McHenry, Ill., Feb. 19, 2026 – Building on its September 2025 introduction into the public library market, Follett Content today announced a significant next step in its growth strategy: the addition of widely respected library-market veterans and a series of new technology investments designed
to strengthen support for public library systems nationwide.
As the public library book distribution landscape continues to evolve, Follett Content is moving quickly and deliberately to scale its capabilities, deepen its expertise, and bring additional choice and stability to public libraries.
To fuel this next phase of growth, Follett Content has brought on 10+ experienced professionals with more than 300 years of collective public library experience – including individuals who previously held roles at Baker & Taylor and other well-known library service providers.
“Public libraries made it clear that trusted relationships and deep institutional knowledge matter,” said Britten Follett, CEO of Follett Content. “Our newest team members embody that. They’ve supported public libraries for decades, and their passion for this market is an essential part of where we’re headed.”
Follett Content is also making targeted investments in its technology infrastructure. These enhancements will support more robust workflows for public libraries, including:
• Brief MARC accessibility • Support for complex grids • EDI ordering and invoicing capabilities • Account management enhancements
These upgrades are currently underway, with additional o[erings and enhancements expected to roll out this year. While not announcing specific launch dates, Follett Content confirmed that the pipeline of improvements is significant and reflects a multi-year commitment.
“The message from public libraries has been clear: they want another strong, reliable partner, and they want one invested in long-term infrastructure, not shortcuts,” said Amy Egan, VP and GM of Library at Follett Content. “We’re excited about what’s coming. This is just the beginning.”
Follett Content emphasized that this acceleration is rooted in its long-term strategy, not in reaction to recent disruptions experienced by other providers.
“Our commitment to public libraries didn’t begin this year,” Follett added. “We’re here to strengthen stability, expand choice, and partner with libraries for decades to come.”
Public libraries interested in learning more or engaging with Follett Content’s public library team can visit https://hubs.ly/Q043JtyV0.
Follett Content Solutions is the largest provider of children’s and youth print materials and solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States and educational institutions worldwide, and a major supplier to public libraries. Follett Content provides books, Makerspace and hands-on learning materials through Titlewave®, the most powerful collection management tool for educators, school librarians, and public librarians. They offer trusted services backed by more than 150 years of expertise. Follow @FollettContent on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
eSchool Media staff cover education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new products. First published in March of 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals.
The support for Ukrainian athletes at the Milan-Cortina Games suggests there may be challenges with reinstating Russia and Belarus for the LA28 Olympics.
Teacher preparation programs have long emphasized curriculum, instruction, and assessment. However, they often fall short in one critical area: social-emotional and mental health needs of students.
We work daily with students whose academic success is inseparable from their psychological well-being. Nonetheless, we witness new educators wishing they were trained in not just behavior management, but, nowadays, the non-academic needs of children. If preservice programs are going to meet the demands of today’s classrooms, they must include deeper coursework in counseling, psychology, and trauma-informed teaching practices.
Students today are carrying heavier emotional burdens than ever before. Anxiety, bullying, depression, grief, trauma exposure (including complex trauma), and chronic stress are unfortunately quite common. The fallout rarely appears in uniform, typical, or recognizable ways. Instead, it shows up as behaviors teachers must interpret and address (i.e., withdrawal, defiance, irritability, avoidance, conflict, aggression and violence, or inconsistent work).
Without formal training, it is easy to label these actions as simple “misbehaviors” instead of asking why. However, seasoned educators and mental health professionals know that behaviors (including misbehaviors) are a means of communication, and understanding the root cause of a student’s actions is essential to creating a supportive and effective classroom.
Oftentimes, adults fall into a pattern of describing misbehaviors by children as “manipulative” as opposed to a need not being met. As such, adults (including educators) need to shift their mindsets. This belief is supported by research. Jean Piaget reminds us that children’s cognitive and emotional regulation skills are still developing and naturally are imperfect. Lev Vygotsky reminds us that learning and behavior are shaped by the quality of a child’s social interactions, including with the adults (such as teachers) in their lives. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy further reinforces that psychological safety and belonging must be met before meaningful learning or self-control can occur, and teachers need to initiate psychological safety.
Traditional classroom management training is often sparse in traditional preservice teacher training. It often emphasizes rules, procedures, and consequences. They absolutely matter, but the reality is far more nuanced. Behavior management and behavior recognition are not the same. A student who shuts down may be experiencing anxiety. A child who blurts out or becomes agitated may be reacting to trauma triggers in the environment. A student who frequently acts out may be seeking connection or stability in the only way they know how. Trauma-informed teaching (rooted in predictability, emotional safety, de-escalation, and relationship-building) is not just helpful, but is foundational in modern schools. Yet, many new teachers enter the profession with little to no formal preparation in these practices.
The teacher shortage only heightens this need. Potential educators are often intimidated not by teaching content, but by the emotional and behavioral demands that they feel unprepared to address. Meanwhile, experienced teachers often cite burnout stemming from managing complex behaviors without adequate support. Courses focused on child development, counseling skills, and trauma-informed pedagogy would significantly improve both teacher confidence and retention. It would also be beneficial if subject-area experts (such as the counseling or clinical psychology departments of the higher education institution) taught these courses.
Of note, we are not suggesting that teachers become counselors. School counselors, social workers, psychologists, and psychometrists play essential and irreplaceable roles. However, teachers are the first adults to observe subtle shifts in their students’ behaviors or emotional well-being. Oftentimes, traditional behavior management techniques and strategies can make matters worse in situations where trauma is the root cause of the behavior. When teachers are trained in the fundamentals of trauma-informed practice and creating emotionally safe learning environments, they can respond skillfully. They can collaborate with or refer students to clinical mental-health professionals for more intensive support.
Teacher preparation programs must evolve to reflect the emotional realities of today’s classrooms. Embedding several clinically grounded courses in counseling, psychology, and trauma-informed teaching (taught by certified and/or practicing mental-health professionals) would transform the way novice educators understand and support their students. This would also allow for more studies and research to take place on the effectiveness of various psychologically saturated teaching practices, accounting for the ever-changing psychosocial atmosphere. Students deserve teachers who can see beyond behaviors and understand the rationale beneath it. Being aware of behavior management techniques (which is often pretty minimal as teacher-prep programs stand now) is quite different than understanding behaviors. Teachers deserve to be equipped with both academic and emotional tools to help every learner thrive.
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Dr. Yuvraj Verma, Bessemer City Middle School & William Howard Taft University & Jennifer Veitch, Bessemer City Middle School
A new poll finds Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s approval rating has dropped from his all-time high of 64% down to 52%.
Gov. Wes Moore can use all the support he can get as he tries to push through his legislative agenda with the Maryland General Assembly getting back to work Wednesday.
A new poll found Moore’s approval rating has dropped from his all-time high of 64% down to 52%.
The poll, conducted by Patrick Gonzales of Gonzales Research and Media, found 52% of voters approve of the job Moore is doing as governor, 41% disapprove and 7% offer no opinion.
Gonzales said despite the converging of the approve and disapprove lines, Moore remains in a strong position.
“This is Maryland,” Gonzales told WTOP. “A Democrat at 52% approval on election day is not going to lose.”
The poll found that if the election was held today, 50% of Marylanders would vote to reelect Moore, 28% said they would vote for a Republican challenger, 6% opt for a third-party candidate and 16% were undecided.
Gonzales said on the reelection question and most of the four questions posed in the poll, partisanship predictably defined the contest.
Democrats heavily back Moore, and 76% said they would vote to reelect him with just 2% crossing over for a GOP challenger. Republicans show the mirror image with 81% throwing their support behind the party’s nominee, and just 6% saying they would go with Moore.
According to the poll, 47% think the state is moving in the right direction, while 44% believe that the state is headed the wrong way.
Gonzales called that “a narrow, uneasy balance that signals neither broad confidence nor outright pessimism.”
The final question of the poll asked people about taxes.
“A clear majority – 58%, say that they and their family pay too much in taxes, while virtually no one thinks they pay too little in taxes, with 41% of Marylanders believing their tax burden is about right,” Gonzales said.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 21, 2025, through Jan. 6. A total of 808 registered voters in Maryland, who indicated they are likely to vote in the 2026 general election, were queried by live telephone interviews. The margin of error is a range of plus or minus 3.5% points.
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Mobile phones in Iran were able to call abroad Tuesday after a crackdown on nationwide protests in which the internet and international calls were cut.Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back.Video above: Donald Trump says Iran wants to negotiate with the U.S. after his threat to strike the countryIranians said text messaging appeared to remain down, and witnesses said the internet remained cut off from the outside world.Iran cut off the internet and calls on Thursday as protests intensified.U.S. President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters that activists said had killed at least 646 people.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.Video below: Scenes from the Los Angeles protest in support of the Iranian people“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.
DUBAI, Dubai —
Mobile phones in Iran were able to call abroad Tuesday after a crackdown on nationwide protests in which the internet and international calls were cut.
Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back.
Video above: Donald Trump says Iran wants to negotiate with the U.S. after his threat to strike the country
Iranians said text messaging appeared to remain down, and witnesses said the internet remained cut off from the outside world.
Iran cut off the internet and calls on Thursday as protests intensified.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters that activists said had killed at least 646 people.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.
Video below: Scenes from the Los Angeles protest in support of the Iranian people
“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”
Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.
Mobile phones in Iran were able to call abroad Tuesday after a crackdown on nationwide protests in which the internet and international calls were cut.Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back.Video above: Donald Trump says Iran wants to negotiate with the U.S. after his threat to strike the countryIranians said text messaging appeared to remain down, and witnesses said the internet remained cut off from the outside world.Iran cut off the internet and calls on Thursday as protests intensified.U.S. President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters that activists said had killed at least 646 people.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.Video below: Scenes from the Los Angeles protest in support of the Iranian people“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.
DUBAI, Dubai —
Mobile phones in Iran were able to call abroad Tuesday after a crackdown on nationwide protests in which the internet and international calls were cut.
Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press and speak to a journalist there. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back.
Video above: Donald Trump says Iran wants to negotiate with the U.S. after his threat to strike the country
Iranians said text messaging appeared to remain down, and witnesses said the internet remained cut off from the outside world.
Iran cut off the internet and calls on Thursday as protests intensified.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters that activists said had killed at least 646 people.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he continued to communicate with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
The communication “continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” Araghchi said. However, “Washington’s proposed ideas and threats against our country are incompatible.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s public rhetoric diverges from the private messaging the administration has received from Tehran in recent days.
Video below: Scenes from the Los Angeles protest in support of the Iranian people
“I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said. “However, with that said, the president has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.”
Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.
More than 60 largely peaceful protests took place this weekend against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, including several in Southern California.
But while many protests were without incident, they were not short on anger and moments of tension. Organizers called the gatherings the “ICE Out for Good” weekend of action in response to the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.
In Huntington Beach, Ron Duplantis, 72, carried a diagram to represent the three shots fired at Good, including one through her windshield and two others that appeared to go through her side window.
“Those last two shots,” he said, “make it clear to me that this is murder.”
Participants in the “ICE Out” protest hold signs Sunday in Huntington Beach.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Huntington Beach has seen past clashes between Trump supporters and anti-racism activists, but as of mid-afternoon, Sunday’s protest was tense at times, but free of violence. About 300 people — and two dozen counterprotesters — stood outside City Hall, with protesters carrying anti-ICE signs, ringing cowbells and chanting “ICE out of O.C.”
As cars sped past them on Main Street, many motorists honked in a show of solidarity, while some rolled down their windows to shout their support for ICE, MAGA and President Trump.
“The reason why I’m here is democracy,” said Mary Artesani, a 69-year-old Costa Mesa resident carrying a sign that read “RESIST.” “They have to remember he won’t be in office forever.”
Participants in the “ICE Out” protest in Huntington Beach hold signs as a car with a MAGA hat in the windshield passes.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
The Trump administration has largely stood behind the ICE agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying he acted in self-defense. Democratic officials and many members of the public have said the videos of the shooting circulating on social media appear to contradict at least some of the administration’s assertions.
“I’m outraged a woman was murdered by our government and our government lied to our faces about it,” said protester Tony Zarkades, 60, who has lived in the Huntington Beach area for nearly 30 years. A former officer in the Marines, Zarkades said he is thinking of moving to Orange to escape the presence of so many Trump supporters in Huntington Beach.
Large protests against ICE occurred in the Bay Area as well as Sacramento and other California cities over the weekend. In Oakland, hundreds demonstrated peacefully on Sunday, although the night before, protesters assembled at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and left graffiti, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
In Los Angeles on Saturday night, protesters marched through the downtown area to City Hall and past the Edward Roybal Federal Building, with the L.A. Police Department issuing a dispersal order at about 6:30 p.m., according to City News Service.
While many of the protests focused on what happened to Good in Minnesota, they also recognized Keith Porter Jr., a man killed by an off-dutyICE agent in Northridge on New Year’s Eve.
In Huntington Beach, the coastal community has long had a reputation as a Southern California stronghold for Republicans, though its politics have recently been shifting. Orange County has a painful legacy of political extremism, including neo-Nazism. In 2021, a “White Lives Matter” rally in the area ended in 12 arrests.
On Sunday, a small group of about 30 counterprotesters waved Trump and MAGA flags on a corner opposite from the anti-ICE rally.
Counterprotester Victoria Cooper, 72, holds signs and shouts at participants of the “ICE Out” protest in Huntington Beach.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re here to support our country and president and support ICE,” said Kelly Johnson, who gave his age as “old enough to be your sugar daddy.”
Wearing an “ICE Immigration: Making America Safe Again” T-shirt, Kelly said the protesters were “paid agitators” who had been lied to by the media.
“Look at the other angles of the [shooting] videos,” he said. “She ran over the officer.”
Standing with him was Jesse Huizar, 66, who said he identifies as a “Latino for Trump” and was here to “support the blue.”
The Chino resident said he came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 5, but that he has no fear of ICE because he “came here legally.”
Huizar said Good’s death was sad, but that she “if she had complied, if she got out of her car and followed orders, she’d be alive right now.”
But their voices were largely overpowered by those of the anti-ICE protesters. One of the event’s organizers, 52-year-old Huntington Beach resident Denise G., who declined to give her last name, said they’ve been gathering in front of City Hall every Sunday since March, but that this was by far one of the largest turnouts they have seen.
She felt “devastated, angry, and more determined than ever” when she saw the video of Good’s shooting, she said.
Counterprotester Kelly Johnson stands across from the “ICE Out” demonstration.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
“It could be any one of us,” she said. “The people not out here today need to understand this could be their family member, their spouse, their children. The time is now. All hands on deck.”
Nearby, 27-year-old Yvonne Gonzales had gathered with about 10 of her friends. They said they were motivated to come because they were outraged by the shooting.
“I wish I was surprised by it,” Gonzales said, “but we’ve seen so much violence from ICE.”
She suspected that race was a factor in the outpouring of support, noting that Good was a white woman while many others who have been injured or killed by immigration enforcement actions have been people of color, but that it was still “great to see this turnout and visibility.”
A few feet away, 41-year-old Christie Martinez stood with her children, Elliott, 9, and Kane, 6. She teared up thinking about the shooting and the recent ICE actions in California, including the killing of Porter.
“It’s sad and sickening,” said Martinez, who lives in Westminster. “It makes me really sad how people are targeted because of their skin color.”
The Boathouse restaurant in Disney Springs is being sued after a customer choked to death on a piece of steak, according to court records. According to the complaint, Kevin Duncan, a Marion County resident, was eating at the restaurant in June 2025 when he began choking on his steak. The lawsuit filed in October 2025 against Boathouse Restaurants LLC is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, alleging that staff negligence, including a delay in calling emergency services, led to Duncan’s death.While family and friends attempted the Heimlich maneuver, the lawsuit claims that restaurant staff “did not promptly call 911; instead, staff initially contacted security, causing a delay in summoning emergency medical services.”The family is seeking a jury trial and demanding judgment for damages, including medical and funeral expenses, loss of support and services, mental pain and suffering of survivors, and net accumulations of the estate.The lawsuit was moved to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida after initially being filed in Orange County circuit court.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. —
The Boathouse restaurant in Disney Springs is being sued after a customer choked to death on a piece of steak, according to court records.
According to the complaint, Kevin Duncan, a Marion County resident, was eating at the restaurant in June 2025 when he began choking on his steak.
The lawsuit filed in October 2025 against Boathouse Restaurants LLC is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, alleging that staff negligence, including a delay in calling emergency services, led to Duncan’s death.
While family and friends attempted the Heimlich maneuver, the lawsuit claims that restaurant staff “did not promptly call 911; instead, staff initially contacted security, causing a delay in summoning emergency medical services.”
The family is seeking a jury trial and demanding judgment for damages, including medical and funeral expenses, loss of support and services, mental pain and suffering of survivors, and net accumulations of the estate.
The lawsuit was moved to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida after initially being filed in Orange County circuit court.
eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #7 focuses on sustainability in edtech.
Key points:
Educational technology, or edtech, has reshaped how educators teach, offering opportunities to create more sustainable and impactful learning environments.
Using edtech in teaching, educators and school leaders can reduce environmental impact while enhancing student engagement and creativity. The key is recognizing how to effectively leverage edtech learning strategies, from digitized lesson plans to virtual collaboration, and keeping an open mind while embracing new instructional methods.
Rethinking teaching methods in the digital age
Teaching methods have undergone significant transformation with the rise of educational technology. Traditional classroom settings are evolving, integrating tools and techniques that prioritize active participation and collaboration.
Here are three edtech learning strategies:
The flipped classroom model reverses the typical teaching structure. Instead of delivering lectures in class and assigning homework, teachers provide pre-recorded lessons or materials for students to review at home. Classroom time is then used for hands-on activities, group discussions, or problem-solving tasks.
Gamification is another method gaining traction. By incorporating game-like elements such as point systems, leaderboards, and challenges into lesson plans, teachers can motivate students and make learning more interactive. Platforms like Kahoot and Classcraft encourage participation while reducing paper-based activities.
Collaborative online tools, such as Google Workspace for Education, also play a critical role in modern classrooms. They enable students to work together on projects in real time, eliminating the need for printed resources. These tools enhance teamwork and streamline the sharing of information in eco-friendly ways.
Sustainability and innovation in education
Have you ever wondered how much paper schools use? There are approximately 100,000 schools in this country that consume about 32 billion sheets of paper yearly. On a local level, the average school uses 2,000 sheets daily–that comes out to $16,000 a year. Think about what else that money could be used for in your school.
Here are ways that edtech can reduce reliance on physical materials:
Digital textbooks minimize the need for printed books and reduce waste. Through e-readers, students access a vast library of resources without carrying heavy, paper-based textbooks.
Virtual labs provide another example of sustainable education. These labs allow students to conduct experiments in a simulated environment, eliminating the need for disposable materials or expensive lab setups. These applications offer interactive simulations that are cost-effective and eco-conscious.
Schools can also adopt learning management systems to centralize course materials, assignments, and feedback. By using these platforms, teachers can cut down on printed handouts and encourage digital submissions, further reducing paper usage.
Additionally, edtech platforms are beginning to incorporate budget-friendly tools designed with sustainability in mind; some of these resources are free. For instance, apps that monitor energy consumption or carbon footprints in school operations can educate students about environmental stewardship while encouraging sustainable practices in their own lives.
Supporting teachers in the shift to edtech
Transitioning to edtech can be a challenging yet rewarding experience for educators. By streamlining administrative tasks and enhancing lesson delivery, technology empowers teachers to focus on what matters most: engaging students.
Circling back to having an open mind–while many teachers are eager to adopt edtech learning strategies, others might struggle more with technology. You need to expect this and be prepared to offer continuous support. Professional development opportunities are essential to ease the adoption of edtech. Schools can offer workshops and training sessions to help teachers feel confident with new tools. For instance, hosting peer-led sessions where educators share best practices fosters a collaborative approach to learning and implementation.
Another way to support teachers is by providing access to online resources that offer lesson plans, tutorials, and templates. Encouraging experimentation and flexibility in teaching methods can also lead to better integration of technology. By allowing teachers to adapt tools to their unique classroom needs, schools can foster an environment where innovation thrives.
If you’re concerned about bumps on this road, remember teachers have common traits that align with edtech. Good teachers are organized, flexible, have communication skills, and are open-minded. Encourage a team approach that’s motivating and leverages their love of learning.
Bringing sustainability and enhanced learning to classrooms
The integration of edtech learning strategies into classrooms brings sustainability and enhanced learning experiences to the forefront. By reducing reliance on physical materials and introducing eco-friendly tools, schools can significantly lower their environmental impact. At the same time, teachers gain access to methods that inspire creativity and collaboration among students.
There’s also this: Edtech learning strategies are constantly evolving, so you’ll want to stay on top of these trends. While many of those focus on learning strategies, others are more about emergency response, safety, and data management,
Investing in modern technologies and supporting teachers through training and resources ensures the success of these initiatives. By embracing edtech learning strategies, educators and administrators can create classrooms that are not only effective but also sustainable–a win for students, teachers, and the planet.
Sam Bowman, Contributing Writer
Sam Bowman writes about people, tech, wellness, and how they merge. He enjoys getting to utilize the internet for community without actually having to leave his house. In his spare time, he likes running, reading, and combining the two in a run to his local bookstore. Connect with him on Twitter @SamLBowman1.
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The family of Rob and Michele Reiner are working on a memorial for the couple, who were slain last weekend at their Brentwood home.
In a statement Monday, children Jake and Romy Reiner thanked the public for the outpouring of support and said details about a memorial will be coming.
Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead in their Brentwood home Dec. 14. Nick Reiner, 32, was charged Tuesday with their murders.
Reiner also faces a special allegation that he used a deadly weapon, a knife, in the crime, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said during a news conference announcing the murder charges last week.
On the afternoon the Reiners were found, a massage therapist showed up at the home for a weekly session with the couple. When there was no answer at the gate, the therapist called Romy Reiner, who arrived at the home and discovered her father’s body, according to a source close to the Reiner family who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a statement last week, the children said: “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”
eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #8 focuses on the debate around teachers vs. AI.
Key points:
A colleague of ours recently attended an AI training where the opening slide featured a list of all the ways AI can revolutionize our classrooms. Grading was listed at the top. Sure, AI can grade papers in mere seconds, but should it?
As one of our students, Jane, stated: “It has a rubric and can quantify it. It has benchmarks. But that is not what actually goes into writing.” Our students recognize that AI cannot replace the empathy and deep understanding that recognizes the growth, effort, and development of their voice. What concerns us most about grading our students’ written work with AI is the transformation of their audience from human to robot.
If we teach our students throughout their writing lives that what the grading robot says matters most, then we are teaching them that their audience doesn’t matter. As Wyatt, another student, put it: “If you can use AI to grade me, I can use AI to write.” NCTE, in its position statements for Generative AI, reminds us that writing is a human act, not a mechanical one. Reducing it to automated scores undermines its value and teaches students, like Wyatt and Jane, that the only time we write is for a grade. That is a future of teaching writing we hope to never see.
We need to pause when tech companies tout AI as the grader of student writing. This isn’t a question of capability. AI can score essays. It can be calibrated to rubrics. It can, as Jane said, provide students with encouragement and feedback specific to their developing skills. And we have no doubt it has the potential to make a teacher’s grading life easier. But just because we can outsource some educational functions to technology doesn’t mean we should.
It is bad enough how many students already see their teacher as their only audience. Or worse, when students are writing for teachers who see their written work strictly through the lens of a rubric, their audience is limited to the rubric. Even those options are better than writing for a bot. Instead, let’s question how often our students write to a broader audience of their peers, parents, community, or a panel of judges for a writing contest. We need to reengage with writing as a process and implement AI as a guide or aide rather than a judge with the last word on an essay score.
Our best foot forward is to put AI in its place. The use of AI in the writing process is better served in the developing stages of writing. AI is excellent as a guide for brainstorming. It can help in a variety of ways when a student is struggling and looking for five alternatives to their current ending or an idea for a metaphor. And if you or your students like AI’s grading feature, they can paste their work into a bot for feedback prior to handing it in as a final draft.
We need to recognize that there are grave consequences if we let a bot do all the grading. As teachers, we should recognize bot grading for what it is: automated education. We can and should leave the promises of hundreds of essays graded in an hour for the standardized test providers. Our classrooms are alive with people who have stories to tell, arguments to make, and research to conduct. We see our students beyond the raw data of their work. We recognize that the poem our student has written for their sick grandparent might be a little flawed, but it matters a whole lot to the person writing it and to the person they are writing it for. We see the excitement or determination in our students’ eyes when they’ve chosen a research topic that is important to them. They want their cause to be known and understood by others, not processed and graded by a bot.
The adoption of AI into education should be conducted with caution. Many educators are experimenting with using AI tools in thoughtful and student-centered ways. In a recent article, David Cutler describes his experience using an AI-assisted platform to provide feedback on his students’ essays. While Cutler found the tool surprisingly accurate and helpful, the true value lies in the feedback being used as part of the revision process. As this article reinforces, the role of a teacher is not just to grade, but to support and guide learning. When used intentionally (and we emphasize, as in-process feedback) AI can enhance that learning, but the final word, and the relationship behind it, must still come from a human being.
When we hand over grading to AI, we risk handing over something much bigger–our students’ belief that their words matter and deserve an audience. Our students don’t write to impress a rubric, they write to be heard. And when we replace the reader with a robot, we risk teaching our students that their voices only matter to the machine. We need to let AI support the writing process, not define the product. Let it offer ideas, not deliver grades. When we use it at the right moments and for the right reasons, it can make us better teachers and help our students grow. But let’s never confuse efficiency with empathy. Or algorithms with understanding.
Dennis Magliozzi & Kristina Peterson, University of New Hampshire’s Writers Academy
Kristina Peterson and Dennis Magliozzi have been teaching English since 2008. Kristina has a master’s degree in teaching and over a decade of experience mentoring teachers. Dennis holds an MFA in poetry and a PhD from the University of New Hampshire. Together, they co-teach in the University of New Hampshire’s Writers Academy and Learning Through Teaching program. Their work on generative AI’s impact in the classroom is highlighted on Heinemann’s blog, and in their forthcoming book, AI in the Writing Workshop: Finding the Write Balance.
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Dennis Magliozzi & Kristina Peterson, University of New Hampshire’s Writers Academy
eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #10 focuses on teaching strategies around AI.
Key points:
In the last year, we’ve seen an extraordinary push toward integrating artificial intelligence in classrooms. Among educators, that trend has evoked responses from optimism to opposition. “Will AI replace educators?” “Can it really help kids?” “Is it safe?” Just a few years ago, these questions were unthinkable, and now they’re in every K-12 school, hanging in the air.
Given the pace at which AI technologies are changing, there’s a lot still to be determined, and I won’t pretend to have all the answers. But as a school counselor in Kansas who has been using SchoolAI to support students for years, I’ve seen that AI absolutely can help kids and is safe when supervised. At this point, I think it’s much more likely to help us do our jobs better than to produce any other outcome. I’ve discovered that if you implement AI thoughtfully, it empowers students to explore their futures, stay on track for graduation, learn new skills, and even improve their mental health.
Full disclosure: I have something adjacent to a tech background. I worked for a web development marketing firm before moving into education. However, I want to emphasize that you don’t have to be an expert to use AI effectively. Success is rooted in curiosity, trial and error, and commitment to student well-being. Above all, I would urge educators to remember that AI isn’t about replacing us. It allows us to extend our reach to students and our capacity to cater to individual needs, especially when shorthanded.
Let me show you what that looks like.
Building emotional resilience
Students today face enormous emotional pressures. And with national student-to-counselor ratios at nearly double the recommended 250-to-1, school staff can’t always be there right when students need us.
That’s why I created a chatbot named Pickles (based on my dog at home, whom the kids love but who is too rambunctious to come to school with me). This emotional support bot gives my students a way to process small problems like feeling left out at recess or arguing with a friend. It doesn’t replace my role, but it does help triage students so I can give immediate attention to those facing the most urgent challenges.
Speaking of which, AI has revealed some issues I might’ve otherwise missed. One fourth grader, who didn’t want to talk to me directly, opened up to the chatbot about her parents’ divorce. Because I was able to review her conversation, I knew to follow up with her. In another case, a shy fifth grader who struggled to maintain conversations learned to initiate dialogue with her peers using chatbot-guided social scripts. After practicing over spring break, she returned more confident and socially fluent.
Aside from giving students real-time assistance, these tools offer me critical visibility and failsafes while I’m running around trying to do 10 things at once.
Personalized career exploration and academic support
One of my core responsibilities as a counselor is helping students think about their futures. Often, the goals they bring to me are undeveloped (as you would expect—they’re in elementary school, after all): They say, “I’m going to be a lawyer,” or “I’m going to be a doctor.” In the past, I would point them toward resources I thought would help, and that was usually the end of it. But I always wanted them to reflect more deeply about their options.
So, I started using an AI chatbot to open up that conversation. Instead of jumping to a job title, students are prompted to answer what they’re interested in and why. The results have been fascinating—and inspiring. In a discussion with one student recently, I was trying to help her find careers that would suit her love of travel. After we plugged in her strengths and interests, the chatbot suggested cultural journalism, which she was instantly excited about. She started journaling and blogging that same night. She’s in sixth grade.
What makes this process especially powerful is that it challenges biases. By the end of elementary school, many kids have already internalized what careers they think they can or can’t pursue–often based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status. AI can disrupt that. It doesn’t know what a student looks like or where they’re from. It just responds to their curiosity. These tools surface career options for kids–like esports management or environmental engineering–that I might not be able to come up with in the moment. It’s making me a better counselor and keeping me apprised of workforce trends, all while encouraging my students to dream bigger and in more detail.
Along with career decisions, AI helps students make better academic decisions, especially in virtual school environments where requirements vary district to district. I recently worked with a virtual school to create an AI-powered tool that helps students identify which classes they need for graduation. It even links them to district-specific resources and state education departments to guide their planning. These kinds of tools lighten the load of general advising questions for school counselors and allow us to spend more time supporting students one on one.
My advice to educators: Try it
We tell our students that failure is part of learning. So why should we be afraid to try something new? When I started using AI, I made mistakes. But AI doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful. Around the globe, AI school assistants are already springing up and serving an ever-wider range of use cases.
I recommend educators start small. Use a trusted platform. And most importantly, stay human. AI should never replace the relationships at the heart of education. But if used wisely, it can extend your reach, personalize your impact, and unlock your students’ potential.
We have to prepare our students for a world that’s changing fast–maybe faster than ever. I, for one, am glad I have AI by my side to help them get there.
Hanna Kemble-Mick, Indian Hills Elementary
Hanna Kemble-Mick has been an elementary school counselor for eight years. She currently works at Indian Hills Elementary, where she uses SchoolAI to enhance her work. She’s also the Dean of Elementary School Counselors for USD 437, holds the Kansas School Counselor of the Year title, and is a 2025 School Counselor of the Year® finalist. Additionally, she works as a Counselor Leader Coordinator for KSDE. Hanna is committed to supporting counselors and providing practical solutions for their practice.
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When I first started experimenting with AI in my classroom, I saw the same thing repeatedly from students. They treated it like Google. Ask a question, get an answer, move on. It didn’t take long to realize that if my students only engage with AI this way, they miss the bigger opportunity to use AI as a partner in thinking. AI isn’t a magic answer machine. It’s a tool for creativity and problem-solving. The challenge for us as educators is to rethink how we prepare students for the world they’re entering and to use AI with curiosity and fidelity.
Moving from curiosity to fluency
In my district, I wear two hats: history teacher and instructional coach. That combination gives me the space to test ideas in the classroom and support colleagues as they try new tools. What I’ve learned is that AI fluency requires far more than knowing how to log into a platform. Students need to learn how to question outputs, verify information and use results as a springboard for deeper inquiry.
I often remind them, “You never trust your source. You always verify and compare.” If students accept every AI response at face value, they’re not building the critical habits they’ll need in college or in the workforce.
To make this concrete, I teach my students the RISEN framework: Role, Instructions, Steps, Examples, Narrowing. It helps them craft better prompts and think about the kind of response they want. Instead of typing “explain photosynthesis,” they might ask, “Act as a biologist explaining photosynthesis to a tenth grader. Use three steps with an analogy, then provide a short quiz at the end.” Suddenly, the interaction becomes purposeful, structured and reflective of real learning.
AI as a catalyst for equity and personalization
Growing up, I was lucky. My mom was college educated and sat with me to go over almost every paper I wrote. She gave me feedback that helped to sharpen my writing and build my confidence. Many of my students don’t have that luxury. For these learners, AI can be the academic coach they might not otherwise have.
That doesn’t mean AI replaces human connection. Nothing can. But it can provide feedback, ask guiding questions, and provide examples that give students a sounding board and thought partner. It’s one more way to move closer to providing personalized support for learners based on need.
Of course, equity cuts both ways. If only some students have access to AI or if we use it without considering its bias, we risk widening the very gaps we hope to close. That’s why it’s our job as educators to model ethical and critical use, not just the mechanics.
Shifting how we assess learning
One of the biggest shifts I’ve made is rethinking how I assess students. If I only grade the final product, I’m essentially inviting them to use AI as a shortcut. Instead, I focus on the process: How did they engage with the tool? How did they verify and cross-reference results? How did they revise their work based on what they learned? What framework guided their inquiry? In this way, AI becomes part of their learning journey rather than just an endpoint.
I’ve asked students to run the same question through multiple AI platforms and then compare the outputs. What were the differences? Which response feels most accurate or useful? What assumptions might be at play? These conversations push students to defend their thinking and use AI critically, not passively.
Navigating privacy and policy
Another responsibility we carry as educators is protecting our students. Data privacy is a serious concern. In my school, we use a “walled garden” version of AI so that student data doesn’t get used for training. Even with those safeguards in place, I remind colleagues never to enter identifiable student information into a tool.
Policies will continue to evolve, but for day-to-day activities and planning, teachers need to model caution and responsibility. Students are taking our lead.
Professional growth for a changing profession
The truth of the matter is most of us have not been professionally trained to do this. My teacher preparation program certainly did not include modules on prompt engineering or data ethics. That means professional development in this space is a must.
I’ve grown the most in my AI fluency by working alongside other educators who are experimenting, sharing stories, and comparing notes. AI is moving fast. No one has all the answers. But we can build confidence together by trying, reflecting, and adjusting through shared experience and lessons learned. That’s exactly what we’re doing in the Lead for Learners network. It’s a space where educators from across the country connect, learn and support one another in navigating change.
For educators who feel hesitant, I’d say this: You don’t need to be an expert to start. Pick one tool, test it in one lesson, and talk openly with your students about what you’re learning. They’ll respect your honesty and join you in the process.
Preparing students for what’s next
AI is not going away. Whether we’re ready or not, it’s going to shape how our students live and work. That gives us a responsibility not just to keep pace with technology but to prepare young people for what’s ahead. The latest futures forecast reminds us that imagining possibilities is just as important as responding to immediate shifts.
We need to understand both how AI is already reshaping education delivery and how new waves of change will remain on the horizon as tools grow more sophisticated and widespread.
I want my students to leave my classroom with the ability to question, create, and collaborate using AI. I want them to see it not as a shortcut but as a tool for thinking more deeply and expressing themselves more fully. And I want them to watch me modeling those same habits: curiosity, caution, creativity, and ethical decision-making. Because if we don’t show them what responsible use looks like, who will?
The future of education won’t be defined by whether we allow AI into our classrooms. It will be defined by how we teach with it, how we teach about it, and how we prepare our students to thrive in a world where it’s everywhere.
Ian McDougall, Yuma Union High School District
Ian McDougall is a history teacher and edtech coach at Yuma Union High School District in Arizona. He also facilitates the Lead for Learners Community, an online hub for learner-centered educators nationwide. With extensive experience in K–12 education and technology integration, Ian supports schools in adopting innovative practices through professional development and instructional coaching. He holds a master’s degree in United States history from Adams State University, further strengthening his expertise as both a teacher and coach.
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AI is now at the center of almost every conversation in education technology. It is reshaping how we create content, build assessments, and support learners. The opportunities are enormous. But one quiet risk keeps growing in the background: losing our habit of critical thinking.
I see this risk not as a theory but as something I have felt myself.
The moment I almost outsourced my judgment
A few months ago, I was working on a complex proposal for a client. Pressed for time, I asked an AI tool to draft an analysis of their competitive landscape. The output looked polished and convincing. It was tempting to accept it and move on.
Then I forced myself to pause. I began questioning the sources behind the statements and found a key market shift the model had missed entirely. If I had skipped that short pause, the proposal would have gone out with a blind spot that mattered to the client.
That moment reminded me that AI is fast and useful, but the responsibility for real thinking is still mine. It also showed me how easily convenience can chip away at judgment.
AI as a thinking partner
The most powerful way to use AI is to treat it as a partner that widens the field of ideas while leaving the final call to us. AI can collect data in seconds, sketch multiple paths forward, and expose us to perspectives we might never consider on our own.
In my own work at Magic EdTech, for example, our teams have used AI to quickly analyze thousands of pages of curriculum to flag accessibility issues. The model surfaces patterns and anomalies that would take a human team weeks to find. Yet the real insight comes when we bring educators and designers together to ask why those patterns matter and how they affect real classrooms. AI sets the table, but we still cook the meal.
There is a subtle but critical difference between using AI to replace thinking and using it to stretch thinking. Replacement narrows our skills over time. Stretching builds new mental flexibility. The partner model forces us to ask better questions, weigh trade-offs, and make calls that only human judgment can resolve.
Habits to keep your edge
Protecting critical thinking is not about avoiding AI. It is about building habits that keep our minds active when AI is everywhere.
Here are three I find valuable:
1. Name the fragile assumption Each time you receive AI output, ask: What is one assumption here that could be wrong? Spend a few minutes digging into that. It forces you to reenter the problem space instead of just editing machine text.
2. Run the reverse test Before you adopt an AI-generated idea, imagine the opposite. If the model suggests that adaptive learning is the key to engagement, ask: What if it is not? Exploring the counter-argument often reveals gaps and deeper insights.
3. Slow the first draft It is tempting to let AI draft emails, reports, or code and just sign off. Instead, start with a rough human outline first. Even if it is just bullet points, you anchor the work in your own reasoning and use the model to enrich–not originate–your thinking.
These small practices keep the human at the center of the process and turn AI into a gym for the mind rather than a crutch.
Why this matters for education
For those of us in education technology, the stakes are unusually high. The tools we build help shape how students learn and how teachers teach. If we let critical thinking atrophy inside our companies, we risk passing that weakness to the very people we serve.
Students will increasingly use AI for research, writing, and even tutoring. If the adults designing their digital classrooms accept machine answers without question, we send the message that surface-level synthesis is enough. We would be teaching efficiency at the cost of depth.
By contrast, if we model careful reasoning and thoughtful use of AI, we can help the next generation see these tools for what they are: accelerators of understanding, not replacements for it. AI can help us scale accessibility, personalize instruction, and analyze learning data in ways that were impossible before. But its highest value appears only when it meets human curiosity and judgment.
Building a culture of shared judgment
This is not just an individual challenge. Teams need to build rituals that honor slow thinking in a fast AI environment. Another practice is rotating the role of “critical friend” in meetings. One person’s task is to challenge the group’s AI-assisted conclusions and ask what could go wrong. This simple habit trains everyone to keep their reasoning sharp.
Next time you lean on AI for a key piece of work, pause before you accept the answer. Write down two decisions in that task that only a human can make. It might be about context, ethics, or simple gut judgment. Then share those reflections with your team. Over time this will create a culture where AI supports wisdom rather than diluting it.
The real promise of AI is not that it will think for us, but that it will free us to think at a higher level.
The danger is that we may forget to climb.
The future of education and the integrity of our own work depend on remaining climbers. Let the machines speed the climb, but never let them choose the summit.
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
A revolution quietly underway in American education: the rise of homeschooling. In the past decade, there’s been a 61 percent increase in homeschool students across the United States, making it the fastest growing form of education in the country. You might not have noticed (I didn’t, at first), because only about 6 percent of students are homeschooled nationally. But that number is nearly double what it was just two years ago.
Then I noticed something that made me take a closer look closer to home. At Starglow Media, the podcast company I founded in 2023, nearly 20 percent of our listenership comes from homeschool families. That substantially overindexes against the national population. In other words, podcasts were particularly popular in the homeschool community.
I was curious, for my business and in general. We make podcasts for kids (and their parents) without any specific content for homeschool families. Why was audio resonating so well with this audience? I did some digging, and the answers surprised me.
First, I wanted to find out why homeschooling was booming. According to the Washington Post, the explosive growth is consistent across “every measurable line of politics, geography, and demographics.” Experts have offered multiple explanations. Some families started homeschooling during COVID and never went back, others want greater say in what their children learn. Some families feel their kids are safer from violence and discrimination at home, others think it’s a better environment for children with disabilities. All these reasons collectively suggest a broader motivation: people are dissatisfied with the traditional education system and are taking it into their own hands.
None of these factors, however, explained why podcasts were popular among homeschool families. So I decided to ask the question myself. I reached out to some Starglow listeners in the Starglow community to hear what about the format was appealing to them. Three main themes emerged.
Many people told me that podcasts are uniquely well-suited to address educational hurdles facing homeschool families. When you’re a homeschool parent, it can be difficult to navigate all the resources that inform lesson planning while ensuring that the content is age- and subject-appropriate. Parents have found podcasts to be an intuitive way to elevate their curricula. They can search for subjects, filter by age group, and trust that the content is suitable for their kids. Ads on the network add another layer of value–because parents can trust the content, they tend to trust further educational materials promoted via the same channels. Simply put, the podcast ecosystem offers a reliable means to supplement lesson plans.
They also offer a clear financial benefit. Homeschooling can be expensive, especially in STEM, but the majority of states don’t offer government subsidies for homeschool education. Podcasts have proven to be a cost-effective way to supplement at-home learning modules. Parents appreciate that it’s free to listen.
Lastly–and this came up in nearly every conversation–they fit in well to homeschool life. Routine is a critical part of any educational context, and podcasts are useful anchors in the school day. Parents can easily pair podcasts with lessons at any point in their day, whether it’s a current events primer paired with a news podcast over breakfast or a specific episode of “Who Smarted” (our most popular educational podcast) about how snow forms worked into a science lesson. In this way, podcasts are becoming an integral part of family life in the homeschool community. Educational content like “Who Smarted” or an age-appropriate audiobook of “Moby Dick” may be the gateway, but families tend to co-listen throughout the day, whether it’s to KidsNuz over coffee or a Koala Moon story at night.
What does all this mean? Homeschooling is growing, and with it is the need for flexible, affordable, and trustworthy educational content. To meet that demand, families are turning to audio, which offers age-appropriate solutions that can be worked into family life through regular co-listening.
I expect that the homeschool movement will continue to grow, because new formats and strategies are offering families new opportunities. That’s good news, because we need innovation in education right now. Test scores are falling, literacy is in decline, and school absenteeism hasn’t fully bounced back from the pandemic. The homeschool surge is just one indicator of our increased dissatisfaction with the status quo. If we want to course correct, we all need to embrace new resources, podcasts or otherwise, to enhance education at home and in the classroom. New media has the potential to transform how people teach–we should embrace the opportunity.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced Tuesday that he will not run for California governor next year, ending months of speculation about the possibility of the Democrat vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“It is with a full heart and even more commitment than ever that I am choosing to not run for governor of California next year,” Padilla told reporters outside his Senate office in Washington.
Padilla instead said he will focus on countering President Trump’s agenda in Congress, where Democrats are currently in the minority in both the House and Senate, but hope to regain some political clout after the 2026 midterm elections.
“I choose not just to stay in the Senate. I choose to stay in this fight because the Constitution is worth fighting for. Our fundamental rights are worth fighting for. Our core values are worth fighting for. The American dream is worth fighting for,” he said.
Padilla said his decision was influenced by his belief that under President Trump, “these are not normal times.”
“We deserve better than this,” he said.
Many contenders, no clear favorite
Padilla’s decision to bow out of the 2026 governor’s race will leave a prominent name out of an already crowded contest with many contenders but not a clear favorite.
For much of the year, the field was essentially frozen in place as former Vice President Kamala Harris pondered whether she would run, with many donors and major endorsers staying out of the game. Harris said at the end of July that she wouldn’t run. But another potential candidate — billionaire developer Rick Caruso — remains a question mark.
Caruso said Monday night that he was still considering running for either governor or Los Angeles mayor, and will decide in the next few weeks.
“It’s a really tough decision,” Caruso said. “Within a few weeks or so, or something like that, I’ll probably have a decision made. It’s a big topic of discussion in the house with my kids and my wife.”
Major Democratic candidates include former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, current California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former state Controller Betty Yee and wealthy businessman Stephen Cloobeck. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton are the most prominent Republicans running.
Amid fire recovery aftermath, immigration raids and a high-octane redistricting battle, California voters have yet to turn their attention to next year’s gubernatorial matchup, despite the vast power that Newsom’s successor will wield. California is now the world’s fourth-largest economy, and policy decisions in the Golden State often have global repercussions. Newsom is nearing the end of his second and final term.
Recent polling shows the contest as wide open, with nearly 4 in 10 voters surveyed saying they are undecided, though Porter had a slight edge as the top choice in the poll. She and Bianco were the only candidates whose support cracked the double digits.
Candidates still have months to file their paperwork before the June 2 primary to replace Newsom.
June incident brought attention
Known for soft-spoken confidence and a lack of bombast, Padilla’s public profile soared in June after he found himself cuffed by federal agents, at the center of a staggering viral moment during a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Despite identifying himself, Padilla was tackled after trying to interrupt Noem with a question. The manhandling of California’s senior senator was filmed by a staffer and broadcast around the world, provoking searing and widespread condemnation.
Days later, Vice President JD Vance joked about the incident and referred to Padilla — his former Senate colleague — as “Jose Padilla,” a misnaming that Padilla suggested was intentional and others characterized as racist.
The event put Padilla on the national spotlight and rumors of Padilla’s interest in the gubernatorial race ignited in late August.
Padilla told reporters Tuesday that he received an “outpouring of encouragement and offers of support for the idea” of his candidacy and that he had “taken it to heart”
Alongside his wife, Angela, the senator said he also heard from many people urging him to keep his fight going in Washington.
“Countless Californians have urged me to do everything I could to protect California and the American Dream from a vindictive president who seems hell-bent on raising costs for working families, rolling back environmental protections, cutting access to healthcare, jeopardizing reproductive rights and more,” he said.
Padilla said he had listened.
“I will continue to thank them and honor their support by continuing to work together for a better future,” he said.
Ceballos reported from Washingtonand Wick from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Noah Goldberg in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
When I walked into my first classroom almost a decade ago, I had no idea how many “first days” I would experience–and how each one would teach me something new.
Growing up–first in the Virgin Islands and then later in Florida–I always felt pulled toward teaching. Tutoring was my introduction, and I realized early that I was a helper by nature. Still, my path into the classroom wasn’t straightforward–I changed majors in college, tried different things, and it wasn’t until six months after graduation that a friend pointed me toward Teach For America. That leap took me all the way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, far from home and family, but I was fortunate to find a strong cohort of fellow teachers and mentors who grounded me.
Those early years weren’t easy. Being away from home, balancing the demands of teaching, and later, raising two kids of my own–it could feel overwhelming. My mentors kept me steady, reminding me that teaching is about community and connection. That lesson has never left me.
As I started this school year–my eighth first day of school at the front of the classroom–I’m reflecting on other lessons learned that help me help my students thrive.
Connection is the key to everything. If students know you believe in them, they’ll start believing in themselves. I think of one student in particular who was failing in my class repeatedly, and finally passed–not because I’m a miracle worker, but because we built trust. I bought into him, and eventually, he bought into himself. Those are the moments that make the long days and sacrifices worth it.
Make your classroom a safe space to learn. I teach 10th-grade biology and 11th-grade dual-enrollment engineering; these are subjects that can seem intimidating to young people. I tell my students that I want to hear each and every one of their ideas. No one’s brains are alike. My brain isn’t like yours, and yours isn’t like your neighbor’s. Listening to everyone’s thoughts, processes, and ideas helps us expand our own thinking and understanding. Especially with a subject matter like science, I want students to know that there is no shame in exploring different ideas together. In fact, that’s what makes this kind of work exciting.
Lean on your network. We preach the importance of continuous learning to our students, and rightfully so. There is always room to grow in every subject. I believe teachers need to model this for our students. I lean heavily on my support system: my mentors, my master teacher, and other educators and coaches. They are always there to bounce ideas off of, helping me continue to strengthen my lessons and outcomes. This also builds community; two of my mentors, Sabreen Thorne and Marie Mullen, are Teach For America Greater Baton Rouge alumnae who still work for the organization and still make the effort to keep in touch, invite me to community events, and offer me words of wisdom.
I’m proud that these approaches have been working. This past year, our school, Plaquemine High School, saw the most improved test scores in the Iberville Parish School District. It wasn’t magic–it was the collective effort of teachers and students who decided we could do better, together. I was also honored to receive the Shell Science Lab Regional Makeover grant, which provides us with resources to upgrade our science lab. We’ll be able to provide the equipment our students deserve. Science classrooms should be safe spaces where every idea matters, where students feel empowered to experiment, question, and create. This grant will help us bring that vision to life.
Eight years in, I’ve learned that teaching isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, reflecting, leaning on others, and never losing sight of why we’re here: to open doors for kids. Every year, every day, is another chance to do just that.
Gelisa Patin, Plaquemine High School
Gelisa Patin is a biology and dual-enrollment engineering teacher at Plaquemine High School in Louisiana and a Teach For America 2018 Greater Baton Rouge alum.
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By embracing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in purchasing decisions, school leaders can create learning spaces that not only accommodate students with disabilities but enhance the educational experience for all learners while delivering exceptional returns on investment (ROI).
Strangely enough, the concept of UDL all started with curb cuts. Disability activists in the 1960s were advocating for adding curb cuts at intersections so that users of wheelchairs could cross streets independently. Once curb cuts became commonplace, there was a surprising secondary effect: Curb cuts did not just benefit the lives of those in wheelchairs, they benefited parents with strollers, kids on bikes, older adults using canes, delivery workers with carts, and travelers using rolling suitcases. What had been designed for one specific group ended up accidentally benefiting many others.
UDL is founded on this idea of the “curb-cut effect.” UDL focuses on designing classrooms and schools to provide multiple ways for students to learn. While the original focus was making the curriculum accessible to multiple types of learners, UDL also informs the physical design of classrooms and schools. Procurement professionals are focusing on furniture and technology purchases that provide flexible, accessible, and supportive environments so that all learners can benefit. Today entire conferences, such as EDspaces, focus on classroom and school design to improve learning outcomes.
There is now a solid research base indicating that the design of learning spaces is a critical factor in educational success: Learning space design changes can significantly influence student engagement, well-being, and academic achievement. While we focus on obvious benefits for specific types of learners, we often find unexpected ways that all students benefit. Adjustable desks designed for wheelchair users can improve focus and reduce fatigue in many students, especially those with ADHD. Providing captions on videos, first made available for deaf students, benefit ELL and other students struggling to learn to read.
Applying UDL to school purchasing decisions
UDL represents a paradigm shift from retrofitting solutions for individual students to proactively designing inclusive environments from the ground up. Strategic purchasing focuses on choosing furniture and tech tools that provide multiple means of engagement that can motivate and support all types of learners.
Furniture that works for everyone
Modern classroom furniture has evolved far beyond the traditional one-size-fits-all model. Flexible seating options such as stability balls, wobble cushions, and standing desks can transform classroom dynamics. While these options support students with ADHD or sensory processing needs, they also provide choice and movement opportunities that enhance engagement for neurotypical students. Research consistently shows that physical comfort directly correlates with cognitive performance and attention span.
Modular furniture systems offer exceptional value by adapting to changing needs throughout the school year. Tables and desks that can be easily reconfigured support collaborative learning, individual work, and various teaching methodologies. Storage solutions with clear labeling systems and accessible heights benefit students with visual impairments and executive functioning challenges while helping all students maintain organization and independence.
Technology that opens doors for all learners
Assistive technology has evolved from specialized, expensive solutions to mainstream tools that benefit diverse learners. Screen readers like NVDA and JAWS remain essential for students with visual impairments, but their availability also supports students with dyslexia who benefit from auditory reinforcement of text. When procuring software licenses, prioritize platforms with built-in accessibility features rather than purchasing separate assistive tools.
Voice-to-text technology exemplifies the UDL principle perfectly. While crucial for students with fine motor challenges or dysgraphia, these tools also benefit students who process information verbally, ELL learners practicing pronunciation, and any student working through complex ideas more efficiently through speech than typing.
Adaptive keyboards and alternative input devices address various physical needs while offering all students options for comfortable, efficient interaction with technology. Consider keyboards with larger keys, customizable layouts, or touchscreen interfaces that can serve multiple purposes across your student population.
Interactive displays and tablets with built-in accessibility features provide multiple means of engagement and expression. Touch interfaces support students with motor difficulties while offering kinesthetic learning opportunities for all students. When evaluating these technologies, prioritize devices with robust accessibility settings including font size adjustment, color contrast options, and alternative navigation methods.
Maximizing your procurement impact
Strategic procurement for UDL requires thinking beyond individual products to consider system-wide compatibility and scalability. Prioritize vendors who demonstrate commitment to accessibility standards and provide comprehensive training on using accessibility features. The most advanced assistive technology becomes worthless without proper implementation and support.
Conduct needs assessments that go beyond compliance requirements to understand your learning community’s diverse needs. Engage with special education teams, occupational therapists, and technology specialists during the procurement process. Their insights can prevent costly mistakes and identify opportunities for solutions that serve multiple populations.
Consider total cost of ownership when evaluating options. Adjustable-height desks may cost more initially but can eliminate the need for specialized furniture for individual students. Similarly, mainstream technology with robust accessibility features often costs less than specialized assistive devices while serving broader populations.
Pilot programs prove invaluable for testing solutions before large-scale implementation. Start with small purchases to evaluate effectiveness, durability, and user satisfaction across diverse learners. Document outcomes to build compelling cases for broader adoption.
The business case for UDL
Procurement decisions guided by UDL principles deliver measurable returns on investment. Reduced need for individualized accommodations decreases administrative overhead while improving response times for student needs. Universal solutions eliminate the stigma associated with specialized equipment, promoting inclusive classroom cultures that benefit all learners.
Leslie Stebbins, Research4Ed
Leslie Stebbins is the director of Research4Ed. She has more than twenty-five years of experience in higher education and K-12 learning and design. She has an M.Ed. from the Technology Innovation & Education Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Simmons College.
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Less than a month after a fire devastated a local arts hub, Red Hook Open Studios is going ahead as planned — mostly — this weekend, Oct. 11 and 12.
The annual event invites New Yorkers to explore dozens of usually-private artist studios around the nabe, meet artists, and buy their work directly from the source.
But dozens of those studios and hundreds of pieces of artwork were destroyed in a five-alarm fire at 481 Van Brunt St. on Sept. 18. Many artists lost everything, and even the studios that survived suffered significant water and mold damage and aren’t safe to enter.
The Sept. 18 fire destroyed dozens of studios and hundreds of pieces of art. File photo by Lloyd Mitchell
So Red Hook Open Studios has pivoted.
“There are rumors saying that it’s been cancelled because of the fire but that’s so far from the truth,” said event organizer Deborah Ugoretz.
About 40 artists who had signed up to take part in Open Studios were not impacted by the fire, Ugoretz said. Some, like Ugoretz herself, have studios in parts of the Van Brunt Street warehouse that were unaffected by the blaze. Many others are scattered around the neighborhood, from the waterfront to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Red Hook creates the Rebuild Gallery
But supporting those artists who had lost everything has been front of mind since the night of the fire, said Carly Baker Rice, executive director of the Red Hook Business Alliance, a partner of RHOS.
Almost immediately, Sean Moore, the owner of a soon-to-be-opened waterfront yoga studio called The Swan Club, said they could use his space. Thus, the Rebuild Gallery was born, featuring about 50 pieces of art from those affected by the fire.
Some of the artists taking part are exhibiting work they had stored at home, Ugoretz said, or managed to borrow their own pieces from other exhibitions or buyers. Others, like Faye Harnest, created something new.
The Rebuild Gallery at The Swan Club features works from about 50 artists impacted by the fire. Photo courtesy of Ethan Cornell
Harnest, a comic and sculpture artist, had been sharing a studio at 481 Van Brunt St. with three other artists for about a year, she said. But she had been dreaming of working in the building for much longer.
“Every day I was like, this is a dream, this is too good to be true,” she said.
Some of Harnest’s work was saved by chance. The night of the fire, much of her work was on display in galleries and exhibits, far from the warehouse. Her studio mates lost their finished pieces, art supplies, and more.
“The biggest thing for me, besides just losing that dream of a space, was that I had my sketchbooks in there, sketchbooks of the work I’ve been doing for the last couple of years on a graphic memoir I’ve been working on,” Harnest explained.
But she also lost a space to show off her art.
“I had signed up for the Open Studios and was really excited,” she said. “I was just gonna put everything in there and let people, like, touch my sculptures and look through my comics and be able to ask questions.”
When she was asked to be part of the Rebuild Gallery, Harnest decided to create a new piece titled “Are We Safe?”
Harnest’s piece for the Rebuild Gallery, titled “Are We Safe?” Photo courtesy of Faye Harnest
The piece features a large, soft sculpture surrounding a drawing of floating islands and buildings, all asking each other “Are you safe?” and “Are we safe?”
One of the buildings is an homage to 481 Van Brunt St., with its brick walls and large, iconic windows.
“When I started making it, it was about all the artists that lost so much and their grief and just kind of, wanting to make something about that for them,” Harnest said. “It became about the community’s ability to help and their generosity, and then it kind of made me think of the world at large and how there are just so many people in so many places that are not safe … there are other people who are asking if they can help, and who are helping, even if they’re not completely safe for themselves.”
A sliver of 481 Van Brunt St. on the left side of the illustration. Photo courtesy of Faye Harnest
Red Hook Open Studios is a group effort, and this year’s event has needed more volunteers doing more work than before.
Artist Ethan Cornell, one of a number of artists who had studios at Hot Wood Arts, which was devastated by the fire, helped organize the Rebuild Gallery.
Cornell rented a studio at Hot Wood for ten years, he said, and had longed to join the collective for years before a studio became available. Hot Wood offered more than just a space to work, he said, it offered a community of artists supported by founder Megan Suttles, who is also a RHOS co-organizer.
“I had paintings in there that had serious personal history for me, but also works that I had sold, and that people were gonna come pick up, so some things that people had paid for,” he said. “It was, it was sort of multi-level, like, I lost the tools, I lost the artwork, I lost the money, I lost memories.”
Staying busy has helped keep his mind off the loss, Cornell said, and helping with the Rebuild Gallery has kept him plenty occupied.
“It’s been really good,” he said. “People were very appreciative when they came and left work, people have said they’re really glad to have it happen.”
The Rebuild Gallery ensured those artists who lost their space and work could still take part in Red Hook Open Studios.Photo courtesy of Ethan Cornell
It has also highlighted the strength of the community, Cornell said. Some artists have been able to salvage works from 481 Van Brunt St., but the gallery had to ask that those pieces not be exhibited due to mold concerns.
But that message came late for at least one person, who arrived at the gallery with a piece rescued from the warehouse and were told they had to bring it home. For a moment, the artist was fairly upset, Cornell said.
“Alomost immediately they were like, ‘I’m really sorry,’” he said. “And I was like, ‘I’m really sorry too.’ Everybody’s a little jangled up, especially people who actually lost their space. I felt there was a lot of community, even when we were disagreeing or something like that.”
Cornell said he didn’t have a piece hung in the gallery as of Thursday, but has a small painting — about six inches by six inches — that he would try to find a space for.
Supporting artists and celebrating Red Hook Open Studios
Outside the studio tours themselves, RHOS is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an outdoor sculpture garden and live performances throughout the weekend. The event is one of Red Hook’s biggest, and shows off the “hidden” studios and businesses tucked away in its industrial corners, Baker-Rice said.
It’s also an opportunity for New Yorkers to support local artists by buying their work.
“You will not regret it when you buy art that you can afford and you put it on your wall and see it every day,” she said. “Everybody has the power to become their own art collector and grow their collection. And Red Hook Open Studios gives you access to art you can buy and art you can afford.”
Red Hook Open Studios runs Oct. 11+12, 1-6 p.m. Admission is free, find a full list of events and a map of studio locations on the RHOS website.
