What gets discussed far less often is that this pattern rarely begins in third or fifth grade, when participation gaps become easier to see. It begins in children’s first classroom experiences, where they learn whether speaking feels safe, whether mistakes are survivable and whether the classroom has room for the way they enter language.

The problem is not simply that some children talk more than others. It is that schools often mistake fast, public participation for understanding and then build opportunity around that mistake. A child who speaks quickly and often is usually read as engaged, confident and capable. A child who hesitates, watches or offers little is more likely to be read as uncertain, underprepared or less able.

Yet speaking in front of others is not a simple measure of understanding. It requires children to process a question, organize language quickly, tolerate public attention and respond while everyone is listening. For multilingual learners, it may also mean searching across languages while monitoring pronunciation and trying not to make a visible mistake.

What can look like “just talking” is often thinking under pressure.

When schools confuse reduced public response with reduced competence, they begin shaping a trajectory. That trajectory is rarely built through cruelty or obvious exclusion. More often, it emerges through small instructional decisions that seem reasonable on the surface. When participation in whole-group discussion decreases, teachers—often out of care—may call on certain students less, simplify questions or stop asking for elaboration. Meanwhile, other students are invited to explain, justify, extend and defend their thinking.

Each decision appears minor, but over time they accumulate. Opportunities to demonstrate complexity expand for some students and quietly contract for others. This is how underestimation takes root in schools — not through overt exclusion, but through a subtle redistribution of opportunity.

The problem deepens when educators collapse many different experiences into the single category of “quiet.” From the outside, quiet students can look similar, but the reasons beneath the silence are not. Some are fluent and expressive in low-pressure settings but constricted in public ones. Others understand directions in two languages and still shut down the moment speaking becomes public.

In everyday classroom moments — during snack, in play, or beside one trusted peer — these same children often become animated and engaged. Expression can expand quickly when pressure is lowered, home language is welcomed, or an adult creates space for response.

In one kindergarten classroom, a child who rarely spoke during group instruction began, almost invisibly, by moving his chair a few inches closer to the circle each day. The teacher noticed and named the shift without demanding more than he was ready to offer. “You came closer today,” she told him, and later, “I see you’re staying with us.”

Within days, he began whispering answers to a partner, and within weeks he was participating in small-group discussion. His language had not suddenly changed. The environment had. That is the point schools too often miss: Participation begins before speech.

In early classrooms, many children participate long before they do so in polished verbal form. They move closer to the group, track the teacher’s face, point instead of answering, imitate actions, sort materials, whisper to peers or respond through gesture and gaze. These are not lesser forms of participation. They are participation in its earliest form.

Yet schools often reward only the most visible and verbally fluent version of engagement, while everything that comes before it is treated as secondary. For multilingual learners and other cautious children, this creates a profound mismatch: their bodies are already engaged while the classroom waits for a kind of public speech they are not yet ready to produce.

If schools want to turn this around, they do not need an expensive new program. They need to stop treating the fastest and most exposed form of response as the clearest proof of understanding.

That shift begins with classroom routines. Before asking for a public answer, teachers can build in real “think time” —10 or 15 seconds that give students a chance to process before the quickest voices take over. They can let students rehearse with a partner before whole-group discussion, so the first public response is not also the first act of language formation.

They can ask students to point to evidence, sketch an idea, jot a sentence or sort materials before speaking aloud. They can return to a child after another voice has entered the conversation, instead of treating one missed moment as closure. And they can widen what counts as participation so that gesture, writing, peer explanation, and home-language processing are recognized as evidence of thought.

Teachers can also lower the social risk built into participation by slowing the pace when questions become more demanding, avoiding rapid-fire questioning that rewards only the quickest responders, and making hesitation less punishing. “Take a second and think” invites participation differently than “Come on, you know this.” “Show me first” opens a door that “Use your words” can close.

Just as important, teachers can look for patterns instead of drawing conclusions from isolated moments. A student who is silent in whole-group discussion but expressive in play, writing, small groups or in another language is not showing an absence of understanding. That variability is information: It shows that expression is conditional, not fixed, and that classroom conditions shape what becomes visible.

These moves do not lower rigor — they make it more accurate. Rigor is not how fast a child can speak in front of others. It is whether a classroom can recognize thought before it arrives in its most polished, public form.

When silence is misinterpreted early, the consequences extend far beyond one discussion. Expectations drift downward. Opportunities narrow. Referrals increase. Children acquire identities they did not choose: hesitant, low, disengaged, behind. What begins as a participation gap becomes an opportunity gap, and over time the system names what it helped create.

The student who lowers her hand is not always unsure, unmotivated or disengaged. She may be calculating whether the room is safe enough for the way she speaks, whether there is time to find language without being rushed, and whether what she is about to say will be met with patience or correction. If schools want more students to participate, they should stop treating voice as something children either have or do not.

Participation is not a trait — it is a condition. Quiet students do not need louder prompts. They need safer entry points. If schools understood that earlier, they might stop asking why some students do not raise their hands and start asking the more important question: What have we taught them participation will cost?

When SXSW EDU launched in 2011, digital learning was on the rise. Computers were becoming commonplace in the classroom, not just in labs down the hall. Digital resources like tutoring videos and edtech platforms were expanding what education could offer. Connection meant accessing tools, people and expertise outside of the classroom.  

The value of technology in education can’t be understated. Even before the COVID pandemic forced schools into fully remote learning, digital platforms were optimizing outcomes. According to a , 81% of educators saw value in digital learning tools. They could accentuate lessons with research, customize projects for student needs, connect students with learnings for potential careers and so much more.

At the same time, digital connection has its downsides, including the harms of excessive screen time and . Some districts are enacting policies to restrict phone use in the classroom, while edtech companies are offering solutions to increase digital wellness and screen value.

Education needs new ways of connecting — approaches to bring people together for in-person wonder and discovery — since meaningful interactions remain at the core of what students need. found that 85% of teachers reported active student engagement and strong relationships with students are top factors in academic success, and 72% of educators engage in practices to build meaningful connections.

— taking place March 9 to 12 in Austin, Texas — is bringing together the brightest minds in education to explore this theme, among other . The event is looking into the future of education to find a path toward stronger relationships for more effective learning.

When we asked participants to pick their favorite panels, the most popular tracks were Teaching & Learning and Equity & Belonging. From workshops to keynotes, sessions are aimed at providing practical advice for supporting students and strategies for balancing the benefits of technology with positive in-person relationships.

This is made clear by one of our selections for , who will take the stage in March. As the CEO and founder of Magicschool AI, a tool that amplifies educator impact, Khan understands how to balance digital and human connection for the biggest impact. He will share how to harness tools to center teachers and connections.

Featured sessions will focus on social health, to ensure students are forming positive relationships with each other. In one session, , panelists will dive into a Brookings Institution report to better understand the impact of digital platforms on cognitive, social and emotional development. In another, author will present research on trends and predictions for the future of community.

Connection isn’t just for students. Teachers benefit from stronger relationships and interactions with peers. Educator burnout can put schools at risk, and a found that teachers experience less burnout when they have mentorship and collaboration.

That is why SXSW EDU is doubling the amount of . There are over 120 opportunities to connect in one-on-one sessions and roundtable discussions. More than 30 meet-ups planned for March give attendees an opportunity to talk to others and expand their community. And there are more opportunities to network at pop-up dinners, walking tours and socials.

Bridging different roles and focus areas has always been at the core of the mission for SXSW EDU. It is a chance for educators to come together to learn across the learning life cycle, from Pre-K to continuing education, but also learn across roles and disciplines. Professionals from every walk of life — educators, filmmakers, researchers, policy makers, nonprofit leaders and edtech founders — all attend the conference and festival for a holistic view of education.

On Thursday, March 12, Crossover Day adds even more programming for educators to connect outside of their discipline. Attendees at SXSW EDU and SXSW get together to engage with music, film and innovation and to discover new ways to spark connection in the classroom.

It’s time for education professionals to explore new approaches to connect. SXSW EDU provides a chance to come together and discover what’s next in teaching and learning. Visit to learn more.

My son shows me it’s possible to discover something remarkable when we expand what we consider possible. Yet in education, a system with 73% public dissatisfaction and just , we hit walls repeatedly.

This inertia contributes to our current moment: steep declines in reading and math proficiency since 2019, unfilled or filled by uncertified teachers, and growing numbers abandoning public education.

Contrast this with artificial intelligence’s current trajectory.

AI faces massive uncertainty. Nobody knows where it leads or which approaches will prove most valuable. Ethical questions around bias, privacy and accountability remain unresolved.

Yet despite uncertainty — or because of it — nearly every industry is doubling down. Four major tech firms planned for 2025 alone. AI adoption surged from of organizations in one year, with expecting AI to transform their businesses by 2030.

This is a gold rush. Entire ecosystems are seeing transformational potential and refusing to be left behind. Organizations invest not despite uncertainty, but because standing still carries greater risk.

There’s much we can learn from the AI-fueled momentum.

To be clear, this isn’t an argument about AI’s merits. This is a conversation about what becomes possible when people come together around shared aspirations to restore hope, agency and possibility to education. AI’s approach reveals five guiding principles that education leaders should follow:

1. Set a Bold Vision: AI leaders speak in radical terms. Education needs such bold aspirations, not five percent improvements. Talk about 100% access, 100% thriving, 100% success. Young people are leading by demanding approaches that honoring their agency, desire for belonging, and broad aspirations. We need to follow their lead.

2. Play the Long Game: Companies make massive investments for transformation they may not see for years. Education must embrace the same long-term thinking: investing in teacher development programs that mature over years, reimagining curricula for students’ distant futures, building systems that support sustainable excellence over immediate political wins.

3. Don’t Fear Mistakes: AI adoption is rife with failure and course corrections. Despite rapid belief and investment, . Yet companies continue experimenting, learning, adjusting and trying again because they understand that innovation requires iteration. Education must take bold swings, have honest debriefs when things fall flat, adjust and move forward.

4. Democratize Access: AI reached globally in 2025. While quality varies and significant disparities exist, fundamental access has been opened up in ways that seemed impossible just years ago. When it comes to transformative change in education, every child deserves high-quality teachers, engaging curriculum and flourishing environments.

5. Own the Story, and Pass the Mic: Every day, AI gains new ambassadors among everyday people, inspiring others to jump in. The most powerful education stories come from young people discovering breakthroughs during light bulb moments, from parents seeing children thrive, from teachers witnessing walls coming down and possibilities surpassing imagination. We need to pass the mic, creating platforms for students to share what meaningful learning looks like, which will unlock aspirational stories that shift the system.

None of this is possible without student engagement. When students have voice and agency, believe in learning’s relevance and feel supported, transformative outcomes follow. As CEO of Our Turn, I was privileged to be part of efforts that inspired leaders and institutions across the country to invest in student engagement as a core strategy. : all eight measures of school engagement tracked by Gallup reached their highest levels in 2025. This is an opportunity to build positive momentum; consistently demonstrates engagement relates to academic achievement, post-secondary readiness, critical thinking, persistence and enhanced mental health.

Student engagement is the foundation from which all other educational outcomes flow. When we center student voice, we go from improving schools to galvanizing the next generation of engaged citizens and leaders our democracy desperately needs.

High-quality teachers are also essential. Over are filled by uncertified teachers, with 45,500 unfilled. Teachers earn than similarly educated professionals. About result from teachers leaving due to low salaries, difficult conditions or inadequate support.

Programs like prove what’s possible: over 90% of new teachers returned after 2023-24, versus just under 80% citywide. We must create conditions where teaching is sustainable and honored through higher salaries, better working conditions, meaningful professional development and cultures that value educators as professionals.

Investing in teacher quality is fundamental to workforce development, economic competitiveness and ensuring every child has access to excellent instruction. When we frame this as both a moral imperative and an economic necessity, we create the coalition necessary for lasting change.

Finally, transformation must focus on skill development. The workforce young people are entering demands more than technical knowledge; it requires integrated capabilities for navigating complexity, building authentic relationships and creating meaningful change.

At , we’ve worked with foundations and organizations to develop leadership skills that result in greater innovation and impact. Our goals: young people more engaged in school and communities, and companies reporting greater levels of innovation, impact and financial sustainability.

The appeal here is undeniable. Workforce development consistently ranks among the top priorities across political divides. Given the rapid rate of change in our culture and economy, we need to develop skills for careers that don’t yet exist, for challenges we can’t yet imagine, for a world that demands creativity, adaptability and resilience.

The AI gold rush shows what’s possible when we set bold visions, invest for the long term, embrace learning from failure, democratize access and amplify voices closest to transformation.Our children, like my son drawing superheroes on worksheet backs, are in chrysalis moments. The choice is ours: remain paralyzed by complexity or channel the same urgency, investment and unity of purpose driving the AI revolution. We know what works: student engagement, quality teachers and future-ready skills. The question isn’t whether we have solutions. It’s whether we have courage to pursue them.

Drawing on the responses of 1,400 K–12 superintendents, principals, teachers, parents and students across the United States, the Insights report spotlights the promise and the challenge of keeping students connected to learning.

More than 90% of teachers, principals, and superintendents agree that engagement is one of the most important predictors of student success. Nearly all students (92%) say that engaging lessons make school more enjoyable. And 99% of superintendents rank engagement as one of the top indicators of achievement. 

But they don’t agree on how to measure engagement – or even how to define it. For example, students report higher levels of engagement than teachers do, but even then, only 63% of students say they feel “highly engaged” in class. There is an almost 20-point gap between students reporting being highly engaged and what teachers believe. 

And teachers overwhelmingly point to outward indicators of engagement, such as asking thoughtful questions or contributing to discussions. Less obvious signs, like persistence, are often overlooked. 

This gap in the perceptions between students and teachers is an essential challenge to address. When educators miss the signals of engagement, they may misinterpret students as being disengaged, even when they are fully vested in learning. 

Superintendents, unsurprisingly, view student engagement from a lens focused on student outcomes. Nearly all surveyed superintendents rate engagement as a top predictor of success and are far more likely than teachers to see test performance as a leading sign of engagement. 

These differences — leaders equating engagement with performance, teachers seeking observable behaviors and students experiencing quiet or compliance-based engagement — undercut the effectiveness of efforts to increase student engagement. Often, leaders’ emphasis on systems of measurement collides with teachers’ limited time and tools to enact engaging, personalized learning at scale. 

Students are clear about what fuels their motivation. They want relevance: learning that connects with their lives and future plans. Across all groups surveyed, relevance consistently ranked as one of the most critical factors impacting engagement. Students also seek challenge. Somewhat surprisingly, nearly four out of five say that school often feels easy, while wanting deeper, more meaningful work. Students report that challenging lessons can spark curiosity and engagement, which is consistent with teachers’ views.  

Educators are aware of the obstacles to greater student engagement. One of the biggest is that engagement can vary by learner, subject and even the day of the week. Teachers also point to the lack of time and resources as a barrier to creating the right conditions.  

In the Insights report, teachers identify a concern around the lack of tools to measure engagement. While nearly all superintendents say their district has a system for measuring it, only about 60% of teachers agree. This disconnect is a tall hurdle to overcome in fostering more engagement for all students.  

Alignment across teachers, principals and district leaders can create the clarity needed to recognize different forms of engagement and respond effectively. Students thrive when teachers have the time they need to prepare and personalize lessons.  

The report’s findings emphasize that engagement isn’t a “nice to have.” It is a precondition for student success. Without it, students may comply but not necessarily thrive. With it, they are more motivated, ready for challenges and more likely to succeed in the present and the future. 

It is imperative that districts build more coherent strategies that move beyond encouraging engagement to shared definitions, frameworks and measurement. The approach should recognize that quiet, reflective or multilingual learners may demonstrate engagement differently than more outwardly expressive students do. Districts should also provide the time, tools and training for teachers to design relevant, personalized lessons; and harness engaging multimodal content and digital tools to support, not distract from, engagement. 

Engagement is a prerequisite to learning. However, as the Insights eport shows, engagement doesn’t just happen, and it doesn’t have a widely or universally accepted definition or measurement. Instead, fostering and sustaining engagement requires clarity, alignment, intentional strategies and purposeful resources. Garnering widespread agreement on a definition — and adoption of that definition — will enable engaging and successful learning experiences for all students. 

In the winter, students can snowshoe, icefish or bust out new snowtubes at a nearby hill as their classmates calculate speed and acceleration. 

Pandemic era funding allowed schools to get creative with bringing students back to the classroom. At Limestone, led to the formation of an outdoor science program, principal Ben Lothrop said.

“Everything is connected to the curriculum,” Lothrop said. “They’re certainly having fun and they’re learning lifelong skills, but they’re actually learning about math and science too.”

About four hours away, Maine Academy of Natural Sciences’ outdoor programming is the school’s “bread and butter,” said Evan Coleman, the school’s director of curriculum and instruction. The high school campus in central Maine is host to several greenhouses, a collection of beehives and a sugar shack, outdoor programs that have been expanded through COVID funding.

In the years since the pandemic, however, the purpose of spending time outdoors — or “green time” — has become a possible next step toward reengaging students and boosting mental health and academics — the same goal behind a growing movement of cell phone bans and restrictions. Schools are also being seen as key in closing the “nature gap,” where low-income communities have less access to green space than wealthier families.

“You don’t need a giant swath of green space or forest to get a lot of these mental and physical health benefits,” said Lincoln Larson, an associate professor at North Carolina State University’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. “Sometimes just a tree on the sidewalk can yield a lot of the same benefits, or a little pocket park. It doesn’t have to be this giant well-planned thing.”

Some barriers exist, including in the most extreme cases where urban schools are located on – areas that lack green space and absorb heat. For other schools that may not be as limited by environmental factors, large outdoor programming has slowed down because of the expiration of school COVID relief money in Sept. 2024. Holding classes outside can even be challenging sometimes as schools navigate teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and limited flexibility with curriculum. 

Research shows a correlation between time spent outside and students’ , skills and academic and , so although “technology isn’t going away” and “much of it is really important for learning,” said Page Nichols, the chief innovation officer at the Maine Department of Education, time outdoors “really speaks for itself and how it’s supporting a student holistically.”

Local have pushed for the importance of incorporating green space on school campuses. Earlier this year, and joined state and in signing laws aimed at establishing more outdoor programs for students. 

By early 2026, Maine’s education department plans to issue outside learning recommendations to schools to help them expand programs that may boost student well-being with little to no cost and where they may have limited outdoor space.

The hope is that the work means outdoor time won’t have to become “this big extra lift because it’s really a part of the [school] day,” Nichols said. It may be a model for other states to follow, “but, it takes a while to get there.”

Schools as an equity bridge for the ‘nature gap’ 

Getting a child outside isn’t always as easy as it sounds as dedicated outdoor space is changing quickly. 

Jenny Rowland-Shea, the director for public lands at the , said the United States is losing natural land at a rate of a football field every 30 seconds and “it is disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income communities.”

Communities of color are three times more likely, at 74%, than white communities (23%) to live in nature deprived areas, defined as places with less nature than the state average. About 70% of low-income communities live in nature-deprived areas, which is 20% higher than those with higher economic stability, according to a Rowland-Shea conducted. 

“We’re also finding that families with children are more likely to live in these areas that are nature deprived,” Rowland-Shea said. “That’s only compounded when we look at families with children who are people of color and that are low income.” 

There’s a hope that schools may be able to bridge the “nature gap.”

“Kids may not have a park in their backyard or that’s walkable in their neighborhood, but pretty much all kids go to schools and they spend a lot of time there, so the idea is that if you can have green school yards, then that’s a way to provide equitable access to nature for all,” said Kathryn Stevenson, an associate professor at the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University. 

Just 10, 15 minutes helps

While children are spending less time outdoors, they’re also spending over seven hours in front of cellphones and computers, to the National Recreation and Park Association.

It’s a mental health double-whammy as studies show that excessive screen time and heightens stress reactions while time outside has the on the brain.

The and theories are “two prevailing” proposals that explain the benefits of outdoor time on the human body, Larson said.

The theories suggest “that when we’re constantly bombarded by electronic stimuli … our minds are just frantic,” Larson said. But, time outdoors has a natural effect on the brains that lowers stress levels. For students specifically, this means better memory, concentration, mood and overall well-being.

“Nature gives us space, gives us time and gives our brains just an opportunity to reset – to restore our attention – so that we can deeply engage with things,” Larson said. “You could stare at a tree and your mind slowly calms down.” 

An appetite for the outdoors from students and educators

Like many other states, Maine signed that requires schools to have policies around cell phone use by 2026. 

Administrators at both Limestone Community School and Maine Academy of Natural Sciences have not implemented full bell-to-bell bans, but allow students to have access to their phones during lunch. They say their programming has helped keep students off their phones naturally.

 “I won’t say the problem is gone across the board, but kids got on board really quickly, especially when they’re doing things that they’re engaged in,” said Coleman of the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences. “Bringing back the joy of that type of learning in the physical world is something … that keeps students interested in what we do as a school.”

Since establishing their outdoor science program , Limestone principal Lothrop, said he’s seen an increase in attendance and improvement in classroom behavior.

“The kids want to be here,” Lothrop said. “They don’t want to miss anything. They know today we might be making syrup, or they know in English class they might be reading this book that they’ve gotten into.”

Tracy Larson, a former teacher who now works at , a Minnesota based nonprofit that provides outdoor programming to schools, said from her experience, outdoor education has also become a way to fill the opportunity gap affecting low income students. 

“For students who are not intrinsically motivated to learn in the classroom when they go outside …,” Larson said, “you start to see them tapping into their curiosity, wanting to connect with others and maybe finding that this is really where they thrive.”

The appetite for outdoor learning extends across the country and is something students have expressed interest in for years.

In September 2020, researchers at the University of Michigan to 14-24 year olds that asked the youth to respond with their thoughts on time spent in nature and well-being. 

With over 1,000 respondents, the study found nearly 90% wanted to spend more time in nature, over 50% said nature made them feel calm and 22% said it reduced stress and anxiety. About 22% of responses also said there were barriers toward spending more time outside, including busy schedules, the pandemic and their environment. 

“A big takeaway was that the youth did see nature as like a real resource that could support mental and physical health,” said Astrid Zamora, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine and a coauthor of the report, “but accessing it wasn’t always an option.”

Struggling with debilitating anxiety, only heightened by the realities of a chronically under-resourced public education system, I didn’t even think I’d reach age 18. By 10th grade, in a large public high school in Nashville, Tennessee, I understood one thing: School made me miserable. Why would any student, regardless of capability or potential, want to continue down a path that agonized her?

I needed a fundamental reset. When I was 16, my mom decided it would be best to move back to her hometown of Elizabethton, Tennessee, nearly 300 miles across the state. At the height of the pandemic, we packed up our car, rented a house online, and settled into a small, weathered, and historic town nestled in a valley of the Appalachian Mountains.

Even after moving across the state and starting at Elizabethton High School (EHS) — an XQ School that was less than half the size of my last school — I begged my mom to let me enroll in an online high school instead. This was my chance for a fresh start. Why would I want to go back to a system, albeit in a new town, that I suffered so greatly from?

“Let’s just go talk to the school counselor,” my mom would say.

“We can always do the online school thing, you know, if you hate it here so much,” my aunt would reassure me.

Every muscle in my body fought against walking through the doors of EHS — where many of my family members had graduated. I didn’t want to be a Cyclone. I was convinced that only misery awaited me on the other side. The debilitating, school-induced anxiety began knocking at my door.

Reluctantly, I agreed to a meeting with the school counselor, and two days before the start of the school year, I was enrolled as an 11th grader, expected to report to first-period Spanish on Monday.

What I didn’t expect, however, was the school principal, Jon Minton, walking me to class that fateful Monday, after receiving word of an anxious transfer student from Nashville. This was the first act of kindness of many at EHS, and these acts of kindness have extended far beyond my graduation.

At my old, 2,200-student high school, I never had a sense of community. Isolation, loneliness, and a lack of purpose were the defining characteristics of my first high school experience. Teachers and staff members were overworked and overwhelmed, busy trying to navigate the challenges of our large and diverse high school to form one-on-one connections. Looking back, I can see how important the connections I made at Elizabethton were in helping me find my path. Since then, I’ve learned that my experience is backed by science. that relationships between students and educators, built on mutual respect, are essential to student success.

As , EHS embraces XQ design principles—among them, the importance of caring, trusting relationships between students and the adults around them. For me, those relationships began to take shape the moment I stepped through the door.

Dr. Minton walked me to my Spanish class, taught by Maggie Booher, a recent college graduate and a brand-new educator about to teach her first class ever. I didn’t see the principal much after that, but knowing that he knew me and had my best interests in mind eased my anxieties in a way I had never experienced.

Like me, Ms. Booher was completely new to the school community. Her energy was infectious, spreading kindness in her classroom and in every part of our school. Throughout my time at EHS, she remained someone I knew I could go to if I needed anything at all.

Within my first five minutes at EHS, I’d made two invaluable connections.

Later that day, my counselor, examining my transcript, placed me in a class dedicated to creating our annual yearbook,a class I got credit for. This one decision was responsible for a chain of events that eventually led me to the path I’m on today.

The yearbook class met in the back of the library. I ate my lunch surrounded by books, often making my way through those doors. There’s sometimes a stigma around students eating lunch in the library, but being able to eat in a comfortable environment where I felt safe, understood, and free from judgment influenced my success as a student. The library was a safe place, and it’s where I met Dustin Hensley. 

Calling Mr. Hensley a librarian doesn’t do him justice; he embodies the ideals of a true educator and mentor. He’s an adjunct professor at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), the school I now call home, and the school he encouraged me to apply to. An advocate for student voice and innovative learning, Mr. Hensley created a safe environment for all students within the walls of the library. He has continued to look out for me and send opportunities my way, even years after my graduation. Mr. Hensley’s influence — his “keeping tabs” on me — is why I’m an intern at the XQ Institute today.

Being in the yearbook class made me realize a few things: I love getting to know people through interviews, I enjoy writing for something other than an English class, and I’m passionate about creating tangible, impactful content. These revelations led me to study media and communication at ETSU, and in December, I’ll become the first member of my family to graduate from college.

The yearbook class was taught by Daniel Proffitt. He recognized my interest in journalism, and by my senior year, through his connections, I was already writing for our local newspaper, the Elizabethton Star.

I also managed a team of underclassmen in the class, a leadership opportunity that reflects XQ’s principle of youth voice and choice and one I couldn’t have dreamed of at my previous high school. Mr. Proffitt assisted me with multiple projects in college, another tribute to the impactful relationships I gained at EHS.

In the afternoon, I had one of my final classes: an advanced creative writing course. Sara Hardin became both my advanced creative writing and English teacher. She always pushed me to write in varying styles — poetry, playwriting, prose — nothing was off limits. She taught me about the Transcendentalists, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and how their thinking revolutionized an age. On one occasion, I recall taking a self-quiz in her class: “Are You a Transcendentalist?” The results were in, and I belonged in the woods with Emerson.

Mrs. Hardin’s classes participated in a competition each fall, in collaboration with a local theater, where students write a play and have the chance for actors to perform their script on stage. During my first semester at EHS, my play placed in the top five—a first for Mrs. Hardin in 20 years. The pandemic kept us from attending the event, but Mrs. Hardin made sure to save me a seat the next year, even though I was no longer in her class.

In my senior year, I was awarded a scholarship to attend ETSU. It was a full-circle moment for me, accepting an award in my favorite place, the library, for a school that I wanted to go to — especially when, a couple of years earlier, I didn’t want to go to college at all. 

At that moment, I understood my journey was far from over.

I’d walked into the doors of EHS as a student who felt disconnected and disengaged from school, feeling anxious and alone in my journey, but I walked across the stage as a completely new person—a confident, supported, lifelong learner on my path to higher education.

I used to sit in the back of the classroom, trying my best to avoid eye contact with my teacher, but now I sit in the front row of each class, raising my hand at every opportunity.

The two years I spent at EHS changed my life. My mom and I occasionally wonder: Where would I be if I had never had the opportunity to attend EHS and develop the support system that I still have to this day?

I’ll never know. But here is something I know for sure: I’m proud to have graduated from EHS—and even prouder to be a third-generation Cyclone. 

On the day of my graduation, Mrs. Hardin handed me a note. “Don’t stop writing!” 

I’m happy to report, I took her advice. 

Want to learn more about how to create innovative teaching and learning in high schools? Subscribe to the , a newsletter that comes out twice a month for high school teachers.

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While the intentions behind the bans are understandable, are schools unknowingly holding back students in the long run? 

At Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut, we were frustrated by our students’ growing dependency on their cellphones and the potential misuse of AI and other tech tools. But Meriden is also a district that pioneers innovation by embracing new technology and teaching methods. 

The reality is, technology isn’t going away — it’s only going to become more prominent in students’ everyday lives. According to the , AI and technology are  expected to transform 86% of businesses in the next five years, making digital literacy a must-have skill for tomorrow’s workforce. As district administrators, we held the responsibility to foster responsible, productive digital citizens in our hands. We just had to find the right balance between traditional and tech-reliant learning.

The district’s acceptable-use policy provides a solid framework that encourages the responsible use of all technologies while allowing administrators the flexibility to pilot new tools. To help teachers and staff navigate the ever-changing AI landscape, our school leaders and instructional technology team created a library of documents and guidelines, including AI FAQs and an academic honesty and integrity checklist to use with students.

In addition, ensuring the effective use of technology has meant expanding our digital citizenship curriculum. All Meriden students complete grade-appropriate lessons each year, which cover topics including online safety, cyberbullying and how to build a positive online profile. While younger pupils participate in offline simulations to learn about the responsible use of social media in the future, older students can take classes in digital photography, video production and other tech-related topics.

Refining our technology guidelines required us to revisit our cellphone usage rules. With, Meriden chose to take the opposite approach. School leaders realized that it’s not the device that matters, but quick and easy access to high-quality digital content. Meriden students have always been able to access digital curriculum through their Chromebooks in the classroom, but they prefer the convenience and familiarity of their smartphones.

So rather than sitting in a pouch all day, cellphones are now being used as learning tools. Meriden students use their phones to create photos, audio recordings and videos to demonstrate learning, monitor assignments and grades in , and regularly communicate with teachers, counselors and coaches through . They also rely on their phones to access critical AI learning tools, including , which generates personalized study guides and practice questions, and the that teaches ethical digital practices and allows them to conduct research in a controlled environment.

To promote the effective use of AI, cellphones and social media, the district provides educators  with training on integrating technology into learning and student data privacy. While teachers can request that  phones be “off-and-away” during class time, many have made them a part of their lessons. For instance, in math classes, students are encouraged to take photos of the examples and use them as guides when solving complex problems. In dual-enrollment public speaking classes, students record their speeches, which helps them work on timing, pacing and delivery.  Similarly, in physical education classes, students use their phones to demonstrate proper form and receive feedback on personalized workouts.

Embracing technology allows educators the flexibility to facilitate small-group instruction during class time. While one group of students learns alongside the teacher, their classmates work on digital content at their own pace and grade level with a virtual tutor such as and .

Tools like have also helped educators automate daily tasks, such as generating rubrics and creating learning materials, while streamlines the grading process, alerts teachers when students are copying and pasting text rather than doing original writing and helps ensure that they receive targeted, personalized instruction. Now, teachers can spend more time interacting with students and less on administrative duties.

As new tools and policies are implemented, the district has continued to keep parents in the loop with information sessions and regular communication. That open dialogue has prevented the pushback many districts have received. Most parents have been receptive to our “off-and-away” cell phone policy, not just from a safety aspect, but an educational one as well.

AI is already reshaping tomorrow’s workplace, and for the sake of students’ success, schools have to take the fear out of technology. Administrators should feel empowered to try different tools, show educators how AI can assist them in their daily operations and design curriculum that thoughtfully incorporates new technology. 

School leaders must do more than equip students with digital literacy skills — they need to teach them how to use digital tools appropriately and responsibly, to be good stewards of technology. There’s power in those cellphones sitting in students’ pockets and backpacks. It’s up to educators to get them to use it the right way.

On the surface, it seems like a simple solution: remove the distraction, and students will focus. But as someone who has spent decades in public education at the K-12 and college level, I see a far more complex issue at play.

Distraction in the classroom is not just about phones—it’s about engagement. The truth is, many students aren’t glued to their screens because they’re addicted. They’re disengaged. 

If a student finds their coursework relevant, meaningful, and motivating, they won’t be on their phone. The best teachers — the ones who truly engage their students —don’t have phone problems in their classrooms.

One of my greatest concerns with this ban is that it applies a one-size-fits-all solution to a diverse population. Schools are not factories; every student is different, and every learning environment is unique. There are schools in New York that have embraced technology in innovative ways — using phones to enhance instruction, conduct research, and facilitate real-world learning. This policy could strip those schools of a valuable tool rather than supporting effective teaching practices.

We should be asking: What are the schools that don’t struggle with phone distractions doing right? What can we learn from their engagement strategies? Instead, we’re resorting to blanket restrictions that fail to address the root of the problem.

The idea that taking away phones will somehow fix students’ mental health struggles is both misguided and oversimplified. Mental health is about relationships, support, and the ability to feel safe and heard. Strong school communities provide students with counseling, peer support, and environments where they can openly discuss their challenges. A policy that removes phones without addressing these fundamental issues is unlikely to yield the results its proponents hope for.

In fact, when I asked students in my college classrooms what they would say to Gov. Hochul or other leaders about this policy, their top concern was safety. The announcement came shortly after the Nashville school shooting, and they told me: “Until schools are truly safe, we need our phones.”

For many students, phones aren’t just a social tool; they’re a lifeline in uncertain situations.

Others brought up an interesting point: Some students use their phones in class to double-check their answers before speaking up. In classrooms where participation can feel intimidating, a phone can be a confidence booster — allowing students to verify information before contributing to discussions.

And then, of course, there’s the practical reality that students will always find a way around bans. My students laughed when I brought up the idea of strict enforcement and shared all the creative ways they already sneak phones into classrooms. Simply banning devices won’t eliminate the behavior — it will just push it underground.

The bottom line is this: Students in highly engaging classrooms aren’t on their phones. They are immersed in project-based learning, tackling real-world problems, conducting research, and developing solutions. They are in environments where they feel seen, where their voices matter, and where their education is relevant to their lives.

We need to focus on these types of classrooms. Let’s study what the most effective teachers are doing and bring those practices into more schools. Let’s invest in instructional design that excites students rather than assuming that taking away a device will force engagement.

A cellphone ban is an easy policy to announce, but a much harder one to enforce. And more importantly, it doesn’t solve the real issue. If we want students off their phones, we need to give them a reason to put them down—not by force, but by making their education something they want to engage in.

At West Collierville Middle School in Tennessee, our student body reflects the diversity that defines America. We have students from 34 countries who speak 24 languages. Last August, as always, the art teachers, including myself, started the school year with a collaborative project. But this time, we aspired to make a more profound impact by involving as many student artists as possible.

Although Americans have opportunities to recognize and celebrate what makes our schools, communities and country so special, division still exists in our nation. Such division was growing more apparent to my colleagues and me in the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election.

This, in part, led to our decision to have all of our art students participate in the international . This project invites young people around the globe to use their power and creativity to build a more peaceful world. We wanted our students to take part in something that could help them realize what binds us all together. 

We created the “United We Stand” collage together, consisting of individual 6-inch red, white and blue squares created by over 800 students. When combined, they form a large image of the American flag.

But this is no ordinary flag. Inspired by artists Jasper Johns and Norman Rockwell, we encouraged students to express what peace, hope and love mean to them personally. Some students included patriotic symbols, while others drew flags from their countries of origin. 

One student, shy at first, asked, “Can I draw a picture of my home?” My answer was a resounding, “Yes!” This project was about honoring each student’s unique perspective and life experiences while showcasing the strength and unity of not only our class, but our school, community and nation. 

The project’s collaborative nature allowed students to connect not only with their classmates, but with kids from different grade levels in the school. For some, it was the first time they were given the freedom to express their creativity in a way that felt so meaningful. Before the pandemic, students had dedicated time for art in the classroom, so being able to create together in person again was extremely powerful for them.

One student artist described drawing a hamburger — something quintessentially American. Another captured a memory of family gatherings, intertwining it with the project’s red, white and blue theme.

This openness to individual expression is vital. By embracing the personal interpretations and representations of each of their peers, students can see and understand one another’s culture and background. This, in turn, allows them to appreciate and value each other’s uniqueness. Through classroom discussions about the project and the students’ conversations with one another as they each designed a piece to contribute to the collage, they learned that peace is not just the absence of conflict, but also the active celebration of diversity. The lesson extended far beyond my classroom. Students from different art classes and grade levels who might not have interacted otherwise found similarities, realizing they had more in common than they initially thought.

Educators are uniquely positioned to shape how young people engage with one another and the world. In times of change or transition, it is essential to equip students with tools that foster understanding, compassion, kindness and cooperation. Creative projects like the “United We Stand” collage provide these opportunities. Cooperative projects teach students to work collaboratively and think critically, work together and express themselves authentically — skills essential for building healthy relationships and a more peaceful, united future.

This message of “United We Stand” was especially resonant during a divisive election year, and it remains so as Americans prepare for the changes that will likely occur now that President Donald Trump has been inaugurated. Yet, this opportunity allowed our school community time to focus on what brings us together and unites us. Through this art project, the students demonstrated that unity doesn’t mean uniformity. In fact, it allowed them to weave their unique stories into a shared narrative that strengthens the fabric of their entire community.

The collage now hangs in the main hallway of our school. It serves as a daily reminder of the power of collective effort and the beauty of diversity. It’s a testament to what we, as teachers and students, but also as Americans, can achieve when we focus on connection rather than conflict.

Stories like these offer a glimmer of hope, serving as true reminders that the next generation holds the promise of a more compassionate, understanding world. Nurturing potential through education prioritizes and helps to grow empathy, creativity and inclusivity.

The report, released Monday by the Washington think tank’s , shows that parents also appear to overestimate how much students “love” going to school. The divergence in perceptions between adults and children only grows with age, mostly driven by a sizable drop in the numbers of students reporting positive experiences in school after the elementary years.

The figures point to a failure not only to keep students engaged in school, but also to keep families informed about the true state of their children’s learning, said Rebecca Winthrop, the report’s lead author and a Brookings senior fellow. Parents themselves, she added, find it “hard to admit” that K–12 education isn’t offering all that it should.

“It is psychologically hard for parents — and I say this from personal experience — to send their kids to school every day knowing that they are just not being challenged, not interested, and not enjoying their time,” said Winthrop.

Data for the report were drawn from , which conducts an ongoing querying pupils in public, charter, and private schools around the United States. A nationally representative sample of over 66,000 students from grades 3–12 was asked about their time at school — including their feelings of self-direction, community ties, and the relevance of the material they studied — between 2021 and 2024.

Additionally, Transcend contacted nearly 1,900 parents of school-aged children in 2023 and 2024, generating a trove of responses that has not previously been shared with the public. The findings, along with five years of personal interviews and reporting, have also been compiled into The Disengaged Teen, by Brookings later this week. 

The data highlight a profound degree of academic and social disengagement among teenagers. While students report comparatively high levels of enjoyment and agency at school, less than one-third of middle and high schoolers said they felt that what they learned was relevant to life outside the classroom, that their classmates persevered “when the work gets hard,” or that they had any say over what happened to them during the school day.

Older students were also more likely to report a sense of disconnection from their learning environments, with less than half saying they felt like they were part of a community or that adults respected their suggestions. Overall, only 36% of respondents from grades 6–12 said they were able to develop their own ideas at school.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the jaded responses grew substantially as children aged into adolescence. While 86% of third graders said they learned a great deal in school, just 44% of 12th graders said the same. The portion of students who said they “loved” going to school fell from 74% to 29% over those 10 academic years. 

While higher percentages of parents always responded more positively to those questions than children, the gap in perceptions also grows significantly with the passage of time. By their freshman year, just 30% of students say they “loved” attending school; by contrast, nearly 70% of parents said they believed their kids loved their time in the classroom.

Especially after the pandemic, when prolonged bouts of virtual instruction frayed the connections between families and schools, parents have been in the dark about the quality of schooling their children receive. being under-informed about students’ academic progress, leading to surprise and alarm when standardized test results reveal gaps in knowledge.

Growing alienation from the rituals and relationships of K–12 schools — particularly apparent in elevated rates of chronic absenteeism, which rocketed upwards during the COVID era — ultimately compound in “lost opportunities to form connections with students,” observed Hedy Chang, executive director of the advocacy group Attendance Works.

“Attendance and engagement are inextricably linked,” Chang wrote in an email. “When chronic absence reaches high levels in classrooms, the churn affects all students, making it harder for teachers to teach and students to learn from each other and their instructors.”

Nat Malkus, the deputy director of education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said it would be useful for schools and districts to offer more feedback to parents about the level of student engagement. But it might be a tall order given the existing demands of data dissemination, he wrote in an email.

“Despite quality tests and lots of communication, parent perceptions of their students’ academic progress don’t match what tests are showing,” argued Malkus, who has student engagement and attendance problems over the last half-decade. “So I am skeptical that an additional layer of data collection and communication will be a breakthrough.”

Winthrop said that, atop families’ evident lack of information and COVID-related disruptions to education delivery, older students simply need to receive more independence and options than they are currently getting in conventional schools. Alternative schooling types, such as those that emphasize student choice and even work experience during the school week, could build a healthier sense of self-determination among young adults, she added.

“Whatever model you look at, if it gives kids more autonomy — holds them to strong standards, but also gives them freedom to apply what they’re learning in the real world — those kids become unstoppable, and they love school. So I think this is a design problem at its core.”

Teaching to a mythical average leaves far too many students bored and disengaged. No wonder has more than doubled to 30% since 2020.

The recently published third annual State of the American Student report from the Center for Reinventing Public Education made a convincing case for a more flexible approach. “Of course, there are few truly ‘average’ students. Every young person who was affected by the pandemic had a different pandemic experience and pandemic recovery support,” the report found. 

It urged: “The pandemic and the ensuing harm to academic progress for a vast swath of America’s students should force a broader reckoning with public education’s underlying systemic failure. In the current system, labeling some students as ‘exceptional’ implies that most students are not, shunts students with the greatest needs into silos where they are denied opportunities to excel, and places a counterproductive stigma on targeted support that many students require to address gaps in their learning.”

Instead, if educators start designing education for students on the margins — the special populations who were disproportionately harmed by the pandemic — all students will benefit.

Children vary in how they engage, make meaning of content and communicate their thinking. Because learner variability is the norm, educators need to start designing for it. What would that look like?

To start, instructional materials would be much more varied and accessible: print, digital, text-to-speech or audiobooks. Students would choose which they would use, and they could count on regular feedback about their work. 

Next, educators would clearly identify a learning goal (i.e. finding the theme of a text or the causes of the Civil War) and design curriculum and instruction to give students options for reaching that goal in multiple ways. For example, educators might use tools like word webs to help students draw on their prior knowledge; employ templates, graphic organizers and concept maps to aid them in taking notes; and design methods for assisting students in tracking their progress and understanding which tools and methods work best for them.

Scenarios such as these reflect the principles of , a framework for improving teaching and learning based on scientific insights. My organization, CAST, pioneered this approach in the 1980s and since has helped to spread it worldwide. Our set forth a roadmap to help educators, curriculum developers and others design for inclusion and reduce barriers to learning. 

Personalized instruction like this already is happening in some places.  

• Over the past seven years, CAST has trained more than 1,500 New Hampshire educators across 140 schools in Universal Design for Learning. Partnering with the state Department of Education, this multi-year initiative aims to transform teaching and learning across the state. Through a variety of techniques, including online learning and statewide workshops, educators worked to increase access and give students more power to direct their own learning by trying different methods and tools. Results are encouraging. Fifty-five percent of participants who responded to a 2022 survey reported that students have become more goal-directed, 47% noted an increase in students’ resourcefulness and 43% reported that their students were more motivated than they were before the teachers engaged in the training.

• Over the past six years, CAST has worked with California educators in 23 counties and 170 districts. We are equipping teachers and paraeducators with tools and strategies to give students with disabilities access to grade-level content standards in inclusive classrooms. Of teachers participating in a survey for evaluating the program, 57% reported increased observations of student motivation, engagement and ownership over their learning, and 70% reported higher inclusion rates of students with disabilities in general education classrooms than before they began using the design principles.

Making examples like these more of the norm will require overcoming inertia and resistance, including from traditional schools of education, which continue to have separate tracks for general and special education teachers. General education graduates of these programs are placed in untenable positions and, without the training or experience to do so, are told to deal with growing numbers of students who have individualized education plans. 

The emergence of artificial intelligence in schools can help, not just in aiding teachers with paperwork and other administrative tasks, but in customizing instruction and providing immediate feedback. When AI gathers, analyzes and reports data, teachers can spend more time planning engaging and relevant lessons and working directly with students to target instruction to their individual needs.

Children with disabilities will continue to receive services for their needs under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, but when educators personalize learning for all, those special education services won’t create the segregation that occurs today. When teachers more routinely meet students where they are, all children will benefit, perhaps in unexpected ways. For example, many technologies designed for one population have now become ubiquitous, helping everyone. Think closed-captioned subtitles on videos or speech-to-text conversions on cellphones. Those with low vision, dyslexia or who are deaf and hard of hearing may have been the first beneficiaries of these innovations, but they are hardly the only ones these days. 

Imagine a similar approach in education. Design for the margins. Impact the world.  

Great leaders are nurtured, not born. They arise from a combination of education, mentorship, encouragement and practical experience. Service learning — an approach where students apply academic and civic knowledge and skills to address real community needs — provides young people with the vital hands-on experiences needed to develop leadership skills. These include investigating real community issues, designing effective programs and implementing those solutions in real life. Such real-life experiences immerse students in curiosity, creativity and empathy — all of which are essential for effective leadership. Programs that provide service learning can help develop these skills and empower young people to effect positive change in their schools and neighborhoods.

One such program was launched in 2022 by the for students in grades 6 to 12. This program invites teams of at least two students, plus an adult mentor, to create service-learning projects in one of four focus areas: education equity, community health, environmental justice or civics and democracy.

Teams take a deep dive into an issue affecting their community by investigating, exploring and understanding specific needs to identify a meaningful and impactful project to take on. Since its launch, the program has served 1,420 students across 29 states and 71 schools and organizations, fostering essential leadership skills and values, and empowering young people — with their boundless energy, creativity, and passion for change — to lead from an early age. 

Developing projects based on community needs hones collaboration skills with peers and local partners. It builds young people’s understanding of systemic issues and root causes, fosters a sense of civic responsibility, taps into empathy and offers opportunities for action and advocacy.

Across the nation, students have used service learning to tackle issues like water conservation, recycling and distracted driving. One student team in New York investigated the negative impacts of the overuse of social media by teens. They developed a “” campaign, which encourages teens to disconnect from social media and technology for five hours on Fridays in an effort to improve mental health and self-esteem. The team’s efforts resulted in , sparking important conversations in St. Lawrence County about social media’s impact. Upon presenting their campaign to their local , over 100 community members signed up to participate.

Another student team from northern California focused on the lack of financial education resources among underprivileged communities. They developed a and offered free in-person and online for kids between the ages of 7 and 11. These efforts can help families start to build generational wealth, close economic gaps and ease financial instability. 

A team from New Jersey known as H20 Heroes embarked on a mission to investigate access to water in places around the world where it is scarce. They found that women and girls are predominantly responsible for collecting water in households where there is no indoor plumbing. In rural India, for example, women and girls walk an average of 2 miles daily, often bearing the heavy burden on their heads. This not only leads to severe health problems, but prevents them from pursuing employment and education, reinforcing the cycle of poverty. In response, the students committed to raising funds to support Wells on Wheels, an initiative that provides water households in India. The leadership team hosted a Water Summit for fifth- and sixth-graders in their school districts, ran a fund-raising contest and sold reusable water bottles.

demonstrates that students engaged in service learning exhibit improved self-esteem, academic performance, civic engagement and social skills. For instance, during the pandemic, student leaders from Chicago collaborated with a local health organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the Latino community. One student who spoke to the leadership council about the experience remarked, “I realized that youth can be a force for global change. This experience opened my eyes to the daily issues affecting our world.”

Such experiences have the power to create the next generation of leaders this nation needs; leaders who respond to the challenges of the world while embodying values like empathy, integrity, transparency, respect and commitment.

Now, more than ever, teens need to be empowered with the education, mentorship and opportunities needed to become the transformative leaders the nation urgently requires. Delaying leadership education until college or adulthood risks wasting young people’s potential. The question is not whether America can afford to invest in the leadership development of today’s youth, but whether it can afford not to.

Well, no, not literally. The American experiment that started in 1776 long predated any sort of public education. It’s true that Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, about the value of education, but his vision was far more limited than what we might think of as public education today. 

The reality is that “public” education wasn’t open to all Americans for much of the nation’s history. Black students didn’t have a right to attend the same schools as white students until the Brown v. Board decision in 1954. Students with disabilities were not guaranteed a until the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.

Hard-won lawsuits and pieces of legislation have made schools open to more kids, but they’re still not public in the same way a public park or an FM radio station is free and open to all. 

That’s because education has space constraints. There are only so many seats at a school, so local districts reserve spots only for those people who can afford to live in the surrounding community.

I’ll use my own family as an example. We live in Fairfax, Virginia, one of the counties in America. There are six “public” high schools within a 15-minute drive of our house, but my kids are zoned for only one of them. We can’t just pick whichever school is the best fit for each child. Our district has a that looks as badly gerrymandered as many congressional districts. 

Families who can’t afford to buy access to a seat at their preferred public school have to resort to other options. About 12% of students are lucky enough to have schools to choose from, but many do not — and the consequences can be severe. 

Here at ����Ӱ��, Marianna McMurdock told the story earlier this spring of parents who have gone to prison for lying about their address in order to send their children to better schools. Similarly, an investigative analysis from Houston Landing found that Texas districts thousands of homeless students from their schools. 

America’s current conception of “public” education says your children are legally entitled to attend any public school they want to … as long as you can afford to live in that community.

Advocates like Pringle have tried to connect public education — such as it is — with the broader project of preserving democracy. In last year, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona went further, saying, “We need public education to keep democracy alive!”

But the link between public education and democracy is tenuous at best. First, it’s that higher levels of education automatically lead to increased electoral participation. As one simple illustration, the highest-turnout election was in 1960, a time when less than half of all American adults . 

Second, while it is true that well-educated people tend to be good citizens and are to turn out to vote than those with less schooling, it’s that the most highly informed citizens are also the most actively partisan. 

Third, cheerleading for the current education system is probably not the best way to strengthen democracy. For example, a recent study found that private school students actually had more political tolerance, political participation, civic knowledge and skills, volunteerism and social capital than those in public school. Charter schools that do a particularly good job boosting noncognitive skills also seem to raise more than other schools do. 

In other words, the best way for education to boost American democracy may be for policymakers to support good schools, regardless of sector. 

What could that look like? A first step would be to expand public school choice. State leaders could broaden to give more students access to more schools. At the local level, districts could expand magnet schools, Montessori or other theme-based schools, public charter schools, early college high schools or dual-enrollment programs. 

A more expansive step would be to provide money for families to find their own schools. Last year, I outlined five key guidelines for policymakers to consider in designing those programs, including whether there was a real check on quality and that supports were in place to help low-income families access good schools. 

Johns Hopkins professor has been making a similar case for educational pluralism. She notes that many parts of the developed world have public education systems that provide funding to a wider variety of schools. The difference is that those countries — which have their own versions of representative democracies — set standards and accountability rules in order for public funds to flow into different types of private schools. 

That’s a form of public education too, albeit a different and more open version than the one most Americans are accustomed to.

As I look at the impact of the pandemic on adolescents, two very different sets of data stand out. First, we have seen huge declines in teenagers’ mental health. In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health, pointing to soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts. In March 2022, the Centers for Disease Control that more than 40 percent teenagers are “persistently sad or lonely;” a follow-up in February 2023 found that number rises to 57% among teenage girls. 

Meanwhile, and are up. In addition, an estimated 22% of students have been (missing more than 10% of school) since the pandemic, while one to two million students have not returned to school at all, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Not surprisingly, the situation is worse for students who have been historically marginalized and underserved. 

Second, and much more encouragingly, we have seen a huge surge in international interest in social and emotional learning (SEL), which supports students’ academic achievement and mental wellness, according to an extensive . While some U.S. politicians play politics with this issue, restricting what can be taught in American classrooms, other nations are coming to us for advice on the practices and policies that will help advance their students’ overall wellbeing. Indeed, countries such as Australia, Israel, Portugal, and Spain are making SEL a national priority. 

Strong business, family and educator support

Fortunately, a growing number of U.S. corporate leaders also get it. They tell us repeatedly that, while they can find employees with the right technical skills, many of these potential hires lack the key social and emotional skills that will help them thrive as team players in the workplace. Indeed, of surveyed executives say skills such as problemsolving and communicating clearly are equally or more important than technical skills. One corporate leader told me his response to policymakers in a state that is eliminating culturally responsive teaching and other SEL-related efforts: “If you don’t want SEL in your schools, you don’t want my business in your state.” 

The business support is not surprising, given the close alignment between employability skills and the : self-awareness (understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses); selfmanagement (including organizational skills, self-discipline, initiative); social awareness (listening, empathy, understanding others’ perspectives); relationship-building (communications, resolving conflict, teamwork); and responsible decision-making (problem-solving, analyzing the pros and cons of various choices).

Although we have heard some divisive narratives in media and politics, the data shows that the vast majority of students, families, and educators strongly support SEL: say it’s at least somewhat important to them that their children’s schools teach them to develop these life skills. Further, say they emphasize SEL in the classroom, 83% say it improves academic outcomes, and 84% say it boosts skills like collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. 

What schools are doing

Educators are building on this strong support—not just to recover from the pandemic but to redesign education. Optimally, they’re taking a systems approach to SEL, teaching it not just as a one-off course in sixth period, but instead integrating it into everything they do. They are strengthening school culture and climate by prioritizing the relationships among students and between students and adults (from teachers to custodians). They are focusing on the well-being of staff, who have suffered as well. They are integrating SEL with academics, so that students are learning teamwork during math class discussions and better understanding various perspectives when studying everything from the American Revolution to Shakespeare, among many examples. 

For example, , serving high school students in the Pilsen community of Chicago, has committed to prioritizing both student and adult SEL and well-being. They’ve implemented a competency-based instructional model that gives staff time not only to focus on the academic progress of students but also their social and emotional development. Students have the opportunity to put their SEL into practice when they share insights and perspectives through student committees. The school has also used staff-wide professional learning time to focus on adult SEL, and partnered with families to create a series of parent and caregiver discussions on SEL.

Going forward, we should continue discussing academic loss, but we must also talk about the impact of relationship loss. This is true for all grades, but is particularly important now in high schools, where students’ perception of teacher connection has declined to a new low, according to a survey by the nonprofit YouthTruth: less than a quarter of students say their teachers try to understand their lives outside of school, and less than half say there’s an adult at school who they can talk to when they’re having problems or feeling upset and stressed. 

Unless we strengthen relationships, we won’t close the learning gaps. SEL is not a distraction from academics, but a tool that can help us build relationships so we can get to academic recovery and success. Hundreds of independent studies confirm that SEL positively impacts academic achievement. And recent found that fostering ninth graders’ social and emotional development had a nearly identical impact on their academics as focusing specifically Taking a systems approach to SEL, teaching it not just as a one-off course in sixth period, but instead integrating it into everything they do. THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN STUDENT: FALL 2023 on test-score growth did. When students have social and emotional skills paired with positive relationships that make them feel like part of a community, they want to come to school and learn.

Schools also are strengthening their partnerships with parents and families, a natural outcome of families being more actively engaged in their children’s day-to-day learning during the pandemic. I experienced these challenges firsthand during the past two years, helping my middle schooler and eight-year-old navigate a changing world increasingly powered by digital media. And here comes artificial intelligence—the challenge of separating fact from fiction, good from bad, and making good choices just got a lot harder. Parents and teachers must help educate the next generation for digital citizenship.

Policymakers also have an important role to play. Out of the media glare, strong bipartisan support continues for evidence-based efforts to strengthen students’ well-being—socially, emotionally, and academically. in SEL as part of COVID recovery efforts, and 27 states across the country have adopted SEL standards or competencies to guide pre-K-12 instruction. At the federal level, SEL is being embedded into key legislation, from the federal American Rescue Plan to the Safer Communities Act and bills addressing everything from mental health to opioid addiction. The long-term outcome: more students will succeed not only in school, but at work and in life as well. 

See more from the Center on Reinventing Public Education and its .

The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to be profound and long-lasting. We have already seen substantial short-term effects on young people’s educational experiences, particularly for those from less advantaged backgrounds. It is vital that we fully understand these impacts, including the burden on ethnic minorities and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Amid the pandemic, a team across UCL and the Sutton Trust (a think tank with 25 years’ experience researching social mobility), established the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities study (COSMO for short) to play this vital role for England. Our aim is to build the evidence base to understand the pandemic’s long-term effects on educational and career trajectories.

The study focuses on the experiences of a cohort of young people (those aged 14–15 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic) for whom the disruption had a particularly acute impact at a crucial moment in their educations—with minimal time for catch-up before graduating from secondary school. In addition, this group’s national age-16 examinations (known as GCSEs) were replaced with purely teacher-assessed grades, throwing their usual post-16 transition into further uncertainty.

COSMO has recruited a representative sample of over 13,000 young people in 500 schools across England, over-sampling disadvantaged and ethnic minority groups and targeting other hard-to-reach groups. Young person and parent questionnaires—enhanced with educational administrative data—have collected rich data on young people’s experiences of education and well-being in the aftermath of the pandemic, along with information on their post-16 education transitions. Key findings include:

Young people’s educational experiences during Covid-19 lockdowns varied considerably.

To take one example, we looked at live online lessons, perhaps emblematic of schooling during this period—but certainly not experienced universally. In the early pandemic, the most dramatic differences were between the state and private sectors. State schools with more advantaged students caught up with the amount of live online lessons provided by private schools in the early 2021 lockdown. But schools with poorer students continued to lag, likely because they were tackling important welfare needs.

Young people from less advantaged homes were more likely to report barriers to learning at home.

They were less likely to have a quiet space to focus on learning and more likely to use a mobile device or to share devices to carry out online activities. We also confirmed that those affected by these issues did indeed report spending less time on schoolwork during lockdowns.

The impacts on learning are widespread—and recognized.

Four in five young people told us that their educational progress suffered due to the pandemic. Almost half said that they had not caught up with the learning they lost. Over a third felt they had fallen behind their classmates. This rises to almost half for those who attended schools with the most disadvantaged students.

Efforts to help students catch up have not reached as many as we might hope.

This is perhaps unsurprising given that England’s catch-up spending plans were estimated to be worth around £310 per pupil, vs. £1,830 in the United States. Almost half of young people in the cohort reported that they had received no specific catch-up learning at all. Despite the efforts of the government’s National Tutoring Programme, which aimed to put one-on-one and small group tutoring at the heart of catch-up plans, only 27% of the sample reported receiving this type of assistance.

On a more positive note, there is encouraging evidence that those who did receive small group tutoring were more likely to be from less advantaged backgrounds.

Those who took up tutoring also performed better in their teacher-assessed age-16 examinations, compared to similar individuals who were offered tutoring but did not take it.

We are not the only study across the world aiming to track the long-term implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for young people’s life chances. For example, Generations, led by the Australian National University, is taking a similar approach to ours, tailored to their own context. Other researchers likely are working with similar aims, again with variations depending upon differences in their national contexts and education systems.

Hopefully, we are only at the start of the journey for COSMO. We plan to follow young people as they continue their transition into adult lives, checking in every couple of years or so. This builds on the UK’s existing cohort studies, some of which are now following their members into retirement. About half of our cohort will make this transition via university, starting in autumn 2023. We will seek to learn about their academic preparation for higher education and how they are managing financially against a difficult economic backdrop, among other priorities. Our longer-term follow-ups will focus on experiences in the labor market, family formation, and all other aspects of adult life. Crucially, our research will allow us to understand how these experiences differ depending upon their experiences of the pandemic—and how this has mediated preexisting inequalities.

See more from the Center on Reinventing Public Education and its .

The idea is simple: Civil engagement requires, well, engagement. When parents get to choose their children’s schools, they become more engaged and invested in their communities. That is why Black school founders are launching schools — pastors in churches, former public school teachers in pods. For the Black school founders and education entrepreneurs I work with at , this experience can be transformational for everyone involved. School leaders change and lift their communities, parents become empowered to make positive changes for their families and connect with others doing the same, and students experience and appreciate vastly new experiences and peers.

A new finds strong evidence that private schooling is associated with better civic outcomes than public education. The authors show there’s a statistically significant association between attending private school and having more political tolerance, political participation, civic knowledge and skills, and volunteerism and social capital than students who attended public school. 

As the authors note, it’s clear there is a problem with the status quo, as studies show both public school students and adults are woefully behind on civics education. The trickle-down effects are clear, and public schools are just one of many areas of American life where hostility and lack of trust . Private schools can offer a different experience, where parents are encouraged to be involved and schools must work to earn their trust.

When parents go from a hostile to a cooperative relationship, they can recognize their power to become engaged to make change in their communities; when that option is threatened, they realize they can make a difference and use their voices to maintain their rights.

Not long ago, I participated in a march and rally for school choice alongside over 10,000 people in Florida. Martin Luther King III said at the event, “This is about justice; this is about righteousness; this is about freedom — the freedom to choose for your family and your child.” Disenfranchised parents have become powerful leaders in this cause.

Students are transformed, too. This latest study follows others in showing the potential. For example, shows that Milwaukee voucher recipients showed modestly higher levels of political tolerance, civic skills, future political participation and volunteering than public school students did — notable for a program limited to at-risk communities. And that’s not the only positive life outcome. A found that participating in a voucher program throughout high school reduced a student’s likelihood of being accused of a crime between 21% and 50% — with statistically significant reductions for all types of crimes.

Society does not have to consist of adults at odds and children on the wrong path. There is a better way. Improving civil society is a big task, but school choice offers one pathway for making change. Policymakers should take it for the sake of the present — and the future.

Think of the ripple effect that can occur when just one student gets to attend a school to a place where he or she can thrive; when just one parent goes from feeling ignored to having a seat at the table. Multiply this effect by many students and families, and the potential is clear. It’s time to empower every family and every student to reach their potential so our society can truly thrive.

Denisha Allen is a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and founder of Black Minds Matter.

My daughter, Aries, was one of the students. And I was one of the adults who required educating.

I have written before about my daughter’s struggle with math. My teacher-husband was forced to tutor her at home. My daughter and some fellow students also tried asking their other STEM teachers for help. They did what they could, but, according to my daughter, “They could teach us the math, but since they weren’t making the tests, they weren’t sure what to focus on.”

Matters came to a head before midwinter recess, when the majority of the class failed an exam they’d been led to believe they were prepared for.

My daughter took the initiative to draft an email to her teacher. She ran it by her guidance counselor to make sure it was appropriate. The guidance counselor suggested making it less accusatory and more worried.

The final text read:

Dear (Teacher’s Name Redacted) –

We, the majority of the juniors, are emailing you regarding our concerns about the most recent test.

As you may have noticed when grading it, even the students who completed all of their classwork and all of their homework still struggled.

There were only 3 questions that were similar to the Delta math that we’d been assigned for homework. Because of this, many students who studied hard were still not prepared. The homework led us to believe that the test questions would be different from the ones you ended up using. There were many more of the most difficult questions rather than the ones we’d been assigned for homework.

In class, we spent the entire period working on a total of three questions. On the test, however, there were 10 questions of that nature. We were unprepared to complete 10 such questions in a much reduced time frame. We had never practiced doing so many questions of this type in that amount of time.

Also, in class, it took us a week and a half to complete 25 different types of questions, but, on the test, we were expected to finish 11 such questions in 45 minutes, on top of more questions in areas we hadn’t been prepared for. We are all very worried about the unexpected results of this test, and we are wondering how it will affect our semester grades. In the future, we would all appreciate receiving a more accurate study guide so we can prepare for tests and quizzes by practicing the sorts of problems that will be on our tests and not the material we hadn’t prepared for.

As second-semester Jrs, we are worried about our grades because they are going to be sent to colleges. That’s why we want to work with you to fix and grow from this. This is a new semester and now is the time for us to lay a functional groundwork for the rest of the year as well as be prepared for next year.

Once the text was approved, my daughter sent it to her teacher.

The teacher did not respond during midwinter break. That was to be expected. But there was no response after classes resumed, either.

My daughter returned to her guidance counselor, this time with student representatives from every section this teacher taught.

The guidance counselor spoke to the teacher. The teacher’s response was to show Khan Academy videos during classtime. That wasn’t enough for the students.

My daughter reached out to a member of her school’s newspaper staff who had a strong relationship with the principal. This student escalated their concerns up the administrative chain of command.

The principal sat in on the teacher’s next class. According to my daughter, he looked “disgruntled.”

The following week, there was a new teacher for all the sections. One who, as my daughter delightedly exclaimed, “Makes sense when he talks!”

I supported my daughter in her campaign even though I didn’t expect it to yield results. It never crossed my mind that students might be able to pull off such a coup. 

As an immigrant to the United States, I grew up with two conflicting attitudes toward authority: Those in charge didn’t give a damn about what happened to you … but you should obey them, anyway. They may not have cared if you sank or swam, but rocking the boat guaranteed you’d be thrown overboard. In other words, it’s best to put up with a bad teacher/boss/circumstance, because if you speak up, you’re definitely going to be punished. You can’t fight City Hall!

That fatalist attitude was one of the reasons I allowed my younger son to drop out of high school. He may have, after many, many arguments, convinced me that it was OK to quit an untenable situation. But it took my daughter and her friends to teach me that you could fight back – and win!

I am in awe of what these young people accomplished. They identified their problem, advocated for their position, stuck to their guns and refused to back down until they were presented with a solution that was acceptable to them.

When I told my husband I’d be writing about it, he said, “You’re going to make people angry. They’re going to expect their own schools to be equally as responsive.”

Good. I want them to expect it. I want them to demand it.

I want all American students to know they can challenge their teachers, their principals, the entire education system. They won’t always win. They won’t always be right. But they can and should make their voices heard.

I didn’t believe that. Until some NYC 11th-graders showed me how it’s done.

Lindy Hockenbary is the author of and an instructional technologist who helps educators and schools learn how to better use technology. A large part of Hockenbary’s work is finding new ways for students to feel connected to their teachers so that can occur.

One strategy Hockenbary encourages is instructor-created videos.

A 2014 found that instructor-generated video content improved overall student engagement and satisfaction in higher-ed online courses. Both the number and depth of responses for student discussions increased when teachers incorporated videos they created themselves. 

Jennifer Levanduski, head of marketing for , an ed tech company for digital learning, says that as society and culture change, so does education. As TikTok has popularized shorter, less formal videos, Levanduski and Hockenbary encourage teachers to follow suit. They believe that while more professional videos from platforms like Khan Academy are beneficial for students, more casual and personal videos from teachers can create a deeper sense of connection. Hockenbary cites that found students feel a greater bond with their teacher when teachers incorporate videos they created themselves than in classes where instructor-produced content wasn’t used. ClassIn allows teachers to record and edit videos, as well as create virtual worksheets, create polls, take attendance, offer an interactive blackboard, give out quizzes and grade assignments.

“I think that meeting students where they are has always been super important,” Levanduski says. “And right now, where students are is they’re digesting so much bite-sized video content across platforms. If you can use some of that video content to almost establish a parasocial relationship with your students, that is another way to help you feel connected to them.”

Hockenbary says teachers can create videos for a variety of purposes, including introducing themselves to their class at the start of the year, explaining lessons, going over the syllabus and providing one-on-one feedback to students. She says she encourages teachers not to worry if they stumble over their words a bit while they are recording, because when they are lecturing face-to-face they wouldn’t restart if they mess up. 

During a ClassIn webinar on Jan. 22 moderated by Levanduski, Hockenbary discussed strategies for increasing student engagement in remote, hybrid and in-person classes. Hockenbary noted that engagement is determined by whether students feel like they belong and will be successful in completing assignments. That’s why teachers need to foster a sense of personal relationship and community in their classrooms, she notes, whether it’s face-to-face or virtual.

Though nearly all schools have gone back to in-person instruction, Hockenbary says classroom technology is more relevant than ever. She believes the only way schools are going to increase student engagement is if teachers use a blended format that includes lecturing face-to-face, creating videos or podcasts and using other forms of technology so that learning and engagement can come in multiple forms. 

Another way technology can be useful in boosting students’ interests is by letting those who may be less inclined to speak in class due to social anxiety or being naturally introverted to participate. Levanduski says a student may never raise their hand in class but may chat online or contribute in other nonverbal ways. Hockenbary says technology can also enable students to give teachers feedback anonymously.

“Everybody gets to input, versus if you’re doing that in a lecture environment,” Hockenbary says. “You may only have time to call on one or two students, and it’s not going to be the ones that are shy.”

Half of students in 84 Indiana schools were chronically absent last year. Chronic absenteeism is defined as when students miss at least 10% of school days, or 18 days in a year.  Indiana has its own higher goal for its students— 94% attendance — but 40% are missing that mark.

“Prior to Covid our learning incomes needed improvement,” Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner told ����Ӱ��. “But when you look at our chronic absenteeism data, we’re setting up for a situation that’s a vicious cycle.”

Students who struggle academically, Jenner said, are the most likely to be chronically absent. 

“When they’re missing almost a month of school, or in some cases more than a month, it’s causing significant challenges for our educators to get them caught back up,” she said. 

Indiana is far from alone in its struggle with student attendance. An by Attendance Works and the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University shows that 2 out of 3 students in the U.S. were enrolled in schools with high or extreme rates of chronic absenteeism during the 2021-22 school year. 

Indiana’s numbers are considered extreme. The state’s absenteeism data looks like an inverted bell curve. Children in grades K-2 are absent at higher rates than students in higher elementary grades and middle school. The absenteeism rates go up again in high school. 

But attendance is a problem throughout the grades. Among the most concerning data for state officials are absenteeism rates for fourth graders. of fourth graders were chronically absent last year, according to federal data. of Indiana’s fourth graders scored below basic on federal reading tests last year. Low academic performance is , especially when students are absent five or more days during the month preceding the assessment. 

Indiana fared better than some other states when it came to attendance last year. New Mexico absenteeism rate statewide and Nevada’s was at 36%. But a closer look at Indiana’s data is more troubling.

While nearly 40% of students in Indianapolis, the state’s biggest district, were chronically absent last year, in Gary, that number was more than 70% and in Muncie, more than 60% of students missed more than three weeks of school, according to the State Department of Education. 

“It’s a crisis in our district at every grade level,” said Lee Ann Kwiatkowski, director of public education for Muncie Community Schools. Kwiatkowski said that during the pandemic, school officials encouraged families to keep children home if they were even slightly ill. Now, they’re trying to reverse that message. “We would say, ‘Come pick them up, they’re coughing.’ Now, we see that if a student says they have a headache, parents are letting them stay home,” she said. “We are working to change that narrative.”

The most vulnerable groups are the most likely to be chronically absent, state data shows. More than 30% of Black students missed more than three weeks of school last year. Over a quarter of students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch were chronically absent, as were 1 in 5 English language learners.

Family poverty is one issue at the core of the problem, Jenner said. When asked why they are so frequently absent from school, high school students have said that they have to care for younger siblings while a parent works. Other students report that because they are not fluent in English, they don’t understand what their teachers are saying.

At one Gary, Indiana school in particular, poverty and chronic absenteeism have contributed to low academic achievement. More than 85% of students at Bailly Middle School — now called Bailly STEM Academy — qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. In 2022, just 1% of sixth graders at Bailly met growth targets on state math assessments. That year, Officials in Gary declined to comment.

With this level of chronic absenteeism, Attendance Works Executive Director Hedy Chang said, the school’s climate must be missing core elements that make kids feel safe and engaged. To get students to attend school regularly, administration will have to launch  a school-wide effort to create a secure and welcoming environment. 

“My first question would be, ‘Do I make sure that every kid has an adult on that campus they can talk to?’” Chang said. Physical and emotional safety and a feeling of belonging are among the core conditions necessary to engage students, she said. “You can send out communications saying, ‘we miss you,’ but if a student doesn’t feel like anybody at the school cares about them, some little note might not do a lot.” 

High-poverty communities like the one served by Bailly were hit hardest by the pandemic, Chang added. Low-income families were most likely to include essential workers and to experience the loss of family members, jobs and access to health care. After enduring this kind of stress, families may be particularly cautious about sending children to school, Chang said.

“If you want to tell families that it’s safe for their children to come back to school, you have to make sure that it’s true,” she said. “When schools shut down, the trust between families and schools was eroded.”

Earlier this school year, Indiana state officials development of an early warning dashboard to make educators and parents aware of which students are in danger of not graduating. Attendance will be one of the indicators included in determining who is at risk. The state plans to pilot the dashboard in the next school year. 

The dashboard reflects Indiana’s shifting view of absenteeism, Jenner, the state education secretary, said. Rather than looking at school-site data, the dashboard focuses on individual students. Learning outcomes and attendance data will be posted for each student, to help teachers and families keep track.

“That will be telling, for parents and families,” she said. “They can see early on if their child is chronically absent and what impact that is having.”

She chose to enroll her daughter in Atlas Elementary, a public charter school in the city’s Downtown West neighborhood. Her daughter settled into kindergarten, but Lowman didn’t feel at home in her old hometown.

Volunteering at a school enrollment fair, Lowman stopped and talked with the women at the table. What happened next would help Lowman find a community and become deeply involved in her daughter’s education. She spent the next several months engaged in a combination of research and learning, being coached to understand how to create change in schools.

Founded in January 2022 by a former educator, ActivateSTL trains parents and teens in St. Louis to advocate for quality education. This training and support is needed, parents say, because public schools in St. Louis are so inequitable and on standardized tests. White children are than Black children to attend schools where it’s the norm for students to meet math and language arts standards, according to Missouri state data.

In June, ActivateSTL began its first training cohort with 17 parents and 11 students. It started with a data download: Who’s in charge of traditional public and charter schools — from local school boards to state officials — how do St. Louis’s suspension rates vary by race and gender and what are the student proficiency outcomes at the state, district and individual school levels?

“I had no clue that public school scores were as low as they were,” said Lowman. “Looking at those numbers, that was disheartening. Since then, I’ve been more involved, and not just in the fun stuff, for my kid and others as well.”

That’s the kind of insider understanding that Tiara Jordan wanted to give parents when she started ActivateSTL. Jordan, who is Black, attended mostly white schools when her parents moved the family to an affluent district outside of Flint, Michigan. She saw how assertive white parents were about advocating for their children. Later, while studying to become a teacher, she saw how broken and under-resourced many urban schools are. 

“I was blessed and fortunate,” she said. “Not everybody has the resources to up and move to a better school district.”

Jordan worked as a teacher and principal in Chicago, Cleveland and New York. She opened new charter schools in Chicago and Brooklyn and experienced the benefits that charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, can offer communities where public schools are failing. When she moved to St. Louis in 2019, she connected with the St. Louis-based education nonprofit and was struck by how much work needed to be done to address inequities in the city’s schools. 

“How is it that Chicago, D.C. and other cities have figured this out [better]?,” she recalls wondering. “What is happening in St. Louis that it could be so behind in funding, and proficiency levels?”

But she was new to town, so she spent some time meeting with parents and education advocates and was struck again: so many parents weren’t aware of how badly the city’s schools were struggling. 

“I didn’t want to define what ActivateSTL was without knowing the community,” she says. “We’re mobilizing parents and developing their leadership skills, so they can drive the plan of attack.”

Fully funded by the Opportunity Trust, ActivateSTL has three full-time employees, including Jordan and St. Louis educator LaShonda Hill. They are part of a national movement that has only grown since the pandemic — with groups like and the — to help parents become smarter public education consumers and savvier advocates for change. 

Parents, Jordan says, have more power than they realize to put pressure on state, district and charter officials.

“Our end goal is to get parents in seats of power,” Jordan said. “Going to a I saw how much influence parents could have.”

With support, parents with ideas for how schools can improve might be able to make positive changes. After moving her dyslexic daughter out of several schools because they weren’t providing adequate support, Kathryn Bonney found a private school that offered life-changing tutoring.

“The impact it had on my child was night and day. Utterly transformative,” said Bonney, who is white.

She wondered, what would it take to bring this kind of high-quality tutoring to all St. Louis children with dyslexia? She happened to have a conversation with Tiara Jordan, who encouraged her to pursue the question. 

“ActivateSTL is specifically geared toward parent organizing and leadership,” Bonney said. “Parents like me who have really big ideas.”

She joined the training cohort and got help fleshing out her goal — to have tutors trained in a highly structured, phonics-focused method of reading instruction, present in all St. Louis elementary schools. In addition to meeting other parents passionate about advocacy, she found a mentor in Jordan who assigned Bonney homework to advance the tutoring project: create a pitch deck in PowerPoint or meet with tutoring providers, for example. She also checked in every week to see what progress was being made, Bonney said.

Jordan has an understanding of how educational systems work: who makes decisions at school sites as well as downtown at the central office and in the state capitol. She passes that knowledge on to parents and helps them understand how they can ask for what they want.

When Shae Lowman’s first-grade daughter was struggling with reading, Lowman didn’t know where to begin to address the problem. 

“Tiara did a presentation about who to start with,” Lowman said. “I sent my daughter’s teacher a text and the next week they had my daughter reading. Having the courage and support to point out the discrepancies my daughter was having is fabulous.”

Older students, Jordan believes, can advocate for themselves, with the right support. During a summer training cohort for high school students, 10 teenagers were paid $20 an hour to meet every day for a month. Jordan explained the history and principles of public education and took students on field trips, showing them what the affluent schools in St. Louis look like. They got a bird’s eye view of how unequal school funding really is.

“I want to be an actor and my school took away the theater program,” said Alana Wilson, a senior at KIPP High School. The ActivateSTL training included information about budget transparency, which means parents and students have a right to see how money is spent at the school. “Why is my intended major being replaced with political science?” Wilson asked. 

Wilson, who said she is usually “shy and quiet” has now joined the student council. Together with other members, she asked to meet with the school principal to present a petition, signed by students who want bottled water to be available in the cafeteria in addition to milk, but the principal said it wasn’t her decision to make. Wilson said she’s trying to figure out a different way to handle the situation.

“Before the cohort, I never would have opened my mouth,” Wilson said. “I learned that I have a voice and I don’t have to be silenced by the system.”

The Opportunity Trust provides financial support to ����Ӱ��. 

����Ӱ��’s Linda Jacobson reported earlier this fall on various efforts by school districts to address rising rates of chronic absenteeism. These include districts sending robocalls with the voice of an NFL player, educators bribing chronically absent children with rewards if they return to class, and schools activating “attendance clerks” to monitor students and conduct home visits. 

Millions of taxpayer dollars are funding these programs, including an injection of federal pandemic relief dollars.

But most coverage of the crisis has failed to ask the bigger, far more important question underpinning the attendance numbers: Why don’t kids want to go to school? 

“I think that school has long been perceived as meaningless by most kids,” said Michael Strong, longtime educator, author, and founder of the low-cost virtual school, . “COVID confirmed for many students that school is a meaningless waste of time.” 

It may also have confirmed the same for their parents, many of whom got a glimpse of classrooms and curriculum during prolonged school shutdowns and remote learning. 

Parents of children who are disengaged from school and refusing to attend are regularly referred to The Socratic Experience, which serves students ages 8 to 19. Other parents are looking for a more individualized educational experience for their children that prioritizes personal agency, and are attracted to the online school’s emphasis on “purpose-driven education.”

“There are kids who reject schooling, but as soon as you put them in an environment where their learning is relevant and interesting, they learn rapidly,” said Strong. At The Socratic Experience, that involves a learning approach tailored to each student’s needs and interests, frequent Socractic discussions with peers and adults about relevant, engaging topics, and creative, entrepreneurial projects.

Educators like Strong, who have long worked in the alternative education space where learners’ needs and interests are centered, may help to unlock the root causes of chronic absenteeism and reveal solutions. 

The Socratic Experience is one example of an out-of-system solution that can help disengaged students rekindle their joy of learning, but there are other entrepreneurial educators who are partnering with school districts to offer in-system answers. 

in Denver, Colorado is one such program. It’s a traveling high school that this fall is collaborating with the Aurora Public Schools and the Englewood Public Schools to address chronic absenteeism and credit recovery in creative ways. High school students who are not showing up to school, and who have either been referred to the truancy court or are at risk of being referred, are picked up in The Field Academy van each day to learn throughout the community in an immersive, personalized environment. 

“I was attracted to the idea of disruption within the public system,” said co-founder and executive director, Anna Graves, who spent about a decade in outdoor and wilderness education before turning her attention to public schools. “The first school I tried to open was a charter school,” said Graves. “I thought, this is great, we can do some really amazing things in this work. And then I realized that, actually, we’re still inside four walls. We’re not at a place where this actually feels innovative to me, and it also does not feel applicable to most people’s lives.”

It was her search for out-of-the-box education solutions that would be more relevant and engaging for students that led Graves to see how The Field Academy could serve low-income, chronically absent students. Graves’s current students, who are still enrolled in district schools, are all about a year-and-a-half behind in credits due to absenteeism. Although they are in high school, they are reading at an elementary school level. 

Using creative, community-based credit recovery techniques, The Field Academy makes learning interesting and applicable to the teenagers’ lives. Daily learning may include rock climbing and related lessons around right angles and geometry. A trip to a bike shop resulted in a bike-building project that incorporated math and language arts. One student is really into cars, so the van stops at an auto body shop to allow for observation and hands-on experience. English class takes place at an art museum, with students writing and talking about pieces on the wall.

Graves explained that students who rarely attended school before this fall are happy and eager to be picked up by The Field Academy van each day. She said that her students grew disillusioned with conventional schooling, and especially its coercive, often punitive, environment. Last year, one student only went to school 14 days out of the entire school year. Now, he is excited to learn through The Field Academy. 

“I think the rise in chronic absenteeism is telling us that the system isn’t working for most students, and students are voting with their feet in the same way that we do with any product that we don’t like,” said Graves. “Honestly, I think that schools are getting really strong feedback, and that is why there’s a possibility for a lot of creativity in this moment.”

It was 2018, and 17-year-old Daniella was one of our students at Da Vinci RISE High School. She was an artist interested in graphic design and braiding hair. 

But as a young person in Los Angeles’s foster care system, she spent less time thinking about her passions and more time worrying about her day-to-day survival because her 18th birthday was approaching. On that date, she’d age out of the foster care system overnight, lose access to youth housing resources and be on her own financially. On top of that, Daniella, whose name has been changed in this piece to protect her privacy, was pregnant. 

She was increasingly focused on questions like, “How do I find housing?” “How do I prepare for motherhood?” “How will I afford to live?”

In Los Angeles County alone, there are . Another 7,000 of the county’s children are in foster care. The vast majority of these young people, like Daniella, face challenges that would disrupt the lives of even the most well-resourced adults. The result is that many attend school intermittently, if at all, and are invisible to the traditional school system, which rarely meets their complex needs.

We created to serve Daniella and many others like her in our community. We’re able to do so because we designed a school that bucks the traditional model, with more flexible, personalized learning and supports tailored for each individual student’s needs. 

For Daniella, we helped tailor her education to address her changing life circumstances: as a part of her project, she created a personalized budget, applied for jobs, explored mothering classes, investigated the process to access housing, and what it means for foster youth, all while still demonstrating her individual subject mastery on nationally recognized growth assessments. We use these assessments to inform our teaching and to help young people who feel beaten down by standardized tests get a more nuanced view of where they are making progress.

Listening to students is just one way to rethink high school. For more, check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

We, as principal and executive director of RISE, both know this student population well. We are born and raised Angelenos, and while we started our teaching journeys on opposite sides of the country — Naomi at an independent study charter school in L.A. and Erin as a Teach For America instructor in Miami — we’ve both spent our careers witnessing firsthand the stabilizing and healing power of flexible, personalized education for students whose lives are complicated and unstable outside of the classroom. Our shared belief that each student’s unique journey is worth embracing is what drives Da Vinci RISE, which opened in 2017 with support from the nonprofit XQ Institute.

No two RISE students are exactly alike, but almost all of the 200 young people we serve each year have been failed by the traditional school system. Of the 108 RISE alumni to date, 15% were in foster care, 7% were homeless, 8% were on probation, and 10% were involved in more than one system. These are students who may be older than the typical high school student, they might be on probation, they might be young parents and/or they may have full-time jobs, all of which can get in the way of school being their number one priority. Compared with other students across the L.A. school district, RISE students are twice as likely to have diagnosed disabilities, three times as likely to be experiencing homelessness, and 20 times as likely to be in the foster care system. 

Just like any other young person, our students want to be successful. They have passions, big dreams and goals; they just haven’t had access to the resources to achieve them. At RISE, we know our students are resilient and have had to be more strategic and agile than even many of the most successful adults. We work to access their hearts and minds, learn each student’s individual needs and circumstances and then build the education around them. 

In the traditional, one-size-fits-all school system, the challenges outside the classroom for a student like Daniella are beyond any school’s scope of responsibilities and resources. But at RISE, Daniella knew a team of people were there to help meet her needs. She trusted us enough to ask for that help. And we responded by asking ourselves: how can we design an educational track to help her build the skill sets she needs for survival while also building the academic mastery she needs to graduate?

Watch this video to learn more about Da Vinci RISE:

When we first partnered with XQ, we moved through a design process that put the needs of these diverse young people front and center. We realized that for our students, everything starts with a physical environment where they feel secure and supported. RISE’s classrooms are essentially one- or two-room schools, integrated on-site at three community-based social service providers in high-need areas across Los Angeles. These clean, high-quality sites provide a sense of physical safety to our students and allow mental health professionals, case managers, behavior interventionists, psychologists and counselors to collaborate directly with teachers and students about each individual young person’s needs so students can access critical services and resources as a part of their everyday academic experience. 

We recruit staff and volunteers with a keen eye for folks who have shared experiences with our youth and RISE centers our students in the hiring process to provide them with a voice into who comes into the community. We build a strong, small, tight-knit, nurturing community, and our educators receive special training in trauma-informed care, nonviolent crisis intervention, and restorative practices. are among the six research-backed for creating high schools that prepare all students for the future. On XQ’s latest Social Emotional Learning Survey of the class of 2023, 98% of RISE students said they had at least one teacher or other adult in the school they could talk to if they had a problem. 

Every conversation our staff has with our students, whether it’s about their circumstances outside of school, the schedules of their daily lives, or their different learning pathways, is always based around the question, “How can we make school most relevant to you?” We use the , research-based skills describing what all students should know and be able to do to succeed in the future — whether that’s college, career or another path. All students need to be critical thinkers who can master content while collaborating and problem-solving. And because tests alone aren’t sufficient, we use the to track our students’ individual progress toward these goals and toward California’s requirements for getting into four-year state colleges and universities.

We also provide RISE students with personalized, project-based learning tailored to their individual needs, passions, and goals, working closely with each student to meet them where they’re at. Each student’s schedule is flexible, combining in-person learning on two to four days a week at one of our three locations with online learning year-round. We bring in partners from arts, medicine, media, engineering, business and beyond. We just bought a van to pick up students who aren’t able to come to school. Our students are not well served by the traditional testing models, so we engage with students head-on about testing in order to shift their mindset and show how testing can be an opportunity to demonstrate their growth and mastery of academic subjects and recover credits toward graduation.

Ultimately, Daniella graduated from RISE. She had a beautiful, healthy child. She developed the life and parenting skills she needed to navigate into the next chapter of her life as an independent adult and mother. Daniella graduated from cosmetology school and continued her passion for styling hair. She is a RISE success story. 

But there are a lot of Daniellas in Los Angeles, and the reality is that after the pandemic, the stakes for these students are the highest they’ve ever been. The foster population is . In traditional schools, there’s an uptick in unfair disciplinary practices, and more students than ever are entering the school-to-prison pipeline. Even before COVID, California students who experienced homelessness were twice as likely to be chronically absent, . What we’re learning at RISE is relevant for schools throughout the country struggling with since the pandemic. 

Our model is expensive, no doubt. In California’s funding system, we can’t get money for keeping students enrolled and working if they’re not coming to campus or completing school work on a traditional schedule, which is why we rely on outside fundraising. But RISE is more than a national model for other schools that want to serve these students. It’s a movement built around completely reimagining how we treat and respect young people in this country. And it starts by seeing and engaging with the individual needs of every single student so they have the agency, power and joy of determining their own future.

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of ����Ӱ��.

My dad hates that I wear sneakers to work. 

A high school teacher for 38 years, my dad, Darrell Blake, wears a shirt and tie to school every day. To him, it’s a matter of professionalism and respect: teachers teach, and students learn. That’s how it’s always been. In order for students to respect your authority as the teacher, you need to set yourself apart from them — that’s the power of a shirt and tie, and it’s why he’s always telling me, over and over again, “I just wish you’d wear some hard bottom shoes to school!” 

I used to agree with him. 

My dad was my first role model of a Black male educator. Growing up, I spent night after night at the dinner table, listening to him tell stories from the classroom. He spoke passionately about his hopes and dreams for his students and the kids he connected with and mentored, some of whom became lifelong friends and part of our family. Seeing those relationships inspired me to become an educator, connect with students and work to shift their life trajectories. My father’s legacy became my life’s work, too.

I started my career as a high school teacher 17 years ago. Like my dad, I wore a suit and tie every day. I quickly found a disconnect in the classroom — between teachers and students, between schools and communities, and between what we teach our kids and what skills and knowledge they need to succeed in this world. We were still trying to teach students the same ways we did 38 years ago when my dad started teaching, which was the same way we did things 100 years ago: teachers in suits and ties standing in front of a board talking at students who sit at their desks and work quietly on rote memory assignments. 

We were having a one-way conversation with our students. I realized that in order for kids to learn, grow and be successful, they need to do more than just respect their teachers — they need to relate and connect with us, and we need to communicate with and respond to them. They need learning experiences and structures that are . Those experiences and structures form the foundation of that have a real, lasting impact on their education.

I was thinking about these interactions at around the same time I took a job as redesign director at Cardozo Education Campus in Washington, D.C. The position was supported by , a new partnership between the D.C. Public Schools and the XQ Institute. In my role, I collaborate with school and district staff, families and community partners to help bring our reimagined vision for Cardozo to life. Out of all these stakeholders I engage with, . That’s why a fundamental part of my job is asking myself every day, “How can I break down barriers and build authentic connections with our kids?”

I read about the importance of sneakers to Black boys, that “sneakers are statements that define their personality and character and speak to their self-worth and self-respect.” It pointed out how educators can use that recognition to build relationships with their Black students, so I decided to give it a shot and started wearing sneakers to school. 

Listening to students is just one way to rethink high school. For more, check out The XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. .

As redesign director, I focus on rethinking systems. I have the opportunity to work with my school community and district to disrupt what traditional schools have looked and sounded like over the past 100 years, and what has been invaluable about this partnership is that it’s entirely community-driven. 

I don’t sit in my office every day and think up all these grand ideas. We directly partner with our students and their families, asking them, “How can we create a productive learning experience for you?” “What support do you need to be successful as a student?” At the same time, we ask our teachers, “How do we imagine a new teaching environment?” “What support do you need to be successful as a teacher?” Redesign is the process of facilitating and systematizing these conversations, engaging closely with our stakeholders, and breaking down barriers between schools and communities.

As the nation’s first all-Black business high school, dating to the early 1940s, Cardozo’s student population is now more than 50% Multilingual learners. We knew the immense learning potential in our student body, so we jumped at the chance to move through the DC+XQ design journey, an opportunity to boldly reimagine what life at Cardozo could look like. As a part of the process, we deeply engaged students, families, educators and community members to redesign education from the ground up. 

We heard a common theme: students were hungry to take control of their economic futures and wanted to learn more about financial literacy. That’s why we redesigned our high school as the “Cardozo School of Business.” We are centering the student experience on entrepreneurship in ways that build on Cardozo’s strong history while being responsive to the needs and interests of our current community.

From enrollment to graduation, all Cardozo students will become inventors of their own learning paths, careers and lives, as they develop and implement small business plans that build year-over-year through their high school journeys. At the same time, we are infusing rigorous high school academics with real-world business and financial skills. By integrating a list of , or “E-Skills,” as we call them, into every classroom, we are ensuring that every one of our students gains fluency in financial literacy, gains skills and experience in entrepreneurship, and, ultimately, will graduate with the ability to approach any opportunity or challenge with an entrepreneurial mindset. 

Cardozo’s old educational model could not have enabled us to provide these resources and opportunities to our students and educators. A more traditional or typical reform process may have treated financial literacy as a garnish on top of an existing school. 

But through DC+XQ, the XQ have become an integral part of everything we do at Cardozo. One of those outcomes is . We are working to ensure our students can take their entrepreneurial mindset beyond Cardozo and continue learning through the evolving process of opening and sustaining a business. This mindset will help our students succeed after graduation, whether in college, the workforce, the military or at a trade school. Ultimately, Cardozo’s redesigned structure will allow us to fundamentally shift the trajectory of our marginalized families and ensure they have equal exposure and access to becoming financially stable. 

And that’s where my own redesign fits in. Changing from hard-soled shoes to sneakers helped me build better connections with our kids. Students started saying things like, “Oh, Dr. Blake got the newest J’s that just came out,” or, “Oh, I see you out here, Dr Blake!” These are things that the students all say to one another in jest or due to familiarity.

Once I have that connection and shared interest with them, I can use that to invite students into their educational journey and let them know they have agency and power at Cardozo. When we break out of these century-old ideas of what relationships between teachers and students should look like and what teachers’ shoes should look like, when we invite students to be decision-makers and stakeholders in their own education, and when we systematize relevant, rigorous and engaging learning, that’s how we build authentic connections and institutions that impact and shape the lives of our students.

What gives me the greatest satisfaction as redesign director is witnessing the same joy in our students that my dad described at the dinner table growing up: The students are exhilarated to learn in the classroom, connecting with their teachers and developing skills they relate to and value. At Cardozo, the DC+XQ design process gave us a playbook and resources to boldly rethink what high school can be — and not just here in the nation’s capital. These tools and resources are available for any community with big dreams for its students.

The truth is that any school can walk the walk of creating innovative, community-based education models for our kids. We can do it boldly and proudly. And we can do it in sneakers.

William Blake is a longtime educator and redesign director of Cardozo Education Campus in Washington, D.C., a public high school that’s part of the DC+XQ partnership.

To learn more about the DC+XQ partnership, please visit .

Disclosure: is a financial supporter of ����Ӱ��.

Perhaps schools should focus on fun. 

This isn’t a fanciful wish that’s out of touch with the stark challenges facing many communities. Rather, it’s a strategy, a means to an end, a practical way to help students — especially those who are most disconnected from school — re-engage with learning and mitigate some of the harmful effects of the pandemic. 

COVID-19 took bad problems and made them worse. Even before the pandemic struck in March 2020, only said they felt engaged in school and some 8 million students were of the academic year.

Then, COVID hit, and students were stuck at home, learning from screens. 

As a mom, I wasn’t familiar with all the developmentally appropriate material for my three children, who were then 2, 4 and 6 years old. But I knew it was critical for them to keep growing, academically, socially and emotionally. I had read so much about the importance of a child’s first five years, and here I was, like many other parents, trying to figure out how to help them learn and keep us all sane. Partly as a way to avoid doomscrolling, I started spending my nights planning “trips” we would take around the world and back in time. 

Each week, we chose a place to “visit” from our home. On our trip to Peru, we turned dozens of grocery boxes into Machu Picchu. The next weekend, we traveled back to the Jurassic period, turning those boxes into a massive dinosaur in our backyard. We went to the “Wild West” and slept in a tent in our backyard; traveled to “Greece,” where we competed in our own Olympics; and visited the “Sahara Desert” in “Morocco” (more commonly known as nearby Indiana Dunes National Park).

My most basic aim was to stave off boredom (for my children and for me). My more ambitious goal was to not just keep my kids learning, but to help nurture the flame — so bright early in life — of children’s natural curiosity. 

Eventually, I told another mom about my family’s simulated trips, and the two of us started brainstorming whether there was another mechanism that could engage children all across my hometown of Chicago in learning in a fun and experiential way — but be more convenient than working with dozens of grocery store boxes. We wanted all students to have access, whether from well-to-do zip codes or neighborhoods beset by high poverty rates.

We landed on time capsules, where kids could contribute their stories of living through the pandemic. Within a few months, my mom-friend and I found a financial sponsor and enlisted the partnership of City Hall, schools, summer camps, after-school programs, public libraries, children’s hospitals, museums and other organizations. With the generous support of philanthropic and corporate partners offering pro bono services, we built a , developed a curriculum and distributed materials all across the city. Our partner organizations helped children gather objects, write letters to kids of the future and illustrate the good and the hard moments, all while sharing what they were learning about themselves and their communities. They then submitted their materials into a time capsule — a simple cardboard mailing tube. We collected those mailing tubes and at cultural sites around the city, like the Chicago Public Library. They won’t be opened until 2026.  

We focused primarily on ages 9 to 14, the developmental stage when kids are becoming more independent, beginning to see the point of others more clearly and encountering a range of significant — and often challenging — emotional and social changes. 

The act of developing a story, sharing it and learning about peers’ experiences provided a fun and very important opportunity. At in-person events and through our partner organizations, kids told us the activity helped them feel like they mattered. Engaging with peers made them feel less burdened and more connected to themselves and to one another.

Over time, we realized that using time capsules as a way to access students’ feelings and experiences, and to help them learn about the perspectives of others, had benefits that extended well beyond the pandemic. We founded a nonprofit, , that today guides children across the country in making time capsules of their own, as a way to recognize and honor what they, and others, value.

Students creating physical time capsules practice their writing and storytelling skills, learn about history and culture, use the arts to express themselves, develop critical thinking skills and connect with others. They can also use their video and social media skills to upload and add to our , which allows children from across the country to participate and share their stories in their own voices. But this isn’t just about time capsules. It’s about finding ways to engage kids in learning, to make it fun to read and write, to build children’s sense of self and their sense of belonging by focusing on sharing what really matters to them and their peers: , , and . 

Too often, I look at what children are assigned at school and I think of the late, great British educator Sir Ken Robinson and that “we are educating people out of their creative capacities.” This is not a knock on teachers — they’re doing the best they can with what they have. Rather, it is an encouragement to administrators and policymakers to let students have fun.

Ultimately, children need to feel connected to school, to one another and to themselves. When kids feel linked to and accepted by others, they experience — and when those feelings occur at school, they perform better academically. The pandemic severed feelings of connectedness. Now, it’s the job of schools to rebuild these bonds and focus on fun to unlock learning.

Approximately 48 team members were impacted by the move, a source told ����Ӱ��.

CZI spokesperson Raymonde Charles confirmed the layoffs in a statement: “Over the past eight years, we have learned a great deal about how to equip educators with the research, tools, and partners they need to center students’ well-being in support of academic achievement and success. 

“Guided by insights from our grantees, research, and educators, our work in education continues to evolve, and the structure of our teams has changed as a result. We remain committed to helping educators give every student exactly what they need to thrive inside the classroom and beyond.” 

Despite the layoffs, CZI (a financial supporter of ����Ӱ��) remains one of the nation’s largest philanthropies working on education issues. Since 2015, the philanthropy has given grants to nearly 1,000 organizations working to aid teachers in supporting students to thrive in and beyond the classroom. 

Recent CZI efforts have included a first-of-its-kind “connection builder” that facilitates meaningful, one-on-one teacher-student conversations that have proven essential for student engagement and academic success; an initiative to develop evidence-based approaches to boost early literacy that has already reached more than 12,700 children and 14,500 educators; and an effort that partners with schools and districts to create research-based surveys that helps educators better understand students’ aspirations, strengths, and barriers to succeeding in advanced coursework.

All affected employees were offered the same severance details, said a source. The package includes 16 weeks of base pay, continued health insurance and a $10,000 stipend to use as needed to assist with transitional needs. Employees also received a prorated portion of their 2023 bonus. 

Disclosure: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative provides financial support to ����Ӱ��.