging in the ongoing story of our nation. 

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    Melaney Sánchez, Ph.D., Mt. Harmony Elementary

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  • Beyond the dashboard: Why K-12 educators need data literacy, not just data

    Key points:

    Walk into any data meeting at a K-12 school today, and you’ll likely see a familiar scene: educators huddled around printed reports, highlighters in hand, trying to make sense of student data spread across multiple dashboards. If you’ve ever left one of these meetings feeling mentally exhausted without clear next steps, you’re not alone. The problem isn’t that we lack data in education, but rather that most dashboards show us the past–not the path ahead. It’s like trying to drive while only looking in the rearview mirror.

    The education sector sits on massive amounts of student data, yet most schools lack data maturity. They’ve committed to using data and may even have systems that centralize records. But they haven’t embraced what’s possible when we move from having data to using it well; from describing what happened to predicting what’s likely to happen if nothing changes.

    We have dashboards–now what?

    Every district has dashboards. We can see attendance rates, assessment scores, and demographic breakdowns. These tools tell us what happened, which is useful–but increasingly insufficient for the challenges facing K-12 schools. By the time we’re reacting to chronic absenteeism or declining grades, we’re already behind. And, when does an educator have time to sit down, pull up multiple dashboards, and interpret what they say about each student?

    The power of any data dashboard isn’t in the dashboard itself. It’s in the conversations that happen around it. This is where data literacy becomes essential, and it goes far beyond simply reading a chart or calculating an average.

    Data literacy means asking better questions and approaching data with curiosity. It requires recognizing that the answers we get are entirely driven by the questions we ask. A teacher who asks, “Which students failed the last assessment?” will get very different insights than one who asks, “Which students showed growth but still haven’t reached proficiency, and what patterns exist among them?”

    We must also acknowledge the emotional dimension of data in schools. Some educators have been burned when data was used punitively instead of for improvement. That resistance is understandable, but not sustainable. The solution isn’t to check professional expertise at the door. It’s to approach data with both curiosity and courage, questioning it in healthy ways while embracing it as a tool for problem-solving.

    From descriptive to predictive: What’s possible

    Let’s distinguish between types of analytics. Descriptive analytics tell us what happened: Jorge was absent 15 days last semester. Diagnostic analytics tell us why: Jorge lives in a household without reliable transportation, and his absences cluster on Mondays and Fridays.

    Now we get to the game-changers: predictive and prescriptive analytics. Predictive analytics use historical patterns to forecast what’s likely to happen: Based on current trends, Jorge is at 80 percent risk of chronic absenteeism by year’s end. Prescriptive analytics go further by helping the educator understand what they should do to intervene. If we connect Jorge’s family with transportation support and assign a mentor for weekly check-ins, we can likely reduce his absence risk by 60 percent.

    The technology to do this already exists. Machine learning can identify patterns across thousands of student records that would take humans months to discern. AI can surface early warning signs before problems become crises. These tools amplify teacher judgment, serving up insights and allowing educators to focus their expertise where it matters most.

    The cultural shift required

    Before any school rushes to adopt the next analytics tool, it’s worth pausing to ask: What actually happens when someone uses data in their daily work?

    Data use is deeply human. It’s about noticing patterns, interpreting meaning, and deciding what to do next. That process looks different for every educator, and it’s shaped by the environment in which they work: how much time they have to meet with colleagues, how easily they can access the right data, and whether the culture encourages curiosity or compliance.

    Technology can surface patterns, but culture determines whether those patterns lead to action. The same dashboard can spark collaboration in one school and defensiveness in another. That’s why new tools require attention to governance, trust, and professional learning–not just software configuration.

    At the end of the day, the goal isn’t simply to use data more often, but to use it more effectively.

    Moving toward this future requires a fundamental shift in how we think about data: from a compliance exercise to a strategic asset. The most resilient schools in the coming years will have cultures where data is pervasive, shared transparently, and accessible in near real-time to the people who need it. Think of it as an instructional co-pilot rather than a monkey on the back.

    This means moving away from data locked in the central office, requiring a 10-step approval process to access. Instead, imagine a decentralized approach where a fifth-grade team can instantly generate insights about their students’ reading growth, or where a high school counselor can identify seniors at risk of not graduating with enough time to intervene.

    This kind of data democratization requires significant change management. It demands training, clear protocols, and trust. But the payoff is educators empowered to make daily decisions grounded in timely, relevant information.

    Turning data into wisdom

    Data has been part of education from the very beginning. Attendance records, report cards, and gradebooks have always informed teaching. What’s different now is the volume of data available and the sophistication of tools to analyze it. K-12 educators don’t need to become data scientists, but they do need to become data literate: curious, critical consumers of information who can ask powerful questions and interpret results within the rich context of their professional expertise.

    The schools that harness their data effectively will be able to identify struggling students earlier, personalize interventions more effectively, and use educator time more strategically. But this future requires us to move beyond the dashboard and invest in the human capacity to transform data into wisdom. That transformation starts with data literacy, and it starts now.

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    Dr. Curt Merlau, Resultant

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  • Teaching visual literacy as a core reading strategy in the age of AI

    Key points:

    Many years ago, around 2010, I attended a professional development program in Houston called Literacy Through Photography, at a time when I was searching for practical ways to strengthen comprehension, discussion, and reading fluency, particularly for students who found traditional print-based tasks challenging. As part of the program, artists visited my classroom and shared their work with students. Much of that work was abstract. There were no obvious answers and no single “correct” interpretation.

    Instead, students were invited to look closely, talk together, and explain what they noticed.

    What struck me was how quickly students, including those who struggled with traditional reading tasks, began to engage. They learned to slow down, describe what they saw, make inferences, and justify their thinking. They weren’t just looking at images; they were reading them. And in doing so, they were rehearsing many of the same strategies we expect when reading written texts.

    At the time, this felt innovative. But it also felt deeply intuitive.

    Fast forward to today.

    Students are surrounded by images and videos, from photographs and diagrams to memes, screenshots, and, increasingly, AI-generated visuals. These images appear everywhere: in learning materials, on social media, and inside the tools students use daily. Many look polished, realistic, and authoritative.

    At the same time, AI has made faking easier than ever.

    As educators and school leaders, we now face urgent questions around misinformation, academic integrity, and critical thinking. The issue is no longer just whether students can use AI tools, but whether they can interpret, evaluate, and question what they see.

    This is where visual literacy becomes a frontline defence.

    Teaching students to read images critically, to see them as constructed texts rather than neutral data, strengthens the same skills we rely on for strong reading comprehension: inference, evidence-based reasoning, and metacognitive awareness.

    From photography to AI: A conversation grounded in practice

    Recently, I found myself returning to those early classroom experiences through ongoing professional dialogue with a former college lecturer and professional photographer, as we explored what it really means to read images in the age of AI.

    A conversation that grew out of practice

    Nesreen: When I shared the draft with you, you immediately focused on the language, whether I was treating images as data or as signs. Is this important?

    Photographer: Yes, because signs belong to reading. Data is output. Signs are meaning. When we talk about reading media texts, we’re talking about how meaning is constructed, not just what information appears.

    Nesreen: That distinction feels crucial right now. Students are surrounded by images and videos, but they’re rarely taught to read them with the same care as written texts.

    Photographer: Exactly. Once students understand that photographs and AI images are made up of signs, color, framing, scale, and viewpoint, they stop treating images as neutral or factual.

    Nesreen: You also asked whether the lesson would lean more towards evaluative assessment or summarizing. That made me realize the reflection mattered just as much as the image itself.

    Photographer: Reflection is key. When students explain why a composition works, or what they would change next time, they’re already engaging in higher-level reading skills.

    Nesreen: And whether students are analyzing a photograph, generating an AI image, or reading a paragraph, they’re practicing the same habits: slowing down, noticing, justifying, and revising their thinking.

    Photographer: And once they see that connection, reading becomes less about the right answer and more about understanding how meaning is made.

    Reading images is reading

    One common misconception is that visual literacy sits outside “real” literacy. In practice, the opposite is true.

    When students read images carefully, they:

    • identify what matters most
    • follow structure and sequence
    • infer meaning from clues
    • justify interpretations with evidence
    • revise first impressions

    These are the habits of skilled readers.

    For emerging readers, multilingual learners, and students who struggle with print, images lower the barrier to participation, without lowering the cognitive demand. Thinking comes first. Language follows.

    From composition to comprehension: Mapping image reading to reading strategies

    Photography offers a practical way to name what students are already doing intuitively. When teachers explicitly teach compositional elements, familiar reading strategies become visible and transferable.

    What students notice in an image What they are doing cognitively Reading strategy practiced
    Where the eye goes first Deciding importance Identifying main ideas
    How the eye moves Tracking structure Understanding sequence
    What is included or excluded Considering intention Analyzing author’s choices
    Foreground and background Sorting information Main vs supporting details
    Light and shadow Interpreting mood Making inferences
    Symbols and colour Reading beyond the literal Figurative language
    Scale and angle Judging power Perspective and viewpoint
    Repetition or pattern Spotting themes Theme identification
    Contextual clues Using surrounding detail Context clues
    Ambiguity Holding multiple meanings Critical reading
    Evidence from the image Justifying interpretation Evidence-based responses

    Once students recognise these moves, teachers can say explicitly:

    “You’re doing the same thing you do when you read a paragraph.”

    That moment of transfer is powerful.

    Making AI image generation teachable (and safe)

    In my classroom work pack, students use Perchance AI to generate images. I chose this tool deliberately: It is accessible, age-appropriate, and allows students to iterate, refining prompts based on compositional choices rather than chasing novelty.

    Students don’t just generate an image once. They plan, revise, and evaluate.

    This shifts AI use away from shortcut behavior and toward intentional design and reflection, supporting academic integrity rather than undermining it.

    The progression of a prompt: From surface to depth (WAGOLL)

    One of the most effective elements of the work pack is a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) progression, which shows students how thinking improves with precision.

    • Simple: A photorealistic image of a dog sitting in a park.
    • Secure: A photorealistic image of a dog positioned using the rule of thirds, warm colour palette, soft natural lighting, blurred background.
    • Greater Depth: A photorealistic image of a dog positioned using the rule of thirds, framed by tree branches, low-angle view, strong contrast, sharp focus on the subject, blurred background.

    Students can see and explain how photographic language turns an image from output into meaningful signs. That explanation is where literacy lives.

    When classroom talk begins to change

    Over time, classroom conversations shift.

    Instead of “I like it” or “It looks real,” students begin to say:

    • “The creator wants us to notice…”
    • “This detail suggests…”
    • “At first I thought…, but now I think…”

    These are reading sentences.

    Because images feel accessible, more students participate. The classroom becomes slower, quieter, and more thoughtful–exactly the conditions we want for deep comprehension.

    Visual literacy as a bridge, not an add-on

    Visual literacy is not an extra subject competing for time. It is a bridge, especially in the age of AI.

    By teaching students how to read images, schools strengthen:

    • reading comprehension
    • inference and evaluation
    • evidence-based reasoning
    • metacognitive awarenes

    Most importantly, students learn that literacy is not about rushing to answers, but about noticing, questioning, and constructing meaning.

    In a world saturated with AI-generated images, teaching students how to read visually is no longer optional.

    It is literacy.

    Author’s note: This article grew out of classroom practice and professional dialogue with a former college lecturer and professional photographer. Their contribution informed the discussion of visual composition, semiotics, and reflective image-reading, without any involvement in publication or authorship.

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    Nesreen El-Baz, Bloomsbury Education Author & School Governor

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  • OPINION: Instead of defining Black children by their test scores, we should help them overcome academic barriers and pursue their dreams

    Across the U.S., public school districts are panicking over test scores.

    The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the Nation’s Report Card, as it is known, revealed that students are underperforming in reading, with the most recent scores being the lowest overall since the test was first given in 1992.

    The latest scores for Black children have been especially low. In Pittsburgh, for example, only 26 percent of Black third- through fifth-grade public school students are reading at advanced or proficient levels compared to 67 percent of white children.

    This opportunity gap should challenge us to think differently about how we educate Black children. Too often, Black children are labeled as needing “skills development.” The problem is that such labels lead to educational practices that dim their curiosity and enthusiasm for school — and overlook their capacity to actually enjoy learning.

    As a result, without that enjoyment and the encouragement that often accompanies it, too many Black students grow up never feeling supported in the pursuit of their dreams.

    Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.

    Narrowly defining children based on their test scores is a big mistake. We, as educators, must see children as advanced dreamers who have the potential to overcome any academic barrier with our support and encouragement.

    As a co-founder of a bookstore, I believe there are many ways we can do better. I often use books and personal experiences to illustrate some of the pressing problems impacting Black children and families.

    One of my favorites is “Abdul’s Story” by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow.

    It tells the tale of a gifted young Black boy who is embarrassed by his messy handwriting and frequent misspellings, so much so that, in erasing his mistakes, he gouges a hole in his paper.

    He tries to hide it under his desk. Instead of chastening him, his teacher, Mr. Muhammad, does something powerful: He sits beside Abdul under the desk.

    Mr. Muhammad shows his own messy notebook to Abdul, who realizes “He’s messy just like me.”

    In that moment, Abdul learns that his dream of becoming a writer is possible; he just has to work in a way that suits his learning style. But he also needs an educator who supports him along the way.

    It is something I understand: In my own life, I have been both Abdul and Mr. Muhammad, and it was a teacher named Mrs. Lee who changed my life.

    One day after I got into a fight, she pulled me out of the classroom and said, “I am not going to let you fail.” At that point, I was consistently performing at or below basic in reading and writing, but she didn’t define me by my test scores.

    Instead, she asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

    I replied, “I want to be like Bryant Gumbel.”

    She asked why.

    “Because he’s smart and he always interviews famous people and presidents,” I said.

    Mrs. Lee explained that Mr. Gumbel was a journalist and encouraged me to start a school newspaper.

    So I did. I interviewed people and wrote articles, revising them until they were ready for publication. I did it because Mrs. Lee believed in me and saw me for who I wanted to be — not just my test scores.

    If more teachers across the country were like Mrs. Lee and Mr. Muhammad, more Black children would develop the confidence to pursue their dreams. Black children would realize that even if they have to work harder to acquire certain skills, doing so can help them accomplish their dreams.

    Related: Taking on racial bias in early math lessons

    Years ago, I organized a reading tour in four libraries across the city of Pittsburgh. At that time, I was a volunteer at the Carnegie Library, connecting book reading to children’s dreams.

    I remember working with a young Black boy who was playing video games on the computer with his friends. I asked him if he wanted to read, and he shook his head no.

    So I asked, “Who wants to build the city of the future?” and he raised his hand.

    He and I walked over to a table and began building with magnetic tiles. As we began building, I asked the same question Mrs. Lee had asked me: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

    “An architect,” he replied.

    I jumped up and grabbed a picture book about Frank Lloyd Wright. We began reading the book, and I noticed that he struggled to pronounce many of the words. I supported him, and we got through it. I later wrote about it.

    Each week after that experience, this young man would come up to me ready to read about his dream. He did so because I saw him just as Mr. Muhammad saw Abdul, and just like Mrs. Lee saw me — as an advanced dreamer.

    Consider that when inventor Lonnie Johnson was a kid, he took a test and the results declared that he could not be an engineer. Imagine if he’d accepted that fate. Kids around the world would not have the joy of playing with the Super Soaker water gun.

    When the architect Phil Freelon was a kid, he struggled with reading. If he had given up, the world would not have experienced the beauty and splendor of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

    When illustrator Jerry Pinkney was a kid, he struggled with reading just like Freelon. If he had defined himself as “basic” and “below average,” children across America would not have been inspired by his powerful picture book illustrations.

    Narrowly defining children based on their test scores is a big mistake.

    Each child is a solution to a problem in the world, whether it is big or small. So let us create conditions that inspire Black children to walk boldly in the pursuit of their dreams.

    Nosakhere Griffin-EL is the co-founder of The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore. He is a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute.

    Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.

    This story about Black children and education was produced byThe Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’sweekly newsletter.

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    Liz Willen
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    Nosakhere Griffin-EL

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  • How AI can fix PD for teachers

    Key points:

    The PD problem we know too well: A flustered woman bursts into the room, late and disoriented. She’s carrying a shawl and a laptop she doesn’t know how to use. She refers to herself as a literacy expert named Linda, but within minutes she’s asking teachers to “dance for literacy,” assigning “elbow partners,” and insisting the district already has workbooks no one’s ever seen (awalmartparkinglott, 2025). It’s chaotic. It’s exaggerated. And it’s painfully familiar.

    This viral satire, originally posted on Instagram and TikTok, resonates with educators not because it’s absurd but because it mirrors the worst of professional development. Many teachers have experienced PD sessions that are disorganized, disconnected from practice, or delivered by outsiders who misunderstand the local context.

    The implementation gap

    Despite decades of research on what makes professional development effective–including a focus on content, active learning, and sustained support (Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Joseph, 2024)–too many sessions remain generic, compliance-driven, or disconnected from day-to-day teaching realities. Instructional coaching is powerful but costly (Kraft et al., 2018), and while collaborative learning communities show promise, they are difficult to maintain over time.

    Often, the challenge is not the quality of the ideas but the systems needed to carry them forward. Leaders struggle to design relevant experiences that sustain momentum, and teachers return to classrooms without clear supports for application or follow-through. For all the time and money invested in PD, the implementation gap remains wide.

    The AI opportunity

    Artificial intelligence is not a replacement for thoughtful design or skilled facilitation, but it can strengthen how we plan, deliver, and sustain professional learning. From customizing agendas and differentiating materials to scaling coaching and mapping long-term growth, AI offers concrete ways to make PD more responsive and effective (Sahota, 2024; Adams & Middleton, 2024; Tan et al., 2025).

    The most promising applications do not attempt one-size-fits-all fixes, but instead address persistent challenges piece by piece, enabling educators to lead smarter and more strategically.

    Reducing clerical load of PD planning

    Before any PD session begins, there is a quiet mountain of invisible work: drafting the description, objectives, and agenda; building slide decks; designing handouts; creating flyers; aligning materials to standards; and managing time, space, and roles. For many school leaders, this clerical load consumes hours, leaving little room for designing rich learning experiences.

    AI-powered platforms can generate foundational materials in minutes. A simple prompt can produce a standards-aligned agenda, transform text into a slide deck, or create a branded flyer. Tools like Gamma and Canva streamline visual design, while bots such as the PD Workshop Planner or CK-12’s PD Session Designer tailor agendas to grade levels or instructional goals.

    By shifting these repetitive tasks to automation, leaders free more time for content design, strategic alignment, and participant engagement. AI does not just save time–it restores it, enabling leaders to focus on thoughtful, human-centered professional learning.

    Scaling coaching and sustained practice

    Instructional coaching is impactful but expensive and time-intensive, limiting access for many teachers. Too often, PD is delivered without meaningful follow-up, and sustained impact is rarely evident.

    AI can help extend the reach of coaching by aligning supports with district improvement plans, teacher and student data, or staff self-assessments. Subscription-based tools like Edthena’s AI Coach provide asynchronous, video-based feedback, allowing teachers to upload lesson recordings and receive targeted suggestions over time (Edthena, 2025). Project Café (Adams & Middleton, 2024) uses generative AI to analyze classroom videos and offer timely, data-driven feedback on instructional practices.

    AI-driven simulations, virtual classrooms, and annotated student work samples (Annenberg Institute, 2024) offer scalable opportunities for teachers to practice classroom management, refine feedback strategies, and calibrate rubrics. Custom AI-powered chatbots can facilitate virtual PLCs, connecting educators to co-plan and share ideas.

    A recent study introduced Novobo, an AI “mentee” that teachers train together using gestures and voice; by teaching the AI, teachers externalized and reflected on tacit skills, strengthening peer collaboration (Jiang et al., 2025). These innovations do not replace coaches but ensure continuous growth where traditional systems fall short.

    Supporting long-term professional growth

    Most professional development is episodic, lacking continuity, and failing to align with teachers’ evolving goals. Sahota (2024) likens AI to a GPS for professional growth, guiding educators to set long-term goals, identify skill gaps, and access learning opportunities aligned with aspirations.

    AI-powered PD systems can generate individualized learning maps and recommend courses tailored to specific roles or licensure pathways (O’Connell & Baule, 2025). Machine learning algorithms can analyze a teacher’s interests, prior coursework, and broader labor market trends to develop adaptive professional learning plans (Annenberg Institute, 2024).

    Yet goal setting is not enough; as Tan et al. (2025) note, many initiatives fail due to weak implementation. AI can close this gap by offering ongoing insights, personalized recommendations, and formative data that sustain growth well beyond the initial workshop.

    Making virtual PD more flexible and inclusive

    Virtual PD often mirrors traditional formats, forcing all participants into the same live sessions regardless of schedule, learning style, or language access.

    Generative AI tools allow leaders to convert live sessions into asynchronous modules that teachers can revisit anytime. Platforms like Otter.ai can transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and tag key takeaways, enabling absent participants to catch up and multilingual staff to access translated transcripts.

    AI can adapt materials for different reading levels, offer language translations, and customize pacing to fit individual schedules, ensuring PD is rigorous yet accessible.

    Improving feedback and evaluation

    Professional development is too often evaluated based on attendance or satisfaction surveys, with little attention to implementation or student outcomes. Many well-intentioned initiatives fail due to insufficient follow-through and weak support (Carney & Pizzuto, 2024).

    Guskey’s (2000) five levels of evaluation, from initial reaction to student impact, remain a powerful framework. AI enhances this approach by automating assessments, generating surveys, and analyzing responses to surface themes and gaps. In PLCs, AI can support educators with item analysis and student work review, offering insights that guide instructional adjustments and build evidence-informed PD systems.

    Getting started: Practical moves for school leaders

    School leaders can integrate AI by starting small: use PD Workshop Planner, Gamma, or Canva to streamline agenda design; make sessions more inclusive with Otter.ai; pilot AI coaching tools to extend feedback between sessions; and apply Guskey’s framework with AI analysis to strengthen implementation.

    These actions shift focus from clerical work to instructional impact.

    Ethical use, equity, and privacy considerations

    While AI offers promise, risks must be addressed. Financial and infrastructure disparities can widen the digital divide, leaving under-resourced schools unable to access these tools (Center on Reinventing Public Education, 2024).

    Issues of data privacy and ethical use are critical: who owns performance data, how it is stored, and how it is used for decision-making must be clear. Language translation and AI-generated feedback require caution, as cultural nuance and professional judgment cannot be replicated by algorithms.

    Over-reliance on automation risks diminishing teacher agency and relational aspects of growth. Responsible AI integration demands transparency, equitable access, and safeguards that protect educators and communities.

    Conclusion: Smarter PD is within reach

    Teachers deserve professional learning that respects their time, builds on their expertise, and leads to lasting instructional improvement. By addressing design and implementation challenges that have plagued PD for decades, AI provides a pathway to better, not just different, professional learning.

    Leaders need not overhaul systems overnight; piloting small, strategic AI applications can signal a shift toward valuing time, relevance, and real implementation. Smarter, more human-centered PD is within reach if we build it intentionally and ethically.

    References

    Adams, D., & Middleton, A. (2024, May 7). AI tool shows teachers what they do in the classroom—and how to do it better. The 74. https://www.the74million.org/article/opinion-ai-tool-shows-teachers-what-they-do-in-the-classroom-and-how-to-do-it-better

    Annenberg Institute. (2024). AI in professional learning: Navigating opportunities and challenges for educators. Brown University. https://annenberg.brown.edu/sites/default/files/AI%20in%20Professional%20Learning.pdf

    awalmartparkinglott. (2025, August 5). The PD presenter that makes 4x your salary [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMGrbUsPbnO/

    Carney, S., & Pizzuto, D. (2024). Implement with IMPACT: A framework for making your PD stick. Learning Forward Publishing.

    Center on Reinventing Public Education. (2024, June 12). AI is coming to U.S. classrooms, but who will benefit? https://crpe.org/ai-is-coming-to-u-s-classrooms-but-who-will-benefit/

    Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Effective_Teacher_Professional_Development_REPORT.pdf

    Edthena. (2025). AI Coach for teachers. https://www.edthena.com/ai-coach-for-teachers/

    Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Corwin Press.

    Jiang, J., Huang, K., Martinez-Maldonado, R., Zeng, H., Gong, D., & An, P. (2025, May 29). Novobo: Supporting teachers’ peer learning of instructional gestures by teaching a mentee AI-agent together [Preprint]. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.17557

    Joseph, B. (2024, October). It takes a village to design the best professional development. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-it-takes-a-village-to-design-the-best-professional-development/2024/10

    Kraft, M. A., Blazar, D., & Hogan, D. (2018). The effect of teacher coaching on instruction and achievement: A meta-analysis of the causal evidence. Review of Educational Research, 88(4), 547–588. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654318759268

    O’Connell, J., & Baule, S. (2025, January 17). Harnessing generative AI to revolutionize educator growth. eSchool News. https://www.eschoolnews.com/digital-learning/2025/01/17/generative-ai-teacher-professional-development/

    Sahota, N. (2024, July 25). AI energizes your career path & charts your professional growth plan. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilsahota/2024/07/25/ai-energizes-your-career-path–charts-your-professional-growth-plan/

    Tan, X., Cheng, G., & Ling, M. H. (2025). Artificial intelligence in teaching and teacher professional development: A systematic review. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 8, 100355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2024.100355

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    Andy Szeto, Ed.D, Professor and District Administrator

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  • Lerner Publishing Group Launches Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Genius and Joy Curriculum

    MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Lerner Publishing Group, a leading publisher of K-12 educational materials, is proud to announce the launch of Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s groundbreaking Genius and Joy curriculum in Summer 2026. This new, all-in-one supplemental curriculum for Grades K–5 is grounded in Dr. Muhammad’s Five Pursuits Framework, a research-based educational model that enhances student engagement and intellectual growth.

    Within her research and scholarship in literacy development, English education and writing instruction, and culturally responsive pedagogies, Dr. Muhammad posed the question, “What if the purpose of schools and curriculum was to recognize and elevate the genius and joy of teachers and students?” The result is the Genius and Joy curriculum. This innovative curriculum prioritizes academic rigor by developing literacy skills, building subject area knowledge and centering students’ learning experience on joy. The curriculum is deep in content and thought while also practical and easy for teachers to use.

    Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Five Pursuits framework of Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy is a research-based instructional approach that enhances student engagement and achievement by focusing on literacy, identity development, and historical awareness. Its impact is evident in the Lemon Grove School District in California, where implementation of the framework has led to measurable gains: Black and African American students have consistently increased their academic achievement, even surpassing the overall student population in English Language Arts proficiency. Additionally, Multilingual Learners (MLLs) in the district have experienced a tripling in reclassification rates, reflecting the effectiveness of equity-centered, data-informed practices that align with the framework’s core tenets. Schools and districts across forty-three states have implemented the Five Pursuits Framework into their instructional practices, and have been clamoring for an official curriculum.

    “I wanted teachers to see curriculum as the stories we teach and tell, as the world around us, and as the legacy that we leave in the lives of our children,” said Dr. Gholdy Muhammad. “It is my hope that this curriculum is a genius and joy experience for youth and teachers alike. We all deserve a comprehensive curricular experience.”

    The Genius and Joy Curriculum

    • Celebrates Joy in Teaching and Learning: The Genius and Joy Curriculum provides easy-to-implement approaches and strategies that include space within the learning experience where students can live out and discover their fullest potential. Joy is a safe and creative space to be free—free to learn, free to dream, and free to be.
    • Recognizes the Genius Within Every Child: Through powerful stories and dynamic activities, every lesson is designed to spark curiosity, encourage inquiry, and build students’ confidence in their own unique brilliance.
    • Elevates Learning Through the Five Pursuits: Through innovative pedagogy, students explore more than simple skill building. The five pursuits—identity, skills, intellect, criticality, and joy—of the HILL model are intended to teach the whole student and honor the goals of genius and joy.

    “We know that true learning happens when students see themselves in the material, feel their voices are valued, and are encouraged to think critically about the world around them,” said Adam Lerner, Publisher and CEO of Lerner Publishing Group. “We are proud to partner with Dr. Gholdy Muhammad on Genius and Joy to create an environment where students can not only excel academically, but also engage with Lerner’s award-winning books in ways that help them grow as whole individuals.”

    Genius and Joy will be available for purchase through Lerner Publishing Group starting Summer 2026. The curriculum will be accompanied by professional development resources to help educators implement the framework effectively, ensuring that the values of joy and academic excellence reach students in classrooms across the country.

    For more information about Genius and Joy visit geniusandjoycurriculum.com.

    Click here to watch Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s webinar Celebrate the Genius and Joy of Every Student in Your Classroom.

    About Dr. Gholdy Muhammad
    Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is the John Corbally Endowed Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois Chicago. She has previously served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, school district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president. She studies Black historical excellence in education, intending to reframe curriculum and instruction today. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. She has also received numerous national awards and is the author of the best-selling books, Cultivating Genius and Unearthing Joy. She also co-authored the book, Black Girls’ Literacies. Her Culturally and Historically Responsive Education Model has been adopted across thousands of U.S. schools and districts across Canada. In 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, she was named among the top 1% Edu-Scholar Public Influencers due to her impact on policy and practice. She has led a federal grant with the United States Department of Education to study culturally and historically responsive literacy in STEM classrooms. In the fall of 2026, her first curriculum, entitledGenius and Joy, will be available to schools and educators.

    About Lerner Publishing Group™Lerner Publishing Group™ creates high-quality fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults. Founded in 1959, Lerner Publishing Group is one of the nation’s largest independent children’s book publishers with seventeen imprints and divisions: Carolrhoda Books®, Carolrhoda Lab®, Darby Creek™, ediciones Lerner, First Avenue Editions™, Gecko Press™, Graphic Universe™, Kar-Ben Publishing®, Lerner Publications, LernerClassroom™, Lerner Digital™, Millbrook Press™, Soaring Kite Books, Sundance Newbridge, Twenty-First Century Books™, Zest Books™, and Lerner Publisher Services™. For more information, visit www.lernerbooks.com or call 800-328-4929.                                  

    eSchool News Staff
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  • If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?

    Nguyen is hardly alone in this experience. BookTok, the sprawling and informal literary community on TikTok, has pushed many people to read outside their usual interests. You don’t have to dig deep into X, Reddit, or Instagram to find reading suggestions that would never appear on the year-end lists in newspapers or magazines, or on the rolls of the major annual awards. Obscure literary titles are reaching people they might not have reached before.

    But, if we accept Nguyen’s proposition, and conclude that some of us are slogging through fewer bad books and getting more quickly to the stuff we like, does that actually constitute an improvement in reading culture?

    Let’s place our hypothetical friend Dave, the military-history buff, in a book club that requires him to read a whole bunch of books he might have never picked up—the majority of which he finds pointless and a waste of his time. The club also provides a community of in-person friends with whom he can debate and disagree and even argue about what book should be next on the queue. Dave might not read many more books than he would have without the club, and he may enjoy the ones he reads less; the quality of the information he’s receiving may even deteriorate. He might find himself back in the same Reddit threads, hunting down things that are tailored to his interests.

    But there are social benefits to reading something together. Someone might be able to jolt him out of his narrow tranche of interests. The experience of reading can benefit from the rockier mental terrain that books provide; the boredom and impatience that longer texts sometimes inspire can help push and prod one’s thinking more than things that are perfectly distilled.

    I asked Nguyen whether she felt that her vision of a more finely tuned and online reading public might obviate the need for the in-person book club or literary society or writing workshop. She said that although social media and learning about books through the internet likely accelerated exploration, it also could, in her experience, restrict people almost entirely to their own tastes. “You have the ability to create a filter bubble that’s more impermeable,” she said.

    Social media does create a powerful consensus—on the internet, everything tends to grow quickly toward one source of light— and an argument can be made that a slower, more fractured network of in-person, localized arguments might ultimately offer up more intellectual variety. When I asked Nguyen about this, she mentioned the Ninth Street Women, a group of Abstract Expressionist artists who worked in the postwar period, and her own displaced nostalgia for the idea of artists and writers meeting in physical spaces with similar goals in mind. “It just inherently feels more vibrant if it’s in a physical space than if you Substack notes at the same time that all your friends are posting on Substack notes,” she said. But she also pointed out that such movements tend to be quite insidery, and that a lot of the most successful writers on platforms like Substack are people who might not exactly fit into the New York City literati. This seems undeniably true to me. It might be nice to go to the same bars and contribute to the same small journals and stare very seriously at the same art work in the same galleries, but such a life feels both anachronistic and annoying today.

    In another of her notes for writers, Nguyen proclaims:

    I, controversially, am pro-social media. If you are writing about art, you just make all your social media about contemporary art and art critics and new art releases, and you create this funneled world that reinforces the thing you’re trying to do.

    I have tried similar tactics in the past, especially when I was writing about specific subjects, such as education policy or A.I. But what I found wasn’t really a sharpening of insight, but, rather, a tightened focus on the social-media consensus, which was largely dictated by the people who posted the most on any given topic. Even in moments when I wasn’t writing directly about some tweet I had seen, I was still gesturing toward it. Writing, in this form, felt more like sticking a comment bubble on an aggregated stream of news stories, social-media posts, and an assortment of video podcasts. Most pundits—at least those who comment on the world in columns, newsletters, or on podcasts—are doing some form of this. Taken together, such writing forms “the discourse.”

    Jay Caspian Kang

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  • Solving the staffing crisis is key to the Science of Reading movement

    Key points:

    As someone who’s dedicated my career to advancing the Science of Reading movement, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes to help every child become a strong, fluent reader. We’ve made incredible strides in shifting the conversation toward evidence-based instruction, but I know we’re at a critical inflection point. While we–obviously–continue our work helping schools and districts adopt SOR, there’s an issue that stands in the way of real, sustained, progress: the staffing crisis and leadership churn that are leaving our educators overwhelmed and skeptical toward “change.” Without addressing these deeper structural issues, we risk stalling the momentum we’ve worked so hard to build.

    The hidden costs of constant turnover

    The data on teacher and leader turnover is bleak, and I’ve seen how it undermines the long-term commitment needed for any meaningful change. Consider this: Roughly 1 in 6 teachers won’t return to the same classroom next year, and nearly half of new teachers leave within their first five years. This constant churn is a massive financial burden on districts, costing an estimated $20,000 per teacher to recruit, hire, and onboard. But the real cost is the human one. Every time a new leader or teacher steps in, the hard-won progress on a literacy initiative can be jeopardized.

    I’ve watched districts spend years building momentum for the Science of Reading, providing extensive training and resources, only to see a new superintendent or principal arrive with a new set of priorities. This “leader wobble” can pull the rug out from under an initiative mid-stream. It’s especially frustrating when a new leader decides a program has had “plenty of professional learning” without taking the time to audit its impact. This lack of continuity completely disrupts the 3-5 years it takes for an initiative to truly take hold, especially because new teachers often arrive with a knowledge gap, as only about one-quarter of teacher preparation programs teach the Science of Reading. We can’t build on a foundation that’s constantly shifting.

    Overwhelmed by “initiative fatigue”

    I know what it feels like to have too much on your plate. Teachers, already juggling countless instructional materials, often see each new program not as a solution but as one more thing to learn, implement, and manage. Instead of excitement, there’s skepticism–this is initiative fatigue, and it can stall real progress. I’ve seen it firsthand; one large district I worked with rolled out new reading, math, and phonics resources all at once.

    To prevent this, we need to follow the principle of “pull weeds to plant flowers.” Being critical, informed consumers of resources means choosing flowers (materials) that are:

    • Supported by high-quality, third-party research
    • Aligned across all tiers of instruction
    • Versatile enough to meet varied student needs
    • Teacher-friendly, with clear guidance and instructional dialogue
    • Culturally relevant, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of students

    Now, even when a resource meets these standards, adoption shouldn’t be additive. Teachers can’t layer new tools on top of old ones. To see real change, old resources must be replaced with better ones. Educators need solutions that provide a unified, research-backed framework across all tiers, giving teachers clarity, support, and a path to sustainable student progress.

    Building a stable environment for sustained change

    So, how do we create the stable environment needed to support our educators? It starts with leadership that is in it for the long game. We need to mitigate turnover by using data to understand why teachers are leaving and then acting on that feedback. Strengthening mentorship, clarifying career pathways, and improving school culture are all crucial steps.

    Beyond just retaining staff, leaders must foster a culture of sustained commitment. It’s not enough to have a few “islands of excellence” where a handful of teachers are getting great results.

    We need system-wide adoption. This requires strong leaders to balance support and accountability. I’ve seen how collaborative teams, engaged in problem-solving and data-based decision-making, can transform a school. When teachers see students as “our students” and not just “my students,” shared ownership grows.

    A leader’s job is to protect and sustain this vision, making sure the essential supports–like collaborative planning time, ongoing professional development, and in-classroom coaching–are in place. But sustaining change goes beyond daily management; it requires building deep capacity so the work continues even if leadership shifts. This means hiring, training, and retaining strong educators, investing in future leaders, and ensuring committed advocates are part of the implementation team. It also requires creating a detailed, actionable roadmap, with budgets clearly allocated and accountability measures established, so that any initiative isn’t just a short-term priority but a long-term promise. By embedding these structures, leaders can secure continuity, maintain momentum, and ensure that every step forward in literacy translates into lasting gains for students.

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    Laura Stewart, 95 Percent Group

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  • From momentum to endurance: Scaling structured literacy with implementation science

    When districts adopt evidence-based practices like Structured Literacy, it’s often with a surge of excitement and momentum. Yet the real challenge lies not in the initial adoption, but in sustaining and scaling these practices to create lasting instructional change. That’s the point at which implementation science enters the picture. It offers a practical, research-backed framework to help district leaders move from one-time initiatives to systemwide transformation.

    Defining the “how” of implementation

    Implementation science is the study of methods and strategies that support the systematic uptake of evidence-based practices. In the context of literacy, it provides a roadmap for translating the science of reading, based on decades of cognitive research, into day-to-day instructional routines.

    Without this roadmap, even the most well-intentioned literacy reforms struggle to take root. Strong ideas alone are not enough; educators need clear structures, ongoing support, and the ability to adapt while maintaining fidelity to the research. Implementation science brings order to change management and helps schools move from isolated professional learning sessions to sustainable, embedded practices.

    Common missteps and how to avoid them

    One of the most common misconceptions among school systems is that simply purchasing high-quality instructional materials or delivering gold-standard professional learning, like Lexia LETRS, is enough. While these are essential components, they’re only part of the equation. What’s often missing is a focus on aligned leadership, strategic coaching, data-informed decisions, and systemwide coordination.

    Another frequent misstep is viewing Structured Literacy as a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach. In reality, it is a set of adaptable practices rooted in the foundational elements of reading: Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Effective implementation requires both structure and flexibility, guided by tools like the Active Implementation Formula or NIRN’s Hexagon Tool.

    District leaders must also rethink their approach to leadership. Instructional change doesn’t happen in a vacuum or stay confined to the classroom. Leaders at every level–from building principals to regional directors–need to be equipped not just as managers, but as implementation champions.

    Overcoming initiative fatigue

    Initiative fatigue is real. Educators are weary of the pendulum swings that often characterize educational reform. What’s new today may feel like a rebranded version of yesterday’s trend. Implementation science helps mitigate this fatigue by building clear, supportive structures that promote consistency over time.

    Fragmented professional learning is another barrier. Educators need more than one-off workshops–they need coherent, job-embedded coaching and opportunities to reflect, revise, and grow. Coaching plays a pivotal role here. It serves as the bridge between theory and practice, offering modeling, feedback, and emotional support that help educators build confidence and capacity.

    Building sustainable systems

    Sustainability starts with readiness. Before launching a Structured Literacy initiative, district leaders should assess their systems. Do they have the right people, processes, and tools in place? Have they clearly defined roles and responsibilities for everyone involved, from classroom teachers to district office staff?

    Implementation teams are essential. These cross-functional groups help drive the work forward, break down silos, and ensure alignment across departments. Successful districts also make implementation part of their onboarding process, so new staff are immersed in the district’s instructional vision from day one.

    Flexibility is important, too. No two schools or communities are the same. A rural elementary school might need different pacing or grouping strategies than a large urban middle school. Implementation science supports this kind of contextual adaptation without compromising core instructional principles.

    Measuring progress beyond test scores

    While student outcomes are the ultimate goal, they’re not the only metric that matters. Districts should also track implementation fidelity, educator engagement, and coaching effectiveness. Are teachers confident in delivering instruction? Are they seeing shifts in their students’ engagement and performance? Are systems in place to sustain these changes even when staff turnover occurs?

    Dashboards, coaching logs, survey tools, and walkthroughs can all help paint a clearer picture. These tools also help identify bottlenecks and areas in need of adjustment, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

    Equity at the center

    Implementation science also ensures that Structured Literacy practices are delivered equitably. This means all students, regardless of language, ability, or zip code, receive high-quality, evidence-based instruction.

    For multilingual learners, this includes embedding explicit vocabulary instruction, oral language development, and culturally responsive scaffolding. For students with disabilities, Structured Literacy provides a clear and accessible pathway that often improves outcomes significantly. The key is to start with universal design principles and build from there, customizing without compromising.

    The role of leadership

    Finally, none of this is possible without strong leadership. Implementation must be treated as a leadership competency, not a technical task to be delegated. Leaders must shield initiatives from political noise, articulate a long-term vision, and foster psychological safety so that staff can try, fail, learn, and grow.

    As we’ve seen in states like Mississippi and South Carolina, real gains come from enduring efforts, not quick fixes. Implementation science helps district leaders make that shift–from momentum to endurance, from isolated success to systemic change.

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    Kimberly Stockton, Ed.D.

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  • TEACHER VOICE: I didn’t think I needed the help or advice, but a new literacy teaching coach from afar gave me the self-confidence I lacked

    I was the only guy in my education classes at Missouri State University, and until this year I was the only male out of nearly 100 teachers in my school. My approach to teaching is very different, and more often than not was met with a raised brow rather than a listening ear.  

    I teach kindergarten, and there are so few men in early childhood education that visitors to my classroom tend to treat me like a unicorn. They put me in a box of how I am “supposed” to be as a male in education without knowing the details of my approach to teaching.  

    As a result, I’d grown skeptical about receiving outside help. When someone new came into my classroom to provide unsolicited “support,” my immediate thought was always, “OK, great, what are they going to cook up? What are they trying to sell me?” I’d previously had former high school administrators come into my classroom to offer support, but they didn’t have experience with the curriculum I used or with kindergarten. The guidance was well-intentioned, but not relevant. 

    Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.  

    My entire view of getting help and support changed when Ashley Broadnax, a literacy coach from New Orleans, nearly 700 miles away, came into my class in St. James, Missouri, population 3,900. Ashley works for The New Teacher Project, or TNTP, a nonprofit aiming to increase students’ economic and social mobility. Once a month for a full academic year, she came in to help us transition to a “science of reading” approach, as part of a special pilot program, the Rural Schools Early Literacy Collaborative. 

    I never thought I would love having a literacy coach and their feedback, but I now believe it is something that can work for many teachers. I hope that as Missouri and other states transition to new ways of teaching reading, more coaches will be available for others who could use the support. The state says that over 15,000 teachers may get trained in the science of reading to help build our knowledge of how children learn to read and what type of instruction is most effective.  

    Ashley had used the curriculum herself and was on hand to provide timely support. This was the first time I received relevant feedback from a former teacher who had firsthand experience with the lessons I was leading.  

    It completely changed my approach and my students’ learning. Although I come from a family of teachers — my mom, grandma and brother all taught — I had started teaching two weeks out of college, and I wasn’t familiar with the new reading curriculum and didn’t have a lot of self-confidence. 

    When Ashley came in for the very first visit, I knew working with her was going to be different. Even though she had never been to St. James, she was sensitive to the rural context where I’ve spent all my life. We’re 90 minutes southwest of St. Louis and a little over an hour southeast of Jefferson City, the state capital. In St. James, you may see a person on a horse riding past a Tesla a few times a year. I’ve seen this world of extremes play out in school open houses and in the learning gaps that exist in my kindergarten classroom.  

    Ashley had researched our community and was open to learning more about our nuances and teaching styles. She was also the first coach I’d met who actually had taught kindergarten, so she knew what worked and what didn’t. As a young teacher with a significant number of students with special needs, I really appreciated this.  

    Related: How coaches for teachers could improve reading instruction, close early academic gaps 

    Ashley provided me with a pathway to follow the new curriculum while also maintaining my unique approach to teaching. Everything came from a place of ensuring that teachers have what they need to be successful, rather than an “I know better than you do” attitude. She would let me know “I loved how you did this” and she’d ask, “Can you extend it in this way?” or tell me, “This was great, here’s how you can structure it a bit further.” 

    Not everything she did to help was profound. But her little tips added up. For example, the curriculum we used came with 10 workbooks for each student as well as stacks of literature, and I needed help integrating it into my lessons.  

    I soon noticed a shift in my ability to teach. I was learning specific ways to help students who were on the cusp of catching on, along with those who weren’t getting it at all.  

    Throughout the course of the year, we saw how our students were more quickly achieving proficiency in English language arts. In my school, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the percentage of kindergartners reading on grade level went from 82 percent in the fall to 98 percent in the spring; the percentage of first graders on grade level went from 41 percent to 84 percent.  

    There were similar gains across the other schools in my county participating in the pilot program; one school had all of its kindergarten and first grade students demonstrate growth on reading assessments. Those students, on average, made gains that were more than double typical annual growth, TNTP found. 

    I attribute a great deal of this progress to the support from Ashley and her peers. I know I am a better educator and teacher for my students. Her support has made a change for the better in my grade and classroom. 

    Thomas MacCash is a kindergarten teacher at Lucy Wortham James Elementary in St. James, Missouri.  

    Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.  

    This story about literacy teaching coaches was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter.

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    Thomas MacCash

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  • This Controversial Education Trend Is Going Viral — And Adults Who Grew Up With It Have Thoughts

    Scroll through TikTok or Instagram and you’ll likely come across families documenting their “unschooling” lives — children learning through nature walks instead of textbooks, kitchen experiments instead of science labs, and daily life instead of daily lessons.

    The posts are idyllic: kids painting in sunlight, teens coding in cafés, parents narrating how freedom fuels creativity. “Life is learning,” many captions read — the unofficial mantra of the unschooling movement.

    Lisa5201 via Getty Images

    On paper, the philosophy of unschooling is meant to prioritize true learning over testing and grades — but unschooled alumnus have mixed feelings.

    Unschooling, a form of homeschooling that removes formal curriculum entirely and emphasizes child-led, self-directed learning based on a child’s own interests, is gaining renewed attention as parents increasingly question traditional education systems. Some see it as the purest form of child-led learning. Others worry it’s just educational neglect in disguise.

    So what’s it really like to grow up unschooled — and what happens when those kids grow up?

    ‘We hid from the school bus every morning.’

    For Calvin Bagley, unschooling wasn’t a choice.

    “I grew up in the Utah desert, where my parents pretended to educate us, but in reality, they were just isolating us from the world under the guise of religious protection,” he said. “By the time I was 10, even the pretense of learning had disappeared. There were no books, no lessons, no real education, just work and fear.”

    He said a typical day meant chores, farm labor, and pretending to study whenever his father came inside.

    “We hid from the school bus every morning because we were told school was evil, and I believed it,” Bagley continued. “My parents called it homeschooling, but it was really religious isolation that stripped us of connection, curiosity and childhood.”

    Bagley, now an author of “Hiding from the School Bus: Breaking Free from Control, Fear, Isolation, and a Childhood Without Education,” said the lack of formal schooling left him with deep scars — and some hard-won resilience.

    “It’s very difficult to say that anything good came out of my no-schooling, but if there’s one thing, it’s grit,” he said. “When you have to figure out everything on your own with no help or encouragement, you either break or you fight to survive.”

    “When you have to figure out everything on your own with no help or encouragement, you either break or you fight to survive.”

    – Calvin Bagley, author

    When he finally made it into college, “It was incredibly difficult to thrive in such a structured environment,” he said. “I had never written a paper or taken a test before. Every class felt like a new language I had to learn from scratch.”

    “My peers were building resumes while I was still building a foundation,” Bagley added. “College was the first classroom I ever sat in, and every class was an act of defiance against my past.”

    Even so, he said his “no-schooling” instilled one thing: survival intelligence. “It didn’t prepare me academically, but it did make me resourceful. When you grow up having to make things work with nothing, you develop a kind of survival intelligence,” he said. “My no-schooling didn’t give me answers, but it taught me how to find them.”

    “Not in the way I experienced it,” he said. “My version wasn’t freedom, it was captivity.”

    ‘Freedom with a foundation.’

    For Amanda Schenkenberger, unschooling looked very different.

    “A typical day meant a little reading, maybe some math, and lots of outside time,” she said. “I grew up on a ranch, so there were always chores, feeding animals, scrubbing water barrels, helping out, but also plenty of freedom.”

    Schenkenberger, now a homeschool mom and coach herself, said the approach gave her something traditional schooling often doesn’t: self-awareness.

    “Unschooling taught me how I learn best,” she said. “Because I had the freedom to explore at my own pace and follow my curiosity, I became a great researcher and problem-solver.”

    Still, the transition to high school wasn’t seamless. “Having been unschooled in my middle school years, no one really taught me how to write an essay or organize my thoughts clearly. That was a skill gap I had to overcome later,” she said. “Even though I went on to write a book, those writing abilities were hard-won.”

    But socially and professionally, she said she thrived. Her first job at 16 was working at Starbucks. “Growing up on a ranch gave me a strong work ethic and a sense of responsibility from a young age,” she said. “My bosses often complimented my initiative and reliability.”

    As an adult, Schenkenberger still sees value in the unschooling philosophy — with tweaks.

    “Yes, and we are,” she said when asked if she’d choose unschooling again. “My husband and I are raising our four boys with a more structured approach to unschooling. We focus on what I call our Core 4: math, language arts, science and social studies. We give plenty of time for play, reading and exploring their ‘zone of genius,’ but we also prioritize writing and communication. It’s that balance — freedom with a foundation — that helps our homeschool thrive.”

    Experts say: curiosity is key, but balance matters.

    Unschooling has its roots in the educational reform movements of the 1960s and ’70s, popularized by educator John Holt. Its guiding belief is that children are naturally driven to learn — if adults don’t get in the way.

    “Unschooling removes formal curriculum altogether, allowing a child’s interest and daily life to guide learning,” said Kirsten Horton, an educator who’s worked across Montessori, Title I and independent schools. “While Montessori and homeschooling both share similar elements of allowing the child to follow his/her interests, unschooling is more improvised, student-led, and rooted in curiosity.”

    She said the model can “spark intrinsic motivation and agency” — but cautions that not every child will thrive in such an open environment. “Some children may struggle with the lack of structure, sustained effort, or self-regulation required,” Horton said. “When unschooling is done with a strong balance, it can lead to independent, articulate learners. However, it is important for parents to be mindful and to keep experiences balanced, so as not to leave gaps.”

    Her takeaway? “Children learn best when curiosity, structure and connection coexist.”

    What the research shows — and doesn’t.

    Curby Alexander, an education researcher and former schoolteacher, said unschooling is “an approach to education that does not rely on typical school methods or curriculum.”

    “The focus of unschooling is children and their parents living life together, rather than each doing separate things during the day at work and school,” he explained. “Children and parents focus on having experiences together, parents and children learn together as they pursue their interests and cultivate their natural desire to learn and grow.”

    Alexander notes that research on unschooling’s long-term effects is limited — but early findings suggest mixed results. Citing studies by Peter Gray and Gina Riley, he said “83% of respondents attended a post-secondary school….Half reported advantages relating to their unschooling: not being worn down by prior schooling, the self-direction they had learned, and their determination to get as much as the educational institution had to offer.”

    “Perhaps unschooling works because it involves such a small number of people… It will always be a good option for some families, but I do not believe it will ever be the best option for everyone.”

    – Curby Alexander, Ph.D., an education researcher and former schoolteacher

    He cites an example of a family friend who unschooled her children and did not impose any academic requirements on them. At the age of 8, one of her children still did not know how to read and had no interest in books, but he loved playing Minecraft. His older brother told him there were online forums where Minecraft enthusiasts posted their strategies for playing the games.

    According to the father, his son taught himself to read in a matter of weeks so he could access the online forums and learn from other Minecraft gamers. Similarly, the older brother in this story learned to read at an early age because he had a keen interest in World War II, particularly the tanks used by each country in the war.

    “Based on these two examples, my belief is that unschooled children learn skills and knowledge when they desire to do so, not when it is imposed on them by an adult or school,” said Alexander.

    But personally, he isn’t convinced of unschooling scales. “As a parent, I am not a fan of this movement,” he said. “Perhaps unschooling works because it involves such a small number of people… It will always be a good option for some families, but I do not believe it will ever be the best option for everyone.”

    ‘Learning doesn’t have to follow a fixed map.’

    Cindy Chanin, founder of Rainbow Education Consulting, said the rise of unschooling reflects a broader cultural shift — parents seeking meaning and flexibility in education.

    “Unschooling is rooted in the belief that a child’s natural curiosity can be a compass — that learning doesn’t have to follow a fixed map to be meaningful,” she said. “Instead of adhering to a predetermined curriculum, students pursue their interests as they emerge, while parents step into the role of facilitators and resource curators.”

    Chanin said when it’s “thoughtfully supported,” unschooling “can nurture a strong sense of intrinsic motivation.” But again, the keyword is thoughtfully. “The key is how intentionally adults are creating an environment that supports autonomy without letting kids feel adrift,” she said. “When that balance is struck, unschooling can be incredibly empowering.”

    “The key is how intentionally adults are creating an environment that supports autonomy without letting kids feel adrift.”

    – Cindy Chanin, founder of Rainbow Education Consulting

    In her work with families, Chanin said she sees unschooled students “enter adulthood along beautifully varied paths,” often thriving in creative or entrepreneurial fields. “Because they’ve spent their formative years navigating their own learning paths, many are comfortable forging unconventional routes and adapting to new environments,” she said.

    But she stops short of idealizing the model. “I wouldn’t say I’m squarely ‘for’ or ‘against’ unschooling — it really depends on the child, the family and the support system in place,” Chanin said. “When the approach fits the learner, that’s when the magic happens.”

    Unschooling, much like the children it serves, resists one-size-fits-all conclusions. For some, it fosters freedom and creativity, for others, it leaves painful gaps.

    What’s clear is that the growing fascination with it — and the glossy Instagram portrayals — reflect a broader anxiety about the state of education itself: over-testing, burnout and distrust of institutions.

    As Bagley put it, the difference between healthy freedom and harmful neglect often comes down to one thing: care.

    “When they call for help from the top of a playground slide,” he said, “someone comes running. That’s the difference between control and care.”

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  • 3 strategies to boost student reading fluency this school year

    Key points:

    With the new school year now rolling, teachers and school leaders are likely being hit with a hard truth: Many students are not proficient in reading.

    This, of course, presents challenges for students as they struggle to read new texts and apply what they are learning across all subject areas, as well as for educators who are diligently working to support students’ reading fluency and overall academic progress. 

    Understanding the common challenges students face with reading–and knowing which instructional strategies best support their growth–can help educators more effectively get students to where they need to be this school year.

    Understanding the science of learning

    Many districts across the country have invested in evidence-based curricula grounded in the science of reading to strengthen how foundational skills such as decoding and word recognition are taught. However, for many students, especially those receiving Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, this has not been enough to help them develop the automatic word recognition needed to become fluent, confident readers.

    This is why coupling the science of reading with the science of learning is so important when it comes to reading proficiency. Simply stated, the science of learning is how students learn. It identifies the conditions needed for students to build automaticity and fluency in complex skills, and it includes principles such as interleaving, spacing practice, varying tasks, highlighting contrasts, rehearsal, review, and immediate feedback–all of which are essential for helping students consolidate and generalize their reading skills.

    When these principles are intentionally combined with the science of reading’s structured literacy principles, students are able to both acquire new knowledge and retain, retrieve, and apply it fluently in new contexts.

    Implementing instructional best practices

    The three best practices below not only support the use of the science of learning and the science of reading, but they give educators the data and information needed to help set students up for reading success this school year and beyond. 

    Screen all students. It is important to identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of each student as early as possible so that educators can personalize their instruction accordingly.

    Some students, even those in upper elementary and middle school, may still lack foundational skills, such as decoding and automatic word recognition, which in turn negatively impact fluency and comprehension. Using online screeners that focus on decoding skills, as well as automatic word recognition, can help educators more quickly understand each student’s needs so they can efficiently put targeted interventions in place to help.

    Online screening data also helps educators more effectively communicate with parents, as well as with a student’s intervention team, in a succinct and timely way.

    Provide personalized structured, systematic practice. This type of practice has been shown to help close gaps in students’ foundational skills so they can successfully transfer their decoding and automatic word recognition skills to fluency. The use of technology and online programs can optimize the personalization needed for students while providing valuable insights for teachers.

    Of course, when it comes to personalizing practice, technology should always enhance–not replace–the role of the teacher. Technology can help differentiate the questions and lessons students receive, track students’ progress, and engage students in a non-evaluative learning environment. However, the personal attention and direction given by a teacher is always the most essential aid, especially for struggling readers. 

    Monitor progress on oral reading. Practicing reading aloud is important for developing fluency, although it can be very personal and difficult for many struggling learners. Students may get nervous, embarrassed, or lose their confidence. As such, the importance of a teacher’s responsiveness and ongoing connection while monitoring the progress of a student cannot be overstated.

    When teachers establish the conditions for a safe and trusted environment, where errors can occur without judgment, students are much more motivated to engage and read aloud. To encourage this reading, teachers can interleave passages of different lengths and difficulty levels, or revisit the same text over time to provide students with spaced opportunities for practice and retrieval. By providing immediate and constructive feedback, teachers can also help students self-correct and refine their skills in real time.

    Having a measurable impact

    All students can become strong, proficient readers when they are given the right tools, instruction, and support grounded in both the science of learning and the science of reading. For educators, this includes screening effectively, providing structured and personalized practice, and creating environments where students feel comfortable learning and practicing skills and confident reading aloud.

    By implementing these best practices, which take into account both what students need to learn and how they learn best, educators can and will make a measurable difference in students’ reading growth this school year.

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    Dr. Carolyn Brown, Foundations in Learning

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  • Why one reading expert says ‘just-right’ books are all wrong

    Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has spent his career evaluating education research and helping teachers figure out what works best in the classroom. A leader of the National Reading Panel, whose 2000 report helped shape what’s now known as the “science of reading,” Shanahan has long influenced literacy instruction in the United States. He also served on the National Institute for Literacy’s advisory board in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

    Shanahan is a scholar whom I regularly consult when I come across a reading study, and so I was eager to interview him about his new book, “Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.” (Harvard Education Press, September 2025). In it, Shanahan takes aim at one of the most common teaching practices in American classrooms: matching students with “just-right” books. 

    Book cover image by Harvard Education Press. Photo courtesy of Timothy Shanahan.

    He argues that the approach — where students read different texts depending on their assessed reading level — is holding many children back. Teachers spend too much time testing students and assigning leveled books, he says, instead of helping all students learn how to understand challenging texts.

    “American children are being prevented from doing better in reading by a longstanding commitment to a pedagogical theory that insists students are best taught with books they can already read,” Shanahan writes in his book. “Reading is so often taught in small groups — not so teachers can guide efforts to negotiate difficult books, but to ensure the books are easy enough that not much guidance is needed.”

    Comprehension, he says, doesn’t grow that way.

    The trouble with leveled reading

    Grouping students by ability and assigning easier or harder books — a practice known as leveled reading — remains deeply embedded in U.S. schools. A 2018 Thomas B. Fordham Institute survey found that 62 percent of upper elementary teachers and more than half of middle school teachers teach at students’ reading level rather than at grade level.  

    That may sound sensible, but Shanahan says it’s not helping anyone and is even leading teachers to dispense with reading altogether. “In social studies and science, and these days, even in English classes,” he said in an interview, “teachers either don’t assign any readings or they read the texts to the students.” Struggling readers aren’t being given the chance — or the tools — to tackle complex material on their own.

    Instead, Shanahan believes all students should read grade-level texts together, with teachers providing more support for those who need it.

    Related: Our free weekly newsletter alerts you to what research says about schools and classrooms.

    “What I’m recommending is instructional differentiation,” he said in our interview. “Everyone will have the same instructional goal — we’re all going to learn to read the fourth-grade text. I might teach a whole-class lesson and then let some kids move on to independent work while others get more help. Maybe the ones who didn’t get it, read the text again with my support. By the end, more students will have reached the learning goal — and tomorrow the whole class can take on another text.”

    27 different ways

    Shanahan’s approach doesn’t mean throwing kids into the deep end without help. His book outlines a toolbox of strategies for tackling difficult texts, such as looking up unfamiliar vocabulary, rereading confusing passages, or breaking down long sentences. “You can tip over into successful reading 27 different ways,” he said, and he hopes future researchers discover many more. 

    He is skeptical of drilling students on skills like identifying the main idea or making inferences. “We’ve treated test questions as the skill,” he said. “That doesn’t work.”

    There is widespread frustration over the deterioration of American reading achievement, especially among middle schoolers. (Thirty-nine percent of eighth graders cannot reach the lowest of three achievement levels, called “basic,” on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.) But there is little agreement among reading advocates on how to fix the problem. Some argue that what children primarily need is more knowledge to grasp unfamiliar ideas in a new reading passage, but Shanahan argues that background knowledge won’t be sufficient or as powerful as explicit comprehension instruction. Other reading experts agree. Nonie Lesaux, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education who specializes in literacy in her own academic work, endorsed Shanahan’s argument in an October 2025 online discussion of the new book. 

    Shanahan is most persuasive in pointing out that there isn’t strong experimental evidence to show that reading achievement goes up more when students read a text at their individual level. By contrast, a 2024 analysis found that the most effective schools are those that keep instruction at grade level. Still, Shanahan acknowledges that more research is needed to pinpoint which comprehension strategies work best for which students and in which circumstances.

    Misunderstanding Vygotsky

    Teachers often cite the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development” to justify giving students books that are neither too easy nor too hard. But Shanahan says that’s a misunderstanding of Vygotsky’s work.

    Vygotsky believed teachers should guide students to learn challenging things they cannot yet do on their own, he said.

    He offers an analogy: a mother teaching her child to tie their shoes. At first, she demonstrates while narrating the steps aloud. Then the child does one step, and she finishes the rest. Over time, the mother gradually releases control and the child ties a bow on his own. “Leveled reading,” Shanahan said, “is like saying, ‘Why don’t we just get Velcro?’ This is about real teaching. ‘Boys and girls, you don’t know how to ride this bike yet, but I’m going to make sure you do by the time we’re done.’ ”

    Related: What happens to reading comprehension when students focus on the main idea

    Shanahan’s critique of reading instruction applies mainly from second grade onward, after children learn how to read and are focusing on understanding what they read. In kindergarten and first grade, when children are still learning phonics and how to decode the words on the page, the research evidence against small group instruction with different level texts isn’t as strong, he said. 

    Learning to read first – decoding – is important. Shanahan says there are rare exceptions to teaching all children at grade level. 

    “If a fifth grader still can’t read,” Shanahan said, “I wouldn’t make that child read a fifth-grade text.” That child might need separate instruction from a reading specialist.

    Advanced readers, meanwhile, can be challenged in other ways, Shanahan suggests, through independent reading time, skipping ahead to higher-grade reading classes, or by exploring complex ideas within grade-level texts.

    The role of AI — and parents

    Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to rewrite texts for different difficulty levels. Shanahan is skeptical of that approach. Simpler texts, whether written by humans or generated by AI, don’t teach students to improve their reading ability, he argues.

    Still, he’s intrigued by the idea of using AI to help students “climb the stairs” by instantly modifying a single text to a range of reading levels, say, to third-, fifth- and seventh-grade levels, and having students read them in quick succession. Whether that boosts comprehension is still unknown and needs to be studied.

    AI might be most helpful to teachers, Shanahan suspects, to help point to a sentence or a passage that tends to confuse students or trip them up. The teacher can then address those common difficulties in class. 

    Shanahan worries about what happens outside of school: Kids aren’t reading much at all.

    He urges parents to let children read whatever they enjoy — regardless if it’s above or below their level — but to set consistent expectations. “Nagging may not be effective,” he said. “But you can be specific: ‘After dinner Thursday, read the first chapter. When you’re done, we’ll talk about it, and then you can play a computer game or go on your phone.’ ”

    Too often, he says, parents back down when kids resist. “They are the kids. We are the adults,” Shanahan said. “We’re responsible. Let’s step up and do what’s right for them.”

    Contact staff writer Jill Barshay at 212-678-3595, jillbarshay.35 on Signal, or barshay@hechingerreport.org.

    This story about reading levels was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Proof Points and other Hechinger newsletters.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

    Jill Barshay

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  • Teachers unions leverage contracts to fight climate change

    This story first appeared in Hechinger’s climate and education newsletter. Sign up here. 

    In Illinois, the Chicago Teachers Union won a contract with the city’s schools to add solar panels on some buildings and clean energy career pathways for students, among other actions. In Minnesota, the Minneapolis Federation of Educators demanded that the district create a task force on environmental issues and provide free metro passes for students. And in California, the Los Angeles teachers union’s demands include electrifying the district’s bus fleet and providing electric vehicle charging stations at all schools. 

    Those are among the examples in a new report on how unionized teachers are pushing their school districts to take action on the climate crisis, which is damaging school buildings and disrupting learning. The report — produced by the nonprofit Building Power Resource Center, which supports local governments and leaders, and the Labor Network for Sustainability, a nonprofit that seeks to unite labor and climate groups — describes how educators can raise demands for climate action when they negotiate labor contracts with their districts. By emphasizing the financial case for switching to renewable energy, educators can simultaneously act on climate change, improve conditions in schools and save districts money, it says. 

    As federal support and financial incentives for climate action wither, this sort of local action is becoming more difficult — but also more urgent, advocates say. Chicago Public Schools has relied on funding for electric buses that has been sunsetted by the Trump administration, said Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union. But the district is also seeking other local and state funding and nonprofit support.

    Bradley Marianno, an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that educator unions embracing climate action is part of a move started about 15 years ago in which more progressive unions — like those in Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere — focus on “collective good bargaining,” or advocating for changes that are good for their members but also the broader community. But this approach is unlikely to catch on everywhere: “The risk lies in members feeling that core issues like wages and working conditions are being overlooked in favor of more global causes,” he wrote in an email. 

    I recently caught up with Potter, the CTU vice president, about the report and his union’s approach to bargaining for climate action. Collaborating with local environmental and community groups, the Chicago Teachers Union ultimately succeeded in winning a contract that calls for identifying schools for solar panels and electrification, expanding indoor air quality monitoring, helping educators integrate climate change into their curriculum, and establishing training for students in clean energy jobs, among other steps. 

    This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

    The report talks about contract negotiations being an underused — and effective — lever for demanding climate action. Why do you see that process as such an opportunity for climate action?

    On the local level, our schools are 84, 83 years old on average. There is lead paint, lead pipes, mold, asbestos, PCBs, all kinds of contamination in the HVAC system and the walls that require upgrades. By our estimate, the district needs $30 billion worth of upgrades, and right now I think they spend $500 million a year to just do patch-up work. We’re at a point where it’s a system fail of epic proportions if we can’t figure out a way to transition and make things healthier. And so if you’re going to do a roof repair, put solar on it, have independence from fossil fuels, clean air in areas that have faced environmental racism and contamination. 

    We’re also dealing with a legacy of discrimination and harm, and that is true of the nation. So how do we get out of this and also save the planet and also prevent greater climate events that further destabilize vulnerable communities and put people at risk? It made sense for us to use our contract as a path to do both things — deal with this local crisis that was screaming for new solutions and ideas, in a moment when the climate is on fire, literally.  

    How challenging was it to get educators to view climate issues as a priority? There are so many other things, around pay and other issues, on the table. 

    When we started, it almost felt like people in the membership, in the community, viewed it as a niche issue. Like, ‘Oh, isn’t that cute, you care about green technology.’ As we figured out how to think about it and talk about it and probe where people were having issues in their schools, it became really obvious that when you started talking about asbestos, lead and mold remediation — and helping communities that have been hit the hardest with cumulative impacts and carcinogens and how those things are present in schools — that became much more tangible. Or even quality food and lunch and breakfast for students who are low-income. It went from bottom of the list to top of the list, instantaneously. 

    Your contract calls for a number of climate-related actions, including green pathways for students and agreements with building trade unions to create good jobs for students. Tell me about that. 

    We’re trying to use the transformation of our facilities as another opportunity for families and students in these communities that have been harmed the most to get the greatest benefit from the transformation. So if we can install solar, we want our students to be part of that project on the ground in their schools, gaining the skills and apprenticeship credentials to become the electricians of the future. And using that as a project labor agreement [which establishes the terms of work on a certain project] with the trades to open doors and opportunities. The same goes for all the other improvements — whether it’s heat pumps, HVAC systems, geothermal. And for EV — we have outdated auto shop programming that’s exclusively based on the combustible engine reliant on fossil fuels, whereas in [the nearby city of] Belvidere they are building electric cars per the United Auto Workers’ new contract. Could we gain a career path on electric vehicles that allows students to gain that mechanical knowledge and insight and prepares them for the vehicles of the future? 

    The report talks about the Batesville School District in Arkansas that was able to increase teacher salaries because of savings from solar. Have you tried to make the case for higher teacher salaries because of these climate steps?  

    The $500 million our district allocates for facility upgrades annually comes out of the general fund, so we haven’t at all thought about it in terms of salary. We’ve thought about it in terms of having a school nurse, social worker, mental health interventions at a moment when there is so much trauma. We see this as a win-win: The fewer dollars the district has to spend on facility needs means the more dollars they can spend on instructional and social-emotional needs for students. In terms of the Arkansas model, it’s pretty basic. If you get off the fossil fuel pipelines and electric lines and you become self-sufficient, essentially, powering your own electric and heat, there is going to be a boon, particularly if there are up-front subsidies. 

    Math and climate change 

    When temperatures rise in classrooms, students have more trouble concentrating and their learning suffers — in math, in particular. That’s according to a new report from NWEA, an education research and testing company.

    The report, part of a growing body of evidence of the harms of extreme heat on student performance, found that math scores declined when outdoor temperatures on test days rose above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Students in high-poverty schools, which are less likely to have air conditioning, saw declines up to twice as large as those in wealthier schools. 

    The learning losses grew as temperatures rose. Students who took tests on 101-degree days scored roughly 0.06 standard deviations below students who tested when temperatures were 60 degrees, the equivalent of about 10 percent of the learning a fifth grader typically gains in a school year. 

    It’s not entirely clear why student math scores suffer more than reading when temperatures rise. But Sofia Postell, an NWEA research analyst, said that on math tests, students must problem-solve and rely on their memories, and that kind of thinking is particularly difficult when students are hot and tired. Anxiety could be a factor too, she wrote in an email: “Research has also shown that heat increases anxiety, and some students may experience more testing anxiety around math exams.”

    The study was based on data from roughly 3 million scores on NWEA’s signature MAP Growth test for third to eighth graders in six states. 

    The report urged school, district and state officials to take several steps to reduce the effects of high heat on student learning and testing. Ideally, tests would be scheduled during times of the year when it wasn’t so hot, it said, and also during mornings, when temperatures are cooler. Leaders also need to invest in updating HVAC systems to keep kids cool. 

    “Extreme heat has already detrimentally impacted student learning and these effects will only intensify without action,” wrote Postell. 

    Mea culpa: A quick note to say I got two things wrong in my last newsletter — the name of the Natural Resources Defense Council was incorrect, as was the number of hours of learning California students have missed so far this year. It’s more than 54,000. 

    Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, via Signal at CarolineP.83 or on email at preston@hechingerreport.org.

    This story about teachers unions was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter on climate and education.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

    Caroline Preston

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  • Brooklyn Book Bodega feeds young minds by filling home shelves

    BROOKLYN NAVY YARD, Brooklyn — Book by book, block by block, the Brooklyn Book Bodega is working to make books as accessible as a bag of chips from your local corner store.

    Co-founders Rebecca Cogen and Seema Aghera chose the name “Bodega” with intention.

    “When you think of bodegas in New York, you think of a place that is familiar, a place where people come together,” said Aghera.

    “Books should have been as accessible as your neighborhood bodega,” added Cohen.

    This nonprofit, grassroots organization is actively working to eliminate “book deserts,” neighborhoods where book ownership is scarce.

    “Our mission is to increase the number of 100-plus book homes for kids in New York City,” said Aghera.

    By providing free, lightly used books, they want to ensure that every child, regardless of their family’s financial situation, has the opportunity to own stories that can shape their world.

    “We exist because kids who read do better in life. There’s an impact on their educational outcomes, their financial earnings, and their mental health,” Aghera said.

    Brooklyn Book Bodega distributes free books through pop-up events and community partnerships.

    “We are set up in the places and spaces where kids spent time,” said Aghera, emphasizing the nonprofit’s commitment to accessibility and community-first outreach.

    Volunteers play a vital role, helping to inspect, sort, and distribute books in the nonprofit’s Book Hub. Each book includes a stamp where kids can write their names, marking it as their own.

    “There is still so much work to do,” said Aghera.”If we all worked together, we could make a change.”

    Brooklyn Book Bodega encourages New Yorkers to get involved through donating used books, volunteering, or simply spreading the word.

    For more information, visit their website.

    CCG

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  • Why critical data literacy belongs in every K–12 classroom

    Key points:

    An unexpected group of presenters–11th graders from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago–made a splash at this year’s ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT). These students captivated seasoned researchers and professionals with their insights on how school environments shape students’ views of AI. “I wanted our project to serve as a window into the eyes of high school students,” said Autumn Moon, one of the student researchers.

    What enabled these students to contribute meaningfully to a conference dominated by PhDs and industry veterans was their critical data literacy–the ability to understand, question, and evaluate the ethics of complex systems like AI using data. They developed these skills through their school’s Data is Power program.

    Launched last year, Data is Power is a collaboration among K-12 educators, AI ethics researchers, and the Young Data Scientists League. The program includes four pilot modules that are aligned to K-12 standards and cover underexplored but essential topics in AI ethics, including labor and environmental impacts. The goal is to teach AI ethics by focusing on community-relevant topics chosen by our educators with input from students, all while fostering critical data literacy. For example, Autumn’s class in Chicago used AI ethics as a lens to help students distinguish between evidence-based research and AI propaganda. Students in Phoenix explored how conversational AI affects different neighborhoods in their city.

    Why does the Data is Power program focus on critical data literacy? In my former role leading a diverse AI team at Amazon, I saw that technical skills alone weren’t enough. We needed people who could navigate cultural nuance, question assumptions, and collaborate across disciplines. Some of the most technically proficient candidates struggled to apply their knowledge to real-world problems. In contrast, team members trained in critical data literacy–those who understood both the math and the societal context of the models–were better equipped to build responsible, practical tools. They also knew when not to build something.

    As AI becomes more embedded in our lives, and many students feel anxious about AI supplanting their job prospects, critical data literacy is a skill that is not just future-proof–it is future-necessary. Students (and all of us) need the ability to grapple with and think critically about AI and data in their lives and careers, no matter what they choose to pursue. As Milton Johnson, a physics and engineering teacher at Bioscience High School in Phoenix, told me: “AI is going to be one of those things where, as a society, we have a responsibility to make sure everyone has access in multiple ways.”

    Critical data literacy is as much about the humanities as it is about STEM. “AI is not just for computer scientists,” said Karren Boatner, who taught Autumn in her English literature class at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. For Karren, who hadn’t considered herself a “math person” previously, one of the most surprising parts of the program was how much she and her students enjoyed a game-based module that used middle school math to explain how AI “learns.” Connecting math and literature to culturally relevant, real-world issues helps students see both subjects in a new light.

    As AI continues to reshape our world, schools must rethink how to teach about it. Critical data literacy helps students see the relevance of what they’re learning, empowering them to ask better questions and make more informed decisions. It also helps educators connect classroom content to students’ lived experiences.

    If education leaders want to prepare students for the future–not just as workers, but as informed citizens–they must invest in critical data literacy now. As Angela Nguyen, one of our undergraduate scholars from Stanford, said in her Data is Power talk: “Data is power–especially youth and data. All of us, whether qualitative or quantitative, can be great collectors of meaningful data that helps educate our own communities.”

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    Evan Shieh, Young Data Scientists League

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  • Strengthening middle school literacy: What educators need to know

    Key points:

    Literacy has always been the foundation of learning, but for middle school students, the stakes are especially high. These years mark the critical shift from learning to read to reading to learn.

    When students enter sixth, seventh, or eighth grade still struggling with foundational skills, every subject becomes harder–science labs, social studies texts, even math word problems require reading proficiency. For educators, the challenge is not just addressing gaps but also building the confidence that helps adolescents believe they can succeed.

    The confidence gap

    By middle school, many students are keenly aware when they’re behind their peers in reading. Interventions that feel too elementary can undermine motivation. As Dr. Michelle D. Barrett, Senior Vice President of Research, Policy, and Impact at Edmentum, explained:

    “If you have a student who’s in the middle grades and still has gaps in foundational reading skills, they need to be provided with age-appropriate curriculum and instruction. You can’t give them something that feels babyish–that only discourages them.”

    Designing for engagement

    Research shows that engagement is just as important as instruction, particularly for adolescents. “If students aren’t engaged, if they’re not showing up to school, then you have a real problem,” Barrett said. “It’s about making sure that even if students have gaps, they’re still being supported with curriculum that feels relevant and engaging.”

    To meet that need, digital programs like Edmentum’s Exact Path tailor both design and content to the learner’s age. “A middle schooler doesn’t want the cartoony things our first graders get,” Barrett noted. “That kind of thing really does matter–not just for engagement, but also for their confidence and willingness to keep going.”

    Measuring what works

    Educators also need strong data to target interventions. “It’s all about how you’re differentiating for those students,” Barrett said. “You’ve got to have great assessments, engaging content that’s evidence-based, and a way for students to feel and understand success.”

    Exact Path begins with universal screening, then builds personalized learning paths grounded in research-based reading progressions. More than 60 studies in the past two years have shown consistent results. “When students complete eight skills per semester, we see significant growth across grade levels–whether measured by NWEA MAP, STAR, or state assessments,” Barrett added.

    That growth extends across diverse groups. “In one large urban district, we found the effect sizes for students receiving special education services were twice that of their peers,” Barrett said. “That tells us the program can be a really effective literacy intervention for students most at risk.”

    Layering supports for greater impact

    Barrett emphasized that literacy progress is strongest when multiple supports are combined. “With digital curriculum, students do better. But with a teacher on top of that digital curriculum, they do even better. Add intensive tutoring, and outcomes improve again,” she said.

    Progress monitoring and recognition also help build confidence. “Students are going to persist when they can experience success,” Barrett added. “Celebrating growth, even in small increments, matters for motivation.”

    A shared mission

    While tools like Exact Path provide research-backed support, Barrett stressed that literacy improvement is ultimately a shared responsibility. “District leaders should be asking: How is this program serving students across different backgrounds? Is it working for multilingual learners, students with IEPs, students who are at risk?” she said.

    The broader goal, she emphasized, is preparing students for lifelong learning. “Middle school is such an important time. If we can help students build literacy and confidence there, we’re not just improving test scores–we’re giving them the skills to succeed in every subject, and in life.”

    Laura Ascione
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    Laura Ascione

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  • 42 Amazingly Creative Book Reports

    Responding to what you read is an important literacy skill. Reading about other people’s experiences and perspectives helps kids learn about the world. And although students don’t need to dive deeply into every single book they read, occasionally digging into characters, settings, and themes can help them learn to look beyond the prose. Here are 40 creative book report ideas designed to make reading more meaningful for kids.

    1. Concrete poem

    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    This clever activity is basically a “shape poem” made from words, phrases, and whole sentences found in whatever the student is reading. The words are laid out to create an image that represents something from the story. For example, if a student is reading a fairy tale about a princess, they may create a found poem using words from the story in the shape of a castle.

    Concrete poem templates- main image
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    2. Graphic novel

    Challenge your students to reimagine something they’re reading—a scene, a chapter, or a whole book—as a graphic novel. Provide a task list for the assignment. For instance, six scenes from the story, three characters, setting details, etc. And, of course, provide detailed illustrations.

    3. BookSnaps

    Book on computer open to BookSnaps, digital, visual representations of a reader's reflection on and insight into a book or other text.
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    BookSnaps are digital, visual representations of a reader’s reflection on and insight into a book or other text. Students simply take a photo or screenshot of a page or passage, then add annotations, comments, illustrations, or other reactions. They are a great way to share personal connections and spark discussion.

    4. Journal entry

    Ask your students to place themselves in the shoes of one of their book’s characters and write a first-person diary entry from their perspective. Ask them to choose a critical moment in the story with plenty of interaction and emotion to talk about.

    Learn more: Benefits of Journaling for Students

    5. Pizza box book report

    If you’re looking for creative book report ideas that use upcycled materials, try this one using a pizza box. It works well for both nonfiction and fiction book reports. On the inside of the top lid, students draw their book’s cover. On the bottom, they draw a circle and divide it into pizza slices. On each wedge, they tell a part of the story.

    6. Book jacket

    Challenge your students to think like a book illustrator and create a new, different book jacket for the text they’re reading. Make sure the jacket has an enticing front cover and a summary inside the front fold. On the back fold, provide a short biography of the author and on the back cover a few book reviews.

    7. Rewrite the ending

    Challenge students to come up with an alternate ending to the book they are reading. Write a summary of the story up to the point of the new ending, then take the story in a different direction.

    8. Fictional yearbook entries

    Yearbook pages recreating plots of books
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    Have your students create a yearbook entry based on the characters and setting in their book. What do the characters look like? Cut out magazine pictures to serve as their school pictures. What kind of superlative might they get? Best-looking? Class clown? What clubs would they belong to or lead? What awards have they won? This fun assignment is a great opportunity for your students to dig deep into the characters’ personas.

    Learn more: Clever Yearbook Ideas

    9. Book tasting

    How fun is this? Instead of a food tasting (or wine tasting for us adults), students can put on a book tasting. Set a lovely table, prepare the main dish (a book report from each student), and have students circulate and sample.

    Learn more: Expand Your Readers’ Palettes With a Book Tasting

    10. Water bottle sticker

    Students are obsessed with stickers! In this unique activity, students will design water bottle stickers that the main character of the book would love to have, along with a short description of their choices.

    Book report template worksheets
    We Are Teachers

    11. Sandwich book report

    Yum! You’ll notice a lot of creative book report ideas revolve around food. In this oldie but goodie, different-colored paper cut into appropriately sized shapes represent parts of a sandwich. For instance, tan for the bread, pink for ham, green for lettuce, red for tomato, etc. On each part of the sandwich, students will write about a different element of the book—characters, setting, conflict, etc.

    12. Alphabet book

    Have your students create their own alphabet book based on the book they read. After they find a word to represent each letter, have them write one sentence that explains where the word fits in.

    Learn more: Best Alphabet Books for Kids of All Ages

    13. Peekaboo book report

    Using cardboard lap books (or small science report boards), students display details about their book’s main characters, plot, setting, conflict, resolution, etc. Then, they add a head and arms created from card stock and attach them to the board from behind to make it look like the main character is peeking over this book report.

    14. Act the part

    Have students dress up as their favorite character from the book and present an oral book report. If their favorite character is not the main character, retell the story from their point of view.

    15. T-shirt book report

    Another fun and creative idea: Create a wearable book report using Sharpie pens and acrylic paint on a plain white T-shirt. Include all the pertinent book report elements and add colorful illustrations. Have all your students wear their T-shirt book reports on the same day and give them time to share with one another.

    16. Bookmark

    Bookmark drawn to represent a pig on a book
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    Have students create a custom illustrated bookmark that includes drawings and words from either their favorite chapter or the entire book.

    17. Rays of sunshine book report

    This is great for biography research projects. Students cut out a photocopied image of their subject and glue it in the middle. Then, they draw lines from the image to the edges of the paper, like rays of sunshine, and fill in each section with information about the person. As a book report template, the center image could be a copy of the book cover, and each section would expand on key information such as character names, theme(s), conflict, resolution, etc.

    18. Reading lists for characters

    Ask your students to think about a character in their book. What kinds of books might that character like to read? Take them to the library to choose five books the character might have on their to-be-read list. Have them list the books and explain what each book might mean to the character. Post the to-be-read lists for others to see and choose from—there’s nothing like trying out a book character’s style when developing your own identity.

    Summer Reading List Feature
    We Are Teachers

    19. Character to-do list

    Orange and green pages with To-do lists written on them
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    This fun activity is an off-the-beaten-path way to dive deep into character analysis. Get inside the head of the main character in a book and create a to-do list that they might write. Use actual information from the text, but also make inferences into what that character may wish to accomplish.

    20. Collage

    Create a collage using pictures and words that represent different parts of the book. Use old magazines or print pictures from the internet. Glue the pictures onto a piece of poster board and add text. Display student collages around the classroom and do a gallery walk.

    21. Book reports in a bag

    Paper bag with recreation of book cover drawn on it
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    Looking for book report ideas that really encourage creative thinking? With book reports in a bag, students read a book and write a summary. Then, they decorate a paper grocery bag with a scene from the book, place five items that represent something from the book inside the bag, and present the bag to the class.

    22. Timeline

    Create a timeline using a long roll of butcher paper, a poster board, or index cards taped together. For each event on the timeline, write a brief description of what happens. Add pictures, clip art, word art, and symbols to make the timeline more lively and colorful.

    23. File folder book report

    Also called a lap book, this easy-to-make book report hits on all the major elements of a book study and gives students a chance to show what they know in a colorful way. Open a manila file folder flat, then fold each side into the center fold so that it looks like a French door. On each of the outside flaps and all of the inside area, have students create different boxes of information such as author, genre, setting, theme, etc. Students can use colored paper, markers, and crayons to make their report.

    24. Map it

    Paper with map drawn on it next to book
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    Create a colorful illustration map of the book’s setting and label all the important locations. This is an especially fun activity for tracking the action in mystery books.

    map skills feature
    We Are Teachers

    25. Triorama book report

    Who doesn’t love a multidimensional book report? A triorama is a three-dimensional triangular diorama, but you can also try an accordion-folded book report, a quadrama, or an info-sphere.

    26. Character cards

    Create trading cards (like baseball cards) for characters from the book. On the front side, draw an illustration of the character. On the back side, make a list of their character traits and include a quote or two. Give students time to share their cards with classmates or present them to the whole class.

    27. Book report mobile

    This creative project is easy to make with a wire clothes hanger, strings, and paper. Cover the body of the hanger with a paper illustration of the book cover. Then, fill out cards with key elements of the book like characters, setting, and summary, and attach them to the bottom wire of the hanger with string.

    28. Top 10 fact sheet

    Top 10 fact sheet drawn on paper next to book
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    Have students create a list of 10 facts that they learned from reading the book. Have them write the facts in complete sentences, and be sure that each fact is something that they didn’t know before they read the book.

    29. Create a sequel

    Have you ever finished a great book and wished the story would go on? Or wondered what happened to the characters 10 or 20 years later? This fun book report idea challenges students to take up where the author left off and follow up on the action and characters on their next adventure.

    30. Be a character therapist

    Many book plots revolve around a character’s fear and the work it takes to overcome that fear. Ask students to make like a therapist and identify a character’s fears. Have them find two or three scenes that illustrate how this fear exists. Then have them write about ways the character overcame the fear (or didn’t) in the story. What might the character have done differently?

    31. Comic strips

    Comic strip drawn on piece of paper next to book
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    If you’re looking for creative book report ideas for students who like graphic novels, try comic strip book reports. Include an illustrated cover with the title and author. The pages of the book should retell the story using dialogue and descriptions of the setting and characters. Of course, no comic book would be complete without copious illustrations and thought bubbles.

    comic strip worksheets
    We Are Teachers

    32. Charm bracelet book report

    What a “charming” way to write a book report! Have students trace their hand and forearm onto a piece of stiff paper and then cut it out and decorate it. Next, add a strip of paper around the wrist as a bracelet. Finally, create “charms” that capture a character, an event in the plot, setting, or other detail to dangle from the bracelet.

    33. Letter to the author

    Have kids write a letter to the author of the book. Tell them three things you really liked about the story. Ask three questions about the plot, characters, or anything else you’re curious about.

    Collage of writing template printables.
    We Are Teachers

    34. Poems

    Write a poem or song lyrics about the book. Be sure to include main themes, characters, and events that tell the story.

    Collage of poetry worksheets.
    We Are Teachers

    35. Board games

    Colorful board game next to book
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    This is a great project to help your students develop deeper insight into what they’re reading. Check out our roundup of the best board games below and challenge students to adapt one to create an interactive book report using one of our free printable games boards.

    A free, printable game board for kids
    We Are Teachers

    Learn more: Best Board Games

    36. Foldables

    Create a brochure advertising the book you are reading. Begin by folding an 8 x 11 piece of paper lengthwise. Illustrate all four panels with enticing information about the book to demonstrate understanding. Have students set up a library of the brochures for classmates to browse through on their next book hunt.

    Learn more: Writing Center Ideas We Love

    37. Book-themed recipes

    Food sometimes tells a story of its own, defining time, region, and history. Find or create a recipe related to the book’s setting, time period, or events, and explain its connection to the story.

    38. Movie vs. book

    If the book your students have read has been made into a movie, have them write a report about how the versions are alike and different. If the book has not been made into a movie, have them write a report telling how they would make it into a movie, using specific details from the book.

    39. Wanted poster

    Colorful Wanted poster based on book
    Donna Paul for We Are Teachers

    Make an old-timey Wanted poster for one of the book’s main characters. Indicate whether they are wanted dead or alive. Include an illustration of the character and a description of what the character is “wanted” for (with examples) as well a detailed account of where the character was last seen.

    40. Wheaties box book report

    Recycle a cereal box and create a book report to look like a classic Wheaties box that featured sports heroes. Include a main image on the front of the box. Decorate the sides of the box with information about the book’s characters, setting, plot, summary, etc.

    Come share your own creative book report ideas in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

    Plus, don’t miss 100 Famous Children’s Books Every Kid Should Read (Plus Free Printable).

    Elizabeth Mulvahill, B.A., Certified Teacher

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  • Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment

    This story was reported by and originally published by APM Reports in connection with its podcast Sold a Story: How Teach Kids to Read Went So Wrong.

    The Zoom call was supposed to be a regular check-in for the team at Boston University. They’d wrapped up work on a massive, federally funded study of a system to detect when kids are having trouble learning to read and get them help immediately. The team was just waiting for the data on the early warning system to be analyzed.

    But one of the professors, Nancy Nelson, interrupted the call. She had just gotten an email: The Trump administration was canceling the study — the largest experiment on reading ever funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm.

    The study had been 6 1/2 years in the making, and results were scheduled to be released in a matter of months. Ninety-three percent of the funds had already been spent. But the Trump Administration was saying the $41 million project was over. Three years of data, collected from more than 100 elementary schools in seven states, was being shelved. 

    Carol Dissen, a teacher trainer on the Boston University team, was stunned. She never expected it, “never in a million years.” She thought about all the students she believes would have benefited from the early warning system, and the tears flowed.

    Disadvantaged kids “rely on our school system in order to change the trajectory of their lives,” Dissen said, still choking up as she recalled the February meeting months later. “We worked hard for three years to show that it works and that you can make a change for those students. And to hear that the data wasn’t going to be analyzed and shared, it’s devastating — absolutely devastating.”

    If it hadn’t been for legal action, the results of the study on the early warning system might never have been released. But in response to a lawsuit filed by two research associations, lawyers for the Trump administration said in June that it would voluntarily reinstate the contract for the study — a concession it argued should allow the administration to go forward with its other deep cuts to education research. 

    That study was just one of about 106 education-related contracts totaling $820 million that the Department of Government Efficiency terminated. The abrupt cancellation meant researchers missed their year-end data collection, punctuating large-scale experiments and longitudinal studies with question marks. They cut students off from services, taking mentors away from high school students with disabilities trying to plan for life after graduation.

    A spokesperson for the Department of Education did not respond to an email requesting comment.

    Tabbye Chavous, executive director of the American Educational Research Association, one of the groups that filed suit, said that the administration did “begin to backtrack” by restoring some contracts. But she said that most of the institute’s research and data functions have not been restarted, in spite of Congressional mandates, and the layoffs have left it without the staff necessary to complete that work. 

    When contractors resume the early warning system study, they will be reporting to a much-diminished agency. Layoffs have shrunk the Institute of Education Sciences to a tenth of its former size. The specialist who oversaw the contract is gone. And researchers worry about how the cancellations will affect future studies — and schools’ willingness to use that research in their decision-making.

    It’s an episode that highlights the new administration’s approach to governing — flipping projects off and on, seemingly with little regard for the consequences, all in the name of efficiency.

    “What’s efficient about that?” asked Kim Gibbons, a researcher at the University of Minnesota who was also involved in the study. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. But probably, like all of us, I’m learning a lot of things don’t make sense right now.”

    Related: Become a lifelong learner. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter featuring the most important stories in education. 

    The early warning system at the center of the reinstated study is formally known as a multi-tiered system of support for reading. The idea is to identify struggling readers early and get them targeted help before they fail. 

    The system is modeled after medicine — the same way doctors monitor symptoms and escalate treatments for a worsening illness. A person with a fever might take a day off work to rest. If it doesn’t go away, they’ll get a check-up from a doctor and maybe some medication. But if the bug lasts, they might need a stronger prescription. 

    The early warning system takes a similar approach, dosing up the intensity of instruction based on student needs. The system starts with a strong reading curriculum for all students, adds small-group lessons for those falling behind and provides one-on-one interventions for the most at-risk students. Testing continues throughout to measure how students respond.

    Before, “you had to wait to fail in order to be eligible for special education,” said Nelson, the Boston University professor. “You had to be far enough behind your peers that you were found eligible.” The idea behind the early warning system, Nelson explained, “was to try and provide some support to students between general and special education. It really created that supplemental space that was missing before.” 

    A 2015 federal law recommended schools adopt this rapid response system. In the years after, many schools said they’d added it, but researchers agree that few implemented it well. 

    So in 2018, the Institute of Education Sciences hired contractors from the American Institutes for Research, a nonprofit organization that conducts social science research, to run the experiment. 

    Mike Garet, a vice president at the American Institutes for Research, said each component of the early warning system has lots of research to back it up, but the model hadn’t really been tested in an experiment. They had to see if the benefits of the system would be worth the teachers’ time.

    “You could imagine a school that could spend a lot of time trying to schedule students’ assessments, scoring them, having meetings about them, scheduling (small-group) instruction and keeping track of the materials. And they spend so much time doing all that, actually they don’t have enough time left to teach reading,” Garet said.

    “There’s a lot of theoretical arguments for why it should work,” he added. But until this study, “we didn’t really look carefully at all the engineering details that are required to do that well and to get good results.”

    The federal government’s large-scale evaluations don’t just confirm whether a program works in theory: They’re meant to reveal what it takes to make it work in hundreds of classrooms with different students. 

    Over 6 1/2 years, right through the pandemic’s closures, the contractors from Garet’s organization identified two promising models of this early warning system, recruited seven school districts to join in a randomized experiment and collected three years of data. They methodically compared how the two models fared against the way schools usually operated — amid the messy reality of a large-scale rollout.

    Annette Sisler, an elementary school principal in Junction City, Oregon, adopted one of the models, Enhanced Core Reading Instruction, this school year. Before her school adopted the model, Dissen, the education consultant from Boston University, had asked Sisler to follow a small group of children throughout the day, observing what lessons they received. 

    Sisler remembered one first grade girl who did well in a phonics lesson with all her classmates, smiling and engaged. But later in the day, with a different phonics lesson in a small group, she looked confused. Then, in yet another phonics lesson for her special-education class, she became so frustrated that she kicked another student. The instruction was disjointed, Sisler found.

    “It was all out of line,” Sisler said. The student “doesn’t know what lesson she’s on, what she’s supposed to be learning, how to apply it. We weren’t priming her little brain to then be ready to read.”

    Sisler said the new model brought lessons into alignment. After just one year, the share of her second grade students struggling with reading fluency dropped from 43 percent in the fall to just 8 percent in the spring.

    School districts want to do what’s right for their students, Nelson, the Boston University professor, said. But they need studies to know what’s actually right for their students. “In the absence of those data, they’re doing it a little bit more blindly.”

    Related: Suddenly sacked 

    The reinstatement of the early warning system study remains an exception. Of more than 100 canceled contracts from the Institute of Education Sciences, the Trump administration has reinstated only 12 of them, according to a June court filing and a review of federal spending data. Lawyers said the administration is reevaluating whether to reinstate or rebid up to 16 others.

    By reinstating this one contract, the administration’s lawyers argued the department had fulfilled its congressionally mandated duty to evaluate how effectively students with disabilities are being taught. They argued they shouldn’t have to bring back two other large-scale special education studies. A longitudinal study that had been going on for 14 years and a $45 million experiment to help students with disabilities succeed after high school both remain dead, according to the administration’s lawyers.

    Researchers say the cancellations are already affecting other federally funded studies, as school districts are now hesitant to sign up for experiments that could be nixed midway through. It already takes a lot of convincing to sign districts up for a randomized experiment. Only some of their schools will get the promising program that’s being studied, and evaluators will be a constant presence, monitoring compliance and collecting data. Nelson said the disruption of the early warning system study left some school superintendents “skittish” about participating in one of her follow-up studies. 

    Education researchers know that protecting their relationships with schools is one of their most important jobs, Nelson said. The Trump administration’s actions were “a major, terrible example of how to completely disrupt those relationships,” she said. She said the cancellation had only increased “mistrust” in research among educators.

    While a few studies are running again, the Institution of Education Sciences now has limited capacity to undertake future large-scale experiments — and then translate the findings into practice. 

    “It’s a critical activity, finding out what works for whom under what circumstances,” said Russ Whitehurst, the institute’s founding director under President George W. Bush. “You can’t do it if you don’t have offices that are equipped to collect and disseminate the information.” 

    The Institute of Education Sciences, for instance, distilled takeaways from research in handy practice guides for teachers. Those contracts were canceled and aren’t coming back.

    Garet, the American Institutes for Research vice president, said the early warning system study shows just how hard it is to get school systems to change. It takes far more than publishing a paper, even one that reports significant positive effects.

    “Unfortunately,” he said, “scientific results aren’t self-implementing.”

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

    By Christopher Peak, APM Reports

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  • OPINION: If we are going to build AI literacy into every level of learning, we must be able to measure it

    Everywhere you look, someone is telling students and workers to “learn AI.” 

    It’s become the go-to advice for staying employable, relevant and prepared for the future. But here’s the problem: While definitions of artificial intelligence literacy are starting to emerge, we still lack a consistent, measurable framework to know whether someone is truly ready to use AI effectively and responsibly. 

    And that is becoming a serious issue for education and workforce systems already being reshaped by AI. Schools and colleges are redesigning their entire curriculums. Companies are rewriting job descriptions. States are launching AI-focused initiatives.  

    Yet we’re missing a foundational step: agreeing not only on what we mean by AI literacy, but on how we assess it in practice. 

    Two major recent developments underscore why this step matters, and why it is important that we find a way to take it before urging students to use AI. First, the U.S. Department of Education released its proposed priorities for advancing AI in education, guidance that will ultimately shape how federal grants will support K-12 and higher education. For the first time, we now have a proposed federal definition of AI literacy: the technical knowledge, durable skills and future-ready attitudes required to thrive in a world influenced by AI. Such literacy will enable learners to engage and create with, manage and design AI, while critically evaluating its benefits, risks and implications. 

    Second, we now have the White House’s American AI Action Plan, a broader national strategy aimed at strengthening the country’s leadership in artificial intelligence. Education and workforce development are central to the plan. 

    Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education. 

    What both efforts share is a recognition that AI is not just a technological shift, it’s a human one. In many ways, the most important AI literacy skills are not about AI itself, but about the human capacities needed to use AI wisely. 

    Sadly, the consequences of shallow AI education are already visible in workplaces. Some 55 percent of managers believe their employees are AI-proficient, while only 43 percent of employees share that confidence, according to the 2025 ETS Human Progress Report.  

    One can say that the same perception gap exists between school administrators and teachers. The disconnect creates risks for organizations and reveals how assumptions about AI literacy can diverge sharply from reality. 

    But if we’re going to build AI literacy into every level of learning, we have to ask the harder question: How do we both determine when someone is truly AI literate and assess it in ways that are fair, useful and scalable? 

    AI literacy may be new, but we don’t have to start from scratch to measure it. We’ve tackled challenges like this before, moving beyond check-the-box tests in digital literacy to capture deeper, real-world skills. Building on those lessons will help define and measure this next evolution of 21st-century skills. 

    Right now, we often treat AI literacy as a binary: You either “have it” or you don’t. But real AI literacy and readiness is more nuanced. It includes understanding how AI works, being able to use it effectively in real-world settings and knowing when to trust it. It includes writing effective prompts, spotting bias, asking hard questions and applying judgment. 

    This isn’t just about teaching coding or issuing a certificate. It’s about making sure that students, educators and workers can collaborate in and navigate a world in which AI is increasingly involved in how we learn, hire, communicate and make decisions.  

    Without a way to measure AI literacy, we can’t identify who needs support. We can’t track progress. And we risk letting a new kind of unfairness take root, in which some communities build real capacity with AI and others are left with shallow exposure and no feedback. 

    Related: To employers, AI skills aren’t just for tech majors anymore 

    What can education leaders do right now to address this issue? I have a few ideas.  

    First, we need a working definition of AI literacy that goes beyond tool usage. The Department of Education’s proposed definition is a good start, combining technical fluency, applied reasoning and ethical awareness.  

    Second, assessments of AI literacy should be integrated into curriculum design. Schools and colleges incorporating AI into coursework need clear definitions of proficiency. TeachAI’s AI Literacy Framework for Primary and Secondary Education is a great resource. 

    Third, AI proficiency must be defined and measured consistently, or we risk a mismatched state of literacy. Without consistent measurements and standards, one district may see AI literacy as just using ChatGPT, while another defines it far more broadly, leaving students unevenly ready for the next generation of jobs. 

    To prepare for an AI-driven future, defining and measuring AI literacy must be a priority. Every student will be graduating into a world in which AI literacy is essential. Human resources leaders confirmed in the 2025 ETS Human Progress Report that the No. 1 skill employers are demanding today is AI literacy. Without measurement, we risk building the future on assumptions, not readiness.  

    And that’s too shaky a foundation for the stakes ahead. 

    Amit Sevak is CEO of ETS, the largest private educational assessment organization in the world. 

    Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org. 

    This story about AI literacy was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s weekly newsletter. 

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    Amit Sevak

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