When the developers of Canvas, the world’s leading web-based learning management system (LMS) software, invite you to a party—July 22-24 this year in Spokane, WA—you might consider the offer. Expected to draw 3,000 attendees across various roles from individual educators to IT leadership, the event promises product reveals, professional development, and collaborative opportunities like Hack Night, designed to help educators and administrators demonstrate tangible value when they return to their institutions. I was able to grab Ryan Lufkin, Vice President of Global Academic Strategy at Instructure, for some pre-show scuttle butt. Have a listen and scroll down for some highlights:

➜InstructureCon 2025 is evolving its AI strategy beyond basic features to an “agentic approach,” leveraging partnerships with Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google to create integrated AI experiences across campus environments. Says Ryan: “That’s because our open architecture is the most well-positioned learning platform in the world to really pull in, not just those AI-powered features that we’ve developed, but we also leverage those from our partners.”

➜Instructure is responding to educational institutions’ budget constraints by focusing on helping customers maximize their technology investments through better data usage, adoption metrics, and optimization strategies. Says Ryan: “We really want educators and administrators to walk away with just a toolkit of how to use these products better, how to use them more deeply and tangibly show that value because we know the budgets are tight.”

A few session highlights:  

Transforming Student Success with Mastery Connect: A Proven Approach to Data-Driven Instruction in Richland One School District

Get ready to discover how Richland One (R1) School District in South Carolina has been transforming student success with Mastery Connect since 2015! This digital assessment platform has empowered R1 teachers to seamlessly administer standards-based formative and summative assessments, dive into score reports, and collaborate with colleagues. MC has unlocked deeper insights into student mastery, giving teachers and teams the tools they need to drive data-driven instruction. Join us for an exciting session where R1 will share its curriculum map structure and district approach to formative assessments. Discover how to save time on data collection and analysis—whether you’re a teacher or an admin. Learn how newer features like Quick Reassess and Assessment Compare can help you work smarter, not harder! You’ll also explore how to harness real-time data to fuel impactful discussions in your Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), driving focused, results-oriented collaboration.

Cracking the Code: Turning Data into Action with Mastery Connect

Drowning in data but struggling to make it meaningful? Join us on a journey to transform numbers into actionable insights using Mastery Connect! In this session, we’ll share how we built educator buy-in, shifted mindsets, and empowered teachers to use data in meaningful ways. Discover practical strategies for making data analysis approachable, actionable, and impactful—without overwhelming teachers. We’ll explore real-world examples, time-saving tips, and effective ways to connect assessment data to instructional decisions. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your approach, this session will equip you with insights and strategies to turn data into a catalyst for student success.

Beyond the Classroom: Maximizing Canvas for Non-Academic Programs in Resource-Limited Environments.

As institutions face financial and regulatory challenges, maximizing existing technology investments is essential. While Canvas is primarily used for academic courses, its capabilities extend beyond the classroom. This session explores how a small liberal arts institution has successfully repurposed Canvas for faculty onboarding, professional development, syllabus archiving, student organizations, and institutional assessment—all without additional costs. A key focus will be the development of a syllabus submission portal designed to streamline syllabus collection, ensure compliance with learning outcomes, and create a structured faculty repository. Attendees will gain practical insights into overcoming adoption challenges, achieving measurable ROI, and applying these strategies to institutions of varying sizes.

Miami – Achieve Miami, a nonprofit dedicated to equalizing educational opportunities for students throughout Miami-Dade County, has received $2.4 million from multiple philanthropic organizations and leaders, including a leadership gift of $2 million from Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel and founder of Griffin Catalyst. The funding, awarded over the past year, will further expand Achieve Miami’s transformative programs, reaching thousands of K-12 students through initiatives including Achieve Scholars, which prepares high schoolers for college success; Achieve Summer, a dynamic program combating learning loss through hands-on academics and enrichment; and the Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP), a groundbreaking effort to address Miami-Dade’s urgent teacher shortage.

Kenneth C. Griffin’s $2 million leadership gift is specifically focused on supporting TAP in creating a pipeline of talent for the teaching profession through recruiting, preparing, and mentoring aspiring educators, including those who had not previously considered a career in education. This gift builds on Griffin’s $3.5 million gift to TAP in 2022, further strengthening Achieve Miami’s efforts to recruit and train qualified educators to teach in public, private and charter schools across Miami-Dade and close learning gaps in the city’s schools. Griffin has a longstanding commitment to improving education and has contributed more than $900 million to providing greater access to a high-quality education and pathways to success for students in Florida and across the country.

Additional grants include:

• $200,000 from the Bezos Family Foundation, which is a director’s gift supporting early and adolescent learning through grants and programs that advance the science of learning.
• $100,000 from the Panera Bread Foundation, as part of its national initiative to support nonprofits that provide educational access to underserved youth.
• $65,000 from Morgan Stanley, in support of Achieve Miami’s financial literacy and career readiness programs, which equip students in the organization’s Achieve Scholars program with essential money management skills for financial independence and future success. As part of its commitment, a team of Morgan Stanley employees guide students through financial literacy sessions across ten Miami-Dade County public schools, providing essential lessons on topics like budgeting, investing, entrepreneurship, savings, and credit.
• $50,000 from City National Bank of Florida, as part of its long-term partnership with Achieve Miami in support of the Achieve Scholars program. City National Bank is planning financial literacy programming for students over the summer.

“Every student deserves access to resources, mentors, and opportunities that can set them up for success,” said Leslie Miller Saiontz, Founder of Achieve Miami. “These generous grants, led by Ken Griffin, will enable us to expand our reach, empower more educators, and bridge opportunity gaps that are prevalent in Miami. By investing in students and teachers, we are building a stronger future for our community.”

“Each of us has a story of how a teacher has changed our lives,” said Ken Griffin in February 2023 alongside his initial gift to Achieve Miami. “I care deeply about bringing more high-quality educators into Miami classrooms to help ensure the children of Miami will continue to enjoy the impact of life-changing teachers.”

Despite being one of the fastest-growing states with the nation’s fourth-largest economy, Florida ranks #21 in per capita education funding. Achieve Miami’s initiatives aim to eliminate educational disparities by equipping students with the tools and support needed for success with a variety of diverse enrichment programs such as Achieve Scholars, Achieve Saturdays, and Achieve Music.

Achieve Miami’s impact to-date includes support for over 10,000 Miami-Dade County students, college and career readiness programming for Achieve Scholars across ten high school sites, providing internet access to over 106,000 homes through Miami Connected, and the recruitment and training of nearly 200 new teachers through the Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) since the initiative’s launch in 2023.

ABOUT ACHIEVE MIAMI

Achieve Miami is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to fostering a transformational education ecosystem in Miami. Since its founding in 2015, the organization has supported over 10,000 K-12 students, bolstered programming for 60+ local schools, and engaged thousands of volunteers. Together with partners from the public and private sector, Achieve Miami designs and manages programs that bring together members from various parts of the community to extend learning opportunities for students, teachers, and community leaders. Learn more at www.achievemiami.org.

ABOUT THE TEACHER ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) is a non-profit organization creating a pipeline of talent for the teaching profession through recruiting, preparing, and mentoring aspiring educators. TAP’s comprehensive and streamlined program equips college students and career changers with the skills, knowledge, and certification necessary to excel in the classroom. TAP addresses the nationwide teacher shortage crisis by providing a built-in path to teaching, inspiring a new generation of educators.

TAP participants take a one-semester course, followed by a six-week paid summer internship, earn a certificate to teach, and begin instructing in a Miami-Dade County public, private, or charter school classroom. TAP is an initiative of Achieve Miami, supported by Teach for America Miami-Dade, and is offered by the University of Miami, Florida International University and Miami-Dade College. Learn more at www.teacheraccelerator.org.

Key points:

• Lowering the academic bar is a disservice to students and families  
• Leading (again) in uncertainty
• Five years on: COVID’s impact on schools–and what’s next for education
• For more news on educational progress, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

We are living in an Ozempic era. 

Instant gratification is king, and everyone is looking for quick fixes to chronic challenges.  

This is as true in the world of education as it is in health care.  

States aren’t happy with how their students are doing–not well, by all objective measures–but instead of focusing in on long-term solutions, they’re lowering expectations and sweeping those academic gaps under the rug. 

It’s a troubling trend that’s sweeping through red states and blue states alike. 

In 2024, both Oklahoma and Wisconsin lowered what it means for students to be proficient in grade-level content. That means students this year did not need to achieve the same mastery of knowledge and skills as kids in previous years. Students who would have been performing below standards and assigned intervention support are now being told they are passing. 

Minnesota, Florida, and North Carolina are rolling back high school math or English requirements. Minnesota previously eliminated its graduation exam requirement for math, which resulted in a decade-long slide in student proficiency. Now, they have proposed eliminating an Algebra II requirement. Florida is actively looking at removing graduation requirements which include passing a 10th grade English Language Arts assessment and a statewide algebra test. Likewise, the North Carolina legislature is proposing splitting two math courses into four without adding any additional content. The result: A student can satisfy the state’s four-credit math graduation requirement with only the knowledge of two levels of math.  

The proposed or passed changes for all five states: Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, and North Carolina will result in what looks like more kids succeeding in school, but the gains won’t be real. It’ll be the academic equivalent of passing off a microwaved Hot Pocket as your grandma’s homemade lasagna. 

Chipping away at what we expect from our students will continue to exacerbate the honesty gap between how they are told they’re doing at the state level versus how they stack up against their peers nationally, setting them up for a rough brush with reality after they graduate. 

It also will lead to more students at all levels of educational achievement needing remedial help. Even Harvard, the country’s oldest and most prestigious Ivy League institution recently announced a new introductory course to rectify a lack of foundational math skills among incoming students. 

This should serve as a proverbial canary in the coal mine when it comes to how well our K-12 system is preparing students in basic subject areas like math. Instead of entering college ready to embrace higher education, those students now must spend time and treasure to learn knowledge and skills they could and should have acquired in high school. 

As much as it might reveal painful truths, we must accurately measure our students if we want them to succeed. Fortunately, there are states we can look to for guidance. 

Policymakers should follow the lead of Mississippi and Louisiana with their rigorous expectations, strong and transparent school accountability and reading initiatives. Alabama is paving the way in math with its Numeracy Act. 

At ExcelinEd, we know there are numerous policy solutions that lead to real, tangible student outcomes. These policy solutions will take years for real progress to be seen. There are no quick fixes. 

But inevitably, with hard work and sustained commitment, the states that stay the course will emerge on top.  And those states that are cutting expectations to make themselves look better will realize far too late the damage they are causing. Lowering the bar isn’t some sort of miracle drug. It’s a disservice to students and families.  

Right now, we need a little more tough love–stronger expectations, accountability and leadership–in the K-12 space.  A solid education is more than just good student outcomes; it’s also the route to a more fruitful and financially secure country.  

Policymakers have to make a choice. They can take the easy way out, or they can make the better choice to invest in proven approaches that will pay off for decades to come.   

Key points:

• Districts must adopt innovative solutions that meet students’ unique needs
• Crafting technology-driven IEPs
• Special education staffing shortages put students’ futures at risk
• For more news on school therapy services, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

The pandemic’s impact on our children’s development continues to reveal itself in classrooms across America. As districts and schools nationwide struggle to find qualified therapists, particularly speech-language pathologists and board-certified behavior analysts (BCBAs), there’s a growing demand for these specialized professionals. Speech-language pathologist positions are projected to grow by 18 percent from 2023 to 2033, while BCBA jobs will have a 22 percent growth rate over the next decade.

This surge stems partially from COVID-19’s lingering effects. Many children missed crucial language development opportunities during key formative years, as mask-wearing limited their ability to observe mouth movements and naturally acquire speech skills. Simultaneously, we’re identifying more students needing support than ever before. Rising diagnoses of autism, which  currently affects about one in 54 children, have further amplified the need for both speech and behavioral therapy services in educational settings.

Providing flexible support solutions for schools

Districts are seeking flexible and effective solutions to address these growing needs. One approach proving particularly effective is offering a flexible scheduling model with occasional virtual opportunities, with a distinct preference for in-person support whenever possible. Schools are also increasingly implementing multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), which extend therapeutic interventions beyond traditional one-on-one sessions.

I’ve found that group therapy and structured peer interactions, led by experienced therapists, help students develop vital social and behavioral skills. This is especially important for adolescents and teenagers entering high school–they may have missed critical social development opportunities during the pandemic and now need additional support to navigate both academic and social challenges.

Another major hurdle for districts is funding these essential services. By leveraging flexible staffing solutions, schools can access high-quality therapists at a lower overall cost. Rather than hiring full-time staff and bearing the financial burden of benefits like retirement and health insurance, schools can engage professionals on an as-needed basis, whether for a few days a week or during specific evaluation periods. This approach ensures that schools provide targeted support without the complexities of full-time employment contracts.

Creative approaches to staffing, compliance, and related therapy services  

This flexible model benefits not only schools but also therapists themselves. Professionals who prefer part-time work in school districts and prefer to work full time can expand their experience in various practice settings such as outpatient facilities and early intervention or specialty centers, creating a full-time job across multiple settings and expanding their knowledge and experience. This approach creates a win-win situation, ensuring consistent and high-quality services for students without the financial strain of full-time staffing for districts.

Additionally, school-related therapy services should always be tailored to the school environment, focused on the child maximizing their access to and participation in their education. When providers have experience in how this model works and appropriately educate all involved in the student’s success, not only does the student progress and have a higher achievement of their goals, the cost of service decreases due to quicker goal attainment and accurate frequency recommendations.  

Beyond staffing, districts also need the technology to help them stay compliant with regulatory requirements. This includes accurately documenting and billing therapy minutes and aligning all services with HIPAA and FERPA regulations.  If the provider of these services understands these regulations and partners with the district for solutions, this will help minimize the administrative burden and risk for school districts.

As the demand for specialized therapy services in schools continues to rise, districts must adopt innovative solutions that meet students’ unique needs. By embracing flexible staffing models, leveraging technology for streamlined service delivery, and tailoring therapy to the educational environment, districts can provide consistent and effective support for all students. These strategies not only address immediate therapy shortages but also ensure students receive the targeted help they need to thrive academically and socially, fostering a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for all.

PORT RICHEY, FL – Ignite Reading, a one-to-one, Science of Reading-based virtual tutoring program in 18 states nationwide, today announced its partnership with the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning through the Florida Tutoring Advantage, a comprehensive statewide initiative aimed at significantly improving student outcomes in reading and mathematics. Ignite Reading was selected as a tutoring partner for the Florida Tutoring Advantage through an ITN process conducted by the University of Florida.

Marking Ignite Reading’s inaugural implementation in Florida at Dayspring Charter Academy in Pasco County through the Florida Tutoring Advantage partnership, the school hosted a showcase last week celebrating the significant literacy gains achieved through their collaboration. Dayspring Academy announced results from its ongoing partnership with Ignite Reading to deliver online, one-to-one literacy tutoring for K through 1st graders. Participating students have made impressive gains, averaging more than 2.5 weeks of reading progress for every week of tutoring instruction – more than double the expected rate in a traditional classroom.

“We are excited to be the first school in Florida to implement Ignite Reading through the Florida Tutoring Advantage program,” said R. Suzanne Legg, Co-Founder & CEO of Dayspring Academy. “The personalized, one-on-one support that Ignite Reading provides is exactly what our students need to build strong foundational reading skills by the end of first grade. We are confident that this partnership will significantly impact their academic journey.”

The UF Lastinger Center administers tutoring program design resources, funds school districts to bolster their tutoring programs, offers professional learning for district staff and tutors, and provides face-to-face, virtual, and automated tutoring for eligible K-5 students as well as AI-enhanced supports for select students in grades 6-12.  The goal is to improve K-5 student outcomes in reading and mathematics.  During the inaugural year of implementation, the Lastinger Center has adopted a Plan, Prepare, Pilot model to inform the scaling up of the program.

“We chose Ignite Reading because of their strong, evidence-based approach to literacy instruction,” said Phil Poekert, Ph.D., Lastinger Center Director. “The Florida Tutoring Advantage represents our dedication to transforming education through evidence-based high-impact tutoring and ensuring every student has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

Key components of the Florida Tutoring Advantage, administered by the UF Lastinger Center, include:

• Developing and sharing high-impact tutoring guidelines for school districts.
• Providing expert consultation to school districts on program creation and effective implementation.
• Offering grant funding to public school districts to develop in-person tutoring programs.
• Implementing and expanding in-person, virtual, and automated tutoring programs in K-5.
• AI-enhanced supports for students in grades 6-12.

“First-grade reading instruction is where we lay the groundwork for a lifetime of learning,” said Jess Reid Sliwerski, CEO of Ignite Reading. “High-dosage tutoring has proven to be a transformative tool in accelerating learning and closing achievement gaps. We are thrilled to partner with the UF Lastinger Center and Dayspring Charter Academy to bring our evidence-based literacy solutions to Florida students.”

The University of Florida Lastinger Center began piloting programs with partner districts in the 2024-2025 school year, with resources becoming available throughout the year and beyond.

About Ignite Reading

Ignite Reading is on a mission to ensure every student can access the tools they need to be a confident, fluent reader by the end of 1st grade. School districts nationwide depend on Ignite Reading’s virtual tutoring program to deliver literacy support at scale for students who need help learning to read. Our highly trained tutors provide students with 1:1 tutoring in foundational literacy skills each school day, helping them go from learning to read to reading to learn.

A recent study by the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University found that Ignite Reading students across demographics — including students who are English Learners, Black, Hispanic, and those with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) — achieve the same outstanding gains of more than 5 months of additional learning during a single school year.  For more information about Ignite Reading, visit www.ignite-reading.com.

About the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning

The UF Lastinger Center for Learning creates educational systems where every child and educator experiences high-quality learning that supports achievement of the critical milestones predictive of success in school and life. Its programs focus on kindergarten readiness, third-grade reading proficiency and algebra proficiency. Over the last two decades, the Lastinger Center has made significant strides for real, scalable solutions in collaboration with educators and families in Florida and around the country. To learn more about the Lastinger Center, please visit  http://lastinger.center.ufl.edu/.

Key points:

• Edtech tools support student learning while boosting engagement
• 5 vocabulary strategies powered by technology
• Edtech tools for station rotation in early learning
• For more on edtech tools, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a brilliant scientist? I’ve wondered about this myself on a few occasions. One might assume that the most desirable skills for someone entering a STEM field would be things like vast scientific knowledge or a laser-like attention to detail. However, when I polled a group of local scientists for their opinion, these qualities appeared in only 15 percent of the responses. Instead, they prioritized qualities like curiosity, creativity, and most of all, teamwork.

As a longtime STEM educator, I’ve come to understand the value of teamwork, both within the classroom and beyond. Teamwork is essential for building students’ social-emotional intelligence. It allows students to make responsible choices, build healthy relationships, and explore diverse ideas. Collaboration is also essential to human scientific progress. Nearly every great advancement in human history involved multiple people working together to accomplish a common goal. That’s why I’ve made a point of seeking out the best edtech tools for fostering teamwork and communication among my students.

Here are just four edtech tools that can help transform teamwork in the classroom:

1. Padlet: One of my first go-to tools is Padlet–it’s super easy to use and works great for grades 3-12. Students can post text, images, or videos, making it perfect for brainstorming, digital discussions, and sharing resources. I especially like using it for collaborative timelines, maps, and peer feedback. Best of all, it can be used for free, while larger subscriptions remain affordable. 
   
2. Whiteboard: Whiteboard is ideal for grades K-12 and works especially well for drawing, images, and math symbols. Unlike Padlet, it’s not free–but the features are worth it. I’ve used it for activities like labeling parts of a lightbulb, where students can draw, type, and share without the pressure of presenting. It’s a fun, low-stress way to get the whole class working together.
   
3. FigJam: This edtech tool is like an endless digital canvas where students can make their own space and enjoy tons of creative features. I’ve used FigJam for hosting class debates, project planning, and even facilitating games. Students can even record their voices to analyze poetry or break down famous speeches. No matter how you use it, FigJam gets kids talking, thinking, and working together.
   
4. Parley: Parley is excellent for leading structured conversations in grades 3-12. The tool comes with real-time tracking of student contributions and engagement while also allowing for individual or group feedback. This is the tool for the teacher looking to host a Socratic seminar or robust classroom debates.The main drawback is that students need to be comfortable with text-based communication. As such, it might be best to employ this edtech tool in more advanced classrooms.   

While the landscape of education is always changing, the pursuit of knowledge will forever remain a group project. By integrating these edtech tools into my lessons, I cultivate an environment of curiosity and collaboration where every student feels heard. This gives them the skills and confidence to not only meet the challenges of the classroom, but also those awaiting them in adulthood. So, let’s take advantage of these edtech tools, and help our students take their first steps into a bold, STEM-filled future.

Key points:

• Explosive app growth has outpaced security oversights
• K-12 cyberattacks threaten data–and students
• How schools can fight growing ransomware attacks
• For more on cybersecurity, visit eSN’s IT Leadership hub

In May 2024, Microsoft identified a critical vulnerability pattern targeting Android applications, ominously called “Dirty Stream.” This vulnerability allows malicious apps to overwrite files, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution, token theft, and data manipulation. Among the apps affected were WPS Office and File Manager, both commonly used for document handling in educational settings.

Although no major exploitations have been publicly linked to the Dirty Stream vulnerability within educational institutions, the incident underscores that hackers do not discriminate when choosing victims. Instead, they prioritize industries that are data-rich and resource-poor.

With over 3.3 million apps on the Google Play Store, Android dominates the digital classroom revolution, holding a substantial 68.7 percent share of the mobile edtech market. Notably, the K-12 segment is the largest consumer of Android-based mobile learning apps.

But with such proliferation, the industry is now confronting a more sobering reality: its explosive app growth has outpaced security oversights. Excessive app sprawl, inconsistent vetting, and shared libraries with inherited vulnerabilities–the ground is ripe for exploitation.

Chaos in classrooms: Edtech’s Android problems

Tagged by the U.S. as one of the 16 critical infrastructure sectors, the edtech sector has become a hotbed for hacktivists. These hallowed halls of knowledge host sellable information, from Social Security numbers and medical histories to mental health records and bus routes on outdated systems, making them tempting targets for attackers. To make matters worse, the growing connected device networks and remote learning opportunities further exacerbate these vulnerabilities.

At the heart of this growing vulnerability, the very features that fuel Android’s supremacy have also been leading to its downfall. For instance, while the platform’s accessibility and flexibility have made Android the platform of choice for educational apps, its open-source structure allows developers to build upon shared libraries and frameworks, many of which have inherent vulnerabilities. When a vulnerability is discovered in a commonly used component, hackers can compromise numerous apps simultaneously, turning the educational network into a fragile house of cards. Moreover, with Android’s massive user base dwarfing iOS, cybercriminals are incentivized to create malware targeting Android apps, amplifying the risk.

Amidst this growing chaos, admins cannot afford to take a break. While summer breaks may offer a pause for students and staff, they often mark a hacker activity surge. As IT teams tend to enter a brief hibernation period, cybercriminals ramp up their work, meticulously “homeworking” their way into educational systems.

Today, threat actors employ stealthy, persistent strategies, planting themselves deep within the network and remaining undetected for extended periods, sometimes months, before launching attacks. This dwell time allows them to harvest intelligence, determine high-value assets, and meticulously plan their next move, making their attacks far more destructive. The longer they stay hidden, the harder it becomes to detect, contain, and neutralize the threat.

Decluttering the digital campus with smarter app management

First things first, educational institutions need a game plan–a robust and well-defined incident response plan (IRP). This cybersecurity playbook should clearly outline each phase, from detection and analysis to containment, eradication, and recovery. By implementing a comprehensive IRP, schools can not only minimize the impact of cyberattacks but also enhance their long-term cybersecurity posture.

Now, to tackle the app jungle, you will need dig into your app catalog and ask: What’s essential? Where are they installed? What data do they collect, and how is it handled? A little investigation goes a long way in helping you make informed decisions.  

Once you’ve segregated between the must-haves and the unnecessary, it’s time to lock things down. For institutions with a constricted budget, mobile application management (MAM) tools can be a good start. However, if you are looking for a more scalable and centralized approach, unified endpoint management (UEM) solutions are the way to go. These platforms give IT admins a bird’s-eye view of all apps deployed across devices, making it easier to enforce blocklist policies, manage installations, and create custom app catalogues based on user roles.

When students own the device in question, the situation gets a little trickier. With personal devices, finding the right balance between protecting a student’s privacy and securing data is crucial. Via containerization, admins can create a virtual boundary between school and personal apps, protecting sensitive data without overstepping on privacy.

Of course, digital learning also depends heavily on internet access. However, open access can lead to unsafe browsing. Therefore, institutions must also consider tools like web filtering to block such sites.

Finally, comprehensive device management is a must. This involves enforcing strong security policies like mandatory encryption, password protection, and remote wipe options to ensure that educational data remains safe, even if a device is stolen or compromised.

Cybersecure classrooms with patching and beyond

According to the State of Ransomware 2024 report, nearly one-third of cyberattacks begin with an unpatched vulnerability–a striking reminder of how critical timely updates are. While both Microsoft and Google offered tips to developers on how to avoid being victim to threats like Dirty Stream, end users are often left with one simple but vital action: keeping their apps up to date and sticking to trusted sources when installing them.

Google’s actions in March 2025 alone underscored the urgency of proactive patching. It addressed 43 vulnerabilities affecting Android devices, including two already being exploited in the wild. As the window between identifying and exploiting a vulnerability narrows, educational institutions need to come terms with good patch management habits. This means establishing alerts and working towards regular device audits, patch testing, and rollback strategies.

For schools running on lean IT teams, device management solutions offer much-needed relief. These tools enable the automation of patch deployment, giving IT teams more control through patch scheduling. Because updates don’t always go off without a hitch, UEM solutions also offer admins the ability to delay rollout and validate its stability. This is especially useful when managing many devices across multiple locations, where manual updates would be nearly impossible.

Of course, deploying endpoint management solutions or embracing zero-trust principles can be a costly affair. However, these investments can become financially rewarding with the right support from policymakers and school districts. Encouragingly, there is already a head start. In 2024, the Government Coordinating Council (GCC) for the Education Facilities Subsector was established–an initiative uniting federal, state, and local governments to provide schools with necessary counsel and resources for strengthening their cyber resilience.

Ultimately, safeguarding student data and securing the digital future of education is not a solo effort–it’s a joint venture. Our ultimate assignment is to create cyber-secure classrooms for future learners.

Key points:

• Virtual reality career training helps students focus on their future
• How 3 districts reimagined high school and the future of work
• How CTE supports college and career readiness
• For more news on career training, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

Education is a cornerstone for personal growth and economic success, but for students in juvenile detention facilities, it serves a deeper purpose, equipping students with the skills they’ll need to make positive choices and achieve their goals.

A large part of setting students up for success involves connecting them with career training and experiences that allow them to explore their skills and interests. This enables them to envision successful career paths they can work towards before and after their release.

In Connecticut, Bridgeport Public Schools and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families/Juvenile Justice Education Unit are working together to support continued student learning at the Bridgeport Juvenile Residential Center, readying students for success by connecting them to work experiences and helping them develop transferrable skills through career training.

The initiative uses Transfr VR goggles to help students access vocational training modules, which make students’ project-based learning more tangible and relevant–and can help meet the needs of an evolving job market. 

Bringing this learning to students offers a unique and individualized experience that equips students with skills and a foundational knowledge of different vocational careers. 

One of the program’s main goals is to connect students with vocational exposure and lower recidivism, aligning students with a focus on their future and the opportunities to succeed, said John Tarka , assistant superintendent in the Connecticut Department of Children & Families/Juvenile Justice Education Unit.

The Transfr goggles “really presented a very engaging learning opportunity,” he said. “The goggles provide a way for students to get very unique exposure to these vocational and work opportunities that they wouldn’t have in a regular setting.”

Students use the goggles during their project-based learning class period, where they can earn vocational credits and can choose from more than 40 career exploratory programs.

“We’re excited to have the VR goggles so our students can experience what they would not have in a community high school,” said Ca’Tisha Howard, a Bridgeport Public Schools administrator in the Bridgeport Residential Center program.

After working through the program logistics, Tarka and Howard found their priorities for students aligned in a shared vision around the vocational program: a program that helps students ultimately identify career paths and pursue those paths after their release.

Exposure to the vocational programs ensures students learn more than English, math, science, and social studies–they’ll be able to explore what they might want to do after they return to their community schools.

“They’ll get to explore if they want to be an auto mechanic,” Howard said. “If they want to assist a doctor in surgery, they’re able to participate in these experiences. We had a student who wanted to be a veterinary technician; he removed a tick from a dog’s ear. Some of the kids were interested in construction and [the goggles gave them experiences navigating] scaffolding, cranes, and steel beams.”

As students try different training modules, they can identify where they might like to pursue careers.

“Our ultimate goal is for students to choose a career pathway and follow through with it while they’re in high school,” Howard said. “Research has shown that those students who use the goggles and have this type of training tend to perform better, in some instances, than those students who were actually physically present in the vocational classroom with the equipment.”

Students training with virtual reality often feel more connected to the content, display increased confidence, and learn faster, according to recent research.

“While they’re in detention, a part of their life and freedom are put on hold,” Tarka said. “They leave the detention center with a certificate they can use to obtain a job.”

In the future, Howard and Tarka envision building partnerships with community businesses and organizations to help students find employment once they’re released, creating stronger supports to ensure student success.

“The bigger goal is to have a number of different resources, so that if I have a student being released tomorrow, we can say, ‘OK, here are the areas where you’ve performed really well with the goggles–let’s call our contacts and see about getting you a job,’” Howard said.

During an upcoming career day, students in the center, who are age 12-18 and who all have opportunities to use the Transfr goggles, will meet community partners and begin to map out a plan for what their lives might look like after release.

“Students will have opportunities to talk to these people; they can present themselves in a certain way and obtain a job, so the community doesn’t look at it like it’s jail. These kids are in a detention setting. But look at all the opportunities they have,” Howard said.

Along with Howard’s encouragement, support from classroom teachers leads students to examine their actions, what choices led them to the detention center, and how they can make better choices when they’re released.

“This is truly educational reform work in the sense that we’re not just giving students new opportunities, but we’re also changing the narrative of what people think kids in jail are doing,” Tarka said. “Everybody says people deserve a second chance, but they don’t really know what they looks like and they might not want to embrace it any more than just a conversation.”

“Our unit really works to reintegrate the students back into their home schools and home communities–we really look to support them in their re-entry into the community,” Tarka said.

Key points:

• Research can shed light on the best strategies for increased math achievement
• What research says about how students learn math
• NAEP scores shed light on how the pandemic impacted student learning
• For more news on math learning, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

After results from the 2024 NAEP were released, it became evident that students are struggling with math achievement. Amid disappointing and stagnant scores, district leaders are looking for a solution that addresses the heart of the issue: How do students learn best?

The answer may lie in research-based approaches that leverage neuroscience to align math instruction with how the brain naturally processes information.

Focusing on how students learn can be the impetus for positive change.

“How can we teach better?” is a great question, but there’s a fundamentally better question: “How do we learn?” says Nigel Nisbet, VP of content creation at MIND Education. “Once you flip that paradigm and stop thinking so much about what you’re doing and how you can teach better–all of which is good to think about–you start asking what learning actually looks like and what mechanisms are there for us to learn. It turns out that a lot of our assumptions about how we think learning happens are not right, and there are better ways of doing things.”

To learn more about how neuroscience plays a critical role in math achievement, click here.

Key points:

• Students’ contributions matter for the collective learning of everyone in the room
• 3 pillars for building a positive classroom culture
• Why support for students and a strong school culture are key
• For more news on classroom culture, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

As educators, we know that small moves make a big difference, but I personally hadn’t thought about the impact of just one word. Having conducted well over a thousand observations of K-12 teachers over the last 15 years, I have noticed there is one piece of feedback I have given more than any other–and it involves a seemingly minor word change. 

Multiple times in any class period, teachers call on students to contribute to the lesson of the day. Sometimes they will cold call students, while other times they will ask students to share what they learned after they’ve had a chance to read the assigned material or discuss it with their classmates in groups. When they do this, the vast majority of teachers I have observed start off by saying, “Tell me…,” as in “Tell me why we should conjugate the verb in that way,” or “Tell me what the author means by that,” or even, “Tell me what you think of what your classmate said.” 

When I observe this, the feedback I give is simple: I ask them to replace “me” with “us”: “Tell us.” 

This one-word change signals to students that their contributions matter not just for the teacher’s approval, but for the collective learning of everyone in the room. Saying “Tell Us,” instead of “Tell me,” validates each student’s role as both a learner and giver of knowledge.

It is shockingly difficult for most teachers to alter their language in this manner. Observation after observation, I continue to hear the echo of “Tell me” from hallway to hallway, classroom to classroom.  I believe that this habit is deeply ingrained in traditional classroom structures where teachers are seen as the controllers rather than the facilitators of the classroom. I have incorporated this particular linguistic shift into my work with other educators at Relay Graduate School of Education.

I gave the feedback to a teacher who was shocked at how many times she said “Tell me,” when she looked back at the video. In our next meeting, she told me that she had been focused on making the shift and could already feel a palpable difference in how kids spoke to her and each other.

“Tell me” indicates that I, the teacher, have asked a question and want an answer. I want to judge what has been said. That judgment might be positive or negative, affirming or critiquing, but regardless the judgment is solely mine. I’m the one who is going to be looking at the student when they talk, and I also expect that they will look at me. At this stage, I am probably not thinking that much about the other students because I have asked the participating student to tell me…and me alone.

“Tell us,” on the other hand, means that I, the teacher, want the student to share their thoughts with the entire class. I want to start a conversation, but I also want the student to look at their classmates and communicate the information to them directly. I want them to be audible enough for everyone to hear them, not just me. Each student should know that their voice matters–not just because they happen to be answering my question but because we all have something to learn from what they say.

Many teachers want their classrooms to feel like a community, where students learn from each other and care about what the others are saying. Noble intentions like these are made possible primarily through the little decisions we make in our interactions with individual students.

Every word matters.

Once teachers embrace ‘Tell us,’ small but deliberate moves can reinforce this shift in student discourse. Here are a few strategies to make this shift in language as impactful as possible:

• Intentionally time when you call on a student to tell us. Only call on a student to “Tell us,”  after every student has an opportunity to engage. As Anita Archer and Spencer Kagan have written extensively about, every question should be an opportunity for every student to respond. At the same time, teachers will need to elevate certain voices for the whole class to hear, whether it’s to showcase strong thinking, elevate different perspectives, or highlight a misconception. To meet both needs–ensuring that all students participate while also elevating key voices–give all students time to think, write, or talk before selecting one or more students to share. Then, say “Tell us _____.”
• Be intentional with your movements. When you call on someone to “tell us _____,” move away from the speaker and look around the class. This encourages the student to speak audibly because they realize they aren’t talking directly to you. It also encourages them to make eye contact with those around them, as they are now talking to the entire class instead of you. 
• Motion to the class as you speak. When saying, “Tell us_____,” simply moving one arm from one side of your body to the other–much as a preacher might speak to a congregation–visually communicates that the class is being invited to listen. It is also an invitation for the speaker to be attentive to communicating with the entire class.

If we want students to see learning as a shared experience, we must be intentional in the language we use. What small shifts can you make today to build a more inclusive and collaborative classroom–one where every voice truly matters? 

The next time you ask a question in your classroom, consider pausing for a moment before speaking. Will you say, “Tell me’ or will you say ‘Tell us?’”

Key points:

• Creating a culture where all students see themselves as capable math thinkers starts with leaders
• Key questions that unleash powerful PLCs
• Ethical PD: Doing right by the teachers who do right by the world
• For more news on teachers PD, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub

One of my first vivid memories of math is of timed tests. I still remember how visceral my panic felt–sweaty palms, heart pounding–as I scrambled to recall facts before the clock ran out.

You might have a similar memory, too.

Truth is, math anxiety is all too universal an experience. And when math can be used as a gatekeeper, preventing students from pursuing their career and life dreams, it’s worth considering how to tackle math anxiety in our classrooms. While there are many reasons students experience math anxiety, I believe the root of this issue has a lot to do with math identity.

As a math educator, I hear the phrase “I am not a math person” all too often. And like many educators I know, each time I hear those six words, especially from students, part of my soul is crushed.

To me, math identity is the belief in one’s ability to do math and use it in life. This feeling of not being a math person creates the mindset that one’s math ability cannot change meaningfully over time through study and practice. It’s also based on a narrow understanding of what it means to know and do math; “being a math person” means memorizing formulas, computing quickly in your head, and being fluent with algebraic procedures only.

These false assumptions are holding back achievement for far too many students. With the right instructional approach, everyone can learn and do math.

So how can we help students achieve positive orientations to math education?

Redefine what it means to be good at math.

Remember that all students come to us with a math identity, even our kindergarten students! They come into our classrooms with beliefs, experiences, attitudes, and feelings about math that shape how they ‘show up’ in our classrooms.

Students also come into school with differing levels of math preparation. Some have parents or guardians who have introduced them to foundational concepts and skills. Some have had no exposure. The well-prepared students perform better at the outset of K-12 learning and the underprepared students struggle to keep up. Thus begins the fallacy that some students are “math people” and some are not.

As such, it’s imperative we create space for every student to build a positive math identity. That includes widening our view of what it means to be good at math. This can be everything from students asking good questions and sharing their thinking verbally to relating a new problem to prior knowledge and using a visual representation to illustrate their thought process. There are many ways problem solving skills can manifest, and through offering students problems with multiple solution paths and multiple entry points, we can enable these math skills to develop.

Give students a voice.

The teacher and textbook aren’t the sole authorities in the classroom. Take opportunities to showcase student thinking, and make sure to balance which student voices we are highlighting and the impact it could have on all students’ identity development.

These small choices can have waves of impact. I’ll never forget a particular student in my Grade 8 math class. According to state testing, she had been labeled a “Level 1” out of 5 in math–the lowest category. She lacked confidence and held a deeply negative math identity. Early in the year, students worked in groups on a task with multiple solution paths. This student had approached the problem in a unique way. I asked if she’d be willing to share her thinking with the class. Her eyes went wide, her face flushed red, and she shook her head. But I told her the class would benefit from her solution, and they could make connections between her solution and theirs. She reluctantly agreed to allow me to put her work under the document camera and have the class make sense of her solution path.

The fact that her work was highlighted, and that the class was talking about how her work supported their understanding of the math content, positioned her as a capable and competent math student. From that moment on, her confidence and demeanor in class were different. She felt, maybe for the first time, like she belonged in math class. Moments like this remind me that every student has brilliance to share–we just have to create space for it to shine.

School leaders have a big role here, too.

School and district leaders also play a crucial role in shaping students’ math identities–not only through the systems they create, but through the beliefs they model.

One of the most powerful things leaders can do is recognize how their own math identity influences their instructional leadership. When a school leader says, “I’m not a math person,” it sends a message to staff and students alike: that math ability is fixed, and some people just don’t have it. Instead, we should treat math identity on a sliding scale and help everyone move toward greater confidence and competence.

A strong starting point is to collaborate with teachers to develop a shared mathematics vision statement. This vision should articulate what effective math instruction looks like in your school or district and include a clear commitment to fostering positive math identity. It becomes the anchor for coherent expectations and a common language that supports teaching and learning schoolwide.

But vision alone isn’t enough. Teachers need the tools and time to bring that vision to life.

High-quality instructional materials (HQIM) can make a powerful difference. When grade-level rigor is built in, teachers are freed up to focus on how to deliver lessons in a way that invites all students into mathematics. The most effective materials offer built-in structures that prioritize student voice and help teachers anticipate and build on student thinking.

Professional development also plays a crucial role. I didn’t gain my full understanding of mathematical concepts until long after I’d already been “successful” in the system. Ongoing learning through courses, conferences, and collaboration continues to shape my math identity and strengthen the support I offer to students. Teachers deserve that same opportunity to grow, reflect, and refine their practice over time.

Creating a culture where all students see themselves as capable math thinkers starts with leaders. When we invest in our educators’ growth and align our systems around a shared vision, we create the conditions for every student to thrive in math–and beyond.

Put your oxygen mask on first.

Before we can think about building positive math identities in our students, we need to take a moment to evaluate our own math identities. Only then can we make sense of how our actions and beliefs could promote or diminish developing positive math identities in our students.

One way to do this is to reflect on your personal math experience. I like to encourage educators to engage in prompts like: What was an experience when you were engaged in learning that has had a lasting impact on you? Or, how do you currently feel when you are working on a math task compared to other times of your life? Who in your sphere (family, teachers, friends, etc.) has played a pivotal role in your math story? These reflections are a good reminder that we all have a math identity, and for teachers specifically, our math identity influences the decisions we make in the classroom, like what content to teach and how we teach it.

By examining our own math journeys, we can begin to shift what’s possible for our students. When we model curiosity, persistence, and even vulnerability, we show students that growth comes from trying–not from always having the right answer. Embracing not knowing helps foster the belief that every student is a deserving, capable learner of math.

Key points:

• States are investing in career-connected learning (CCL) to boost employability
• 5 ways kids will learn about careers in 2025
• How CTE supports college and career readiness
• For more news on career-connected learning, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a fundamental psychological theory that explains human motivation. At its base are physiological and safety needs, followed by love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization at the peak. While this theory is universally recognized for understanding personal growth in human development, it can also be applied to an individual’s educational journey.

Had Maslow been an educator, he might have reconsidered the foundation of our education system to one that would align student aptitudes and interests to sustain the rapidly changing workforce. Consider the phrase, “If you give a man a fish, he will be hungry tomorrow. If you teach a man to fish, he will be richer forever.” It could be applied here, too. If we pair students’ strengths and aptitudes with in-demand careers through personalized learning, we are ensuring the success of our students and tomorrow’s workforce, thus realigning motivation and fulfilling the individuals Hierarchy of Needs.

States have begun investing in career-connected learning (CCL) to connect learning to career pathways as a means to boost employability and inevitably support businesses and the local economy.

Students are rarely guided toward career paths that match their aptitudes (or natural talents). But if our districts began doing so, we would likely see higher levels of employment and job satisfaction, and lower economic instability and gaps in the job market. This could ultimately impact our communities and the national economy at large.

While work is being done, there is still plenty to do as the career exposure gap grows, particularly in IT, manufacturing, finance, and more. It’s time for educational stakeholders–policy, K-12 decision makers, guidance counselors and parents alike–to rethink how we prepare young people for their futures.

The foundation: Addressing basic needs first

It has become ever so clear that every student, starting as early as junior high, should have the opportunity to take an aptitude assessment. Researchers have identified that students’ natural aptitudes solidify by age 14, forming the foundation for understanding what they’re inherently good at. If Maslow were designing today’s educational experience, this would be the starting point–helping students discover their strengths and setting the stage for growth.

Students’ ability to learn, and therefore their level of education, has always shown to have direct correlations to their physical well-being and sense of security. Often, students feel discouraged and unengaged in their coursework because it doesn’t connect to their innate strengths, making it harder to feel confident in their abilities and motivated to tap into potential future pathways for employment. 

When these foundational supports are provided, students are likely to feel ready to explore career opportunities and develop the workplace-ready skills needed in today’s economy.

Building confidence: Belonging and self-esteem in education

Students thrive when they feel a sense of belonging–both in the classroom and in the broader community. They also need to build self-esteem by experiencing achievement, recognition, and purpose. Connecting education with natural aptitudes and real-world career experiences can foster this sense of belonging and achievement.

Encouraging students to participate in internships, apprenticeships, or mentorship programs can bridge the connection between their talents and real-world job opportunities. This fosters a sense of community and a personal identity tied to their future careers and success. CCL helps students understand that they have valuable contributions to make, both in school and beyond, which often leads to students taking ownership of their educational journeys.

Path to self-actualization: Unlocking career potential

At the pinnacle of Maslow’s hierarchy is self-actualization. Students are no longer just attending school to pass tests–they are actively seeking knowledge and skills to help them achieve their dreams. Students are often more motivated when they see the relevance of their learning, especially when they understand how it connects to their future aspirations.

Tech solutions have helped districts provide personalized career assessments and work-based learning experiences for students, which empowers them to explore their career interests in-depth. When we offer students opportunities for hands-on exploration and real-world application, they find greater fulfillment in their educational experiences and a stronger desire to achieve higher learning goals.

The crisis: How the current system is failing to meet Maslow’s vision

Most high school graduates (75 percent) do not feel prepared to make college or career decisions after graduation.

Simultaneously, 40 percent of employers stated that educational institutions do not sufficiently prepare students for their future careers, and 90 percent emphasized the need for stronger partnerships between K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions.

Despite the clear benefits of linking education to career pathways, more often schools solely focus on academic success, neglecting the broader skills students need to thrive in the workforce. And CCL is frequently seen as a nice-to-have, rather than an essential piece of education. The growing career exposure gap is evidence of this disconnect.

Closing this disconnect begins with helping people understand where to invest in their skills. 

A new model: Career-connected learning as the solution

By ensuring basic needs are met, fostering belonging and esteem, and unlocking students’ potential, we equip students with the real-world skills they need to succeed. CCL benefits every student and should be seen as an essential part of education, not just a nice-to-have.

Personalized learning platforms, aptitude assessments, career identification, and skill-based learning tools provide the foundation for this transformation. But it’s the convergence among educators, employers, policymakers, and technology providers that will ultimately ensure that every student has the opportunity to realize their full potential. 

My final thoughts: Maslow would remind us that education isn’t just about filling students’ heads with knowledge–it’s about inspiring them to dream, grow, and discover their limitless opportunities. This vision offers not just hope for individual students, but economic benefits for society as a whole.

Key points:

• New graduation requirements let schools redefine what it means to be truly prepared for the future
• 5 ways kids will learn about careers in 2025
• Online learning in high school helps students explore career pathways
• For more on workforce readiness, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

Across the country, education is on the brink of significant change. As schools, districts, and policymakers grapple with the realities of a rapidly evolving workforce that requires discipline-specific knowledge, high-tech know-how, and hands-on skills, there is a growing recognition that the traditional approaches to preparing students for the real world no longer suffice. 

This shift brings uncertainty and anxiety for district leaders here in Indiana. Change can be intimidating, especially when the stakes are as high as the future success of our students. Yet, this moment also holds immense potential to redefine what it means to truly ready them for a workplace that is continually reinventing itself.

To confront the challenges future-focused schools face, we’re sharing our approach from two distinct, but complementary, perspectives. One, from the superintendent of Eastern Hancock Schools, a small, rural district in Indiana that is deeply rooted in its community and focused on creating opportunities for students through strong local partnerships. The other, from the president and CEO of Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national nonprofit organization that provides schools with innovative, hands-on, project-based STEM curriculum designed to develop critical skills and knowledge, while preparing students for careers beyond the classroom. 

While we work in different contexts, our shared mission of preparing students and educators for an ever-changing world unites us. Together, we aim to highlight the excitement and possibility that change can bring when approached with readiness and purpose.

Redefining what it means to be ready

The jobs of tomorrow will demand far more than technical knowledge. As industries transform at warp speed, accelerated by AI, automation, and other technological advancements, many of today’s students will enter careers that don’t yet exist. 

Preparing them for this reality requires educators to focus on more than just meeting academic benchmarks or prepping for the next standardized test. It demands fostering critical thinking, collaboration, communication skills, and, perhaps most importantly, confidence–characteristics many employers say are lacking among today’s graduates.

At Eastern Hancock, this preparation begins by creating opportunities for students to connect their learning to real-world applications. The district’s robust work-based learning program allows juniors and seniors to spend part of their day in professional placements across industries, such as construction, healthcare, engineering, and education, where they receive hands-on training. These experiences not only provide exposure to potential careers but also help students develop soft skills, including teamwork and problem-solving, that are critical for success in any field.

We also know that when students have earlier access to STEM learning and concepts, they are more inclined to pursue a STEM-driven career, such as computer science and engineering. Students in PLTW programs tackle meaningful problems as capable contributors, such as designing prototypes to address environmental issues, exploring biomedical innovations, and solving arising problems like cybersecurity and information safety.

Preparation, however, is about more than providing opportunities. Many students dismiss career paths because they lack the self-assurance to see themselves thriving in those roles. Both Eastern Hancock and PLTW work to break down these barriers–helping students build self-esteem, explore new possibilities, and develop confidence in chosen fields they may have once considered out of reach.

Empowering educators to lead with confidence

While students are at the heart of these changes, educators are the driving force behind them. For many teachers, however, change can feel overwhelming, even threatening. Resistance to new approaches often stems from a fear of irrelevance or a lack of preparation. To truly transform education, it is essential to support teachers with the resources, tools, and confidence they need to thrive in evolving classrooms.

PLTW’s professional development programs equip educators with training that builds their capacity to lead transformative learning experiences. Teachers leave PLTW sessions with practical strategies, a renewed sense of purpose, and the self-assurance to inspire their students through immersive classroom experiences.

At Eastern Hancock, the promise of growth drives efforts to support educators through professional development that aligns with their goals and the district’s vision. Teachers collaborate to set meaningful objectives, fostering a culture of innovation and shared purpose. This approach ensures that educators feel prepared not only to guide students but also to grow alongside them.

Blending a local approach and national reach illustrates how schools and organizations at every level can work together to address the shared challenge of preparing and supporting educators for the future. By empowering teachers with the tools and confidence they need, both Eastern Hancock and PLTW demonstrate how readiness can ripple outward to transform entire communities.

Delivering on the promises of education

Indiana’s reimagined graduation requirements offer schools the chance to redefine what it means to be truly prepared for the future. At Eastern Hancock, we’ve seen how aligned values–like those we share with PLTW–can inspire new ways of thinking about career readiness. We’re both deeply committed to ensuring students are equipped with the skills, experiences, and confidence they need to thrive in an unpredictable world.

Change may cause anxiety, but it also creates opportunities for innovation, growth, and excitement. When educators, students, and communities embrace readiness, the future of education becomes a source of hope and possibility-for Indiana and for the nation.

FREMONT, CA – Optoma, a world-leading provider of visual solutions, today announced its latest Creative Touch 3-Series Interactive Displays designed to empower educators and business professionals with new tools and features to enhance learning, make presentations more effective, and increase collaboration in classrooms, lecture halls, boardrooms, remote working and other business environments.

With Google’s Enterprise Device Licensing Agreement (EDLA) Certification and added functionality, the new 3-Series empowers professionals and educators to deliver dynamic and impactful content by providing cutting-edge tools that streamline management and elevate engagement. The advanced capabilities of the new 3-Series simplify planning and workflow through wireless collaboration, screen sharing, and innovative meeting solutions in both corporate and educational environments alike, all packed into a robust yet user-friendly platform.

The 3-Series: Purpose-Built for Corporate and Education Environments

New features and key highlights include:

Google EDLA Certification: Ensures compatibility and optimized performance with thousands of educational applications and services available directly from the pre-installed Google Play Store allowing users to experience the full Google Suite for real-time collaboration from practically anywhere in the world.  Without compatibility issues or the hassle of connecting an external PC, users can easily access the entire suite of Google-based applications they are accustomed to – including Google Drive, Google Docs, YouTube, and more!

The Optoma Solution Suite (OSS®): User-friendly software featuring Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled tools, such as Sticky Notes* and AI Handwriting Recognition, the OSS package also includes:

• Whiteboard: Unleash creativity through a digital whiteboard packed with tools that make learning and sharing ideas engaging – facilitating collaboration in real-time from anywhere.
  • Smart Sketch tool is ideal for drawing diagrams as it recognizes shapes and drawings and converts them into clipart images.
  • Floating Toolbar and Infinity Canvas allow you to seamlessly switch between tools to suit your tasks with a virtually limitless writing space.
  • Innovative Annotation and Highlighter Tools make underlining key points or annotating complex diagrams a breeze.
• File Manager: Easily save, organize, or move files from local storage to networkable storage or to popular cloud services in seconds.
• Display Share: Connect any device to wirelessly broadcast, share, or stream your content to the big screen. Bringing your own device has never been easier.

Exceptional Performance: Seamless performance with an 8-core processor, Android 14 OS, and Zero Bonding screen for that natural writing experience.

“We are excited to announce our new 3-Series and partnership with Raptor Technologies which truly embodies our commitment to supporting education through cutting-edge visual solutions, enhanced software packages and safety and security,” said Maria Repole, Head of Marketing at Optoma.

A value-added solution, Optoma Management Suite (OMS®) is available out of the box on the 3-Series Interactive Displays, with a free trial available.** OMS offers IT administrators and technicians a real time remote platform to monitor, manage, diagnose, and update multiple or entire fleets of displays simultaneously that are either on the same network or connected through the cloud. OMS makes it easy to broadcast emergency messages, alerts, or announcements across displays worldwide.

Optoma is thrilled to partner with Raptor® Technologies, the leading innovator in school safety solutions, redefining the landscape of school security with its Raptor School Safety Software Suite. By integrating Raptor’s software with Optoma’s interactive displays, school administrators and students can receive real-time alerts and emergency notifications using CAP protocols to improve the overall safety of the school.

To experience a demonstration and learn more about Optoma’s new Creative Touch 3-Series Interactive Displays, please schedule a demo or visit: https://www.optomausa.com/products/interactive-flat-panel-displays-3-series/education https://www.optomausa.com/products/interactive-flat-panel-displays-3-series/corporate

*Some AI features may require the use of an Optoma (OSS) account.

**Free trial licenses are available for a limited time. Please register your OMS® Cloud account at https://oms.optoma.com or speak with your local representative.

OMS and OSS are registered trademarks of Optoma Corporation

DLP is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments

About Optoma Technology, Inc.  

Optoma combines cutting-edge technology and innovation to deliver remarkable visual display products designed to connect audiences with engaging video experiences. From the company’s ProScene projectors to its Creative Touch interactive, Professional LCD and LED displays, Optoma’s suite of products can meet the demands of nearly any professional environment, including conference rooms and classrooms, digital signage, corporate, houses of worship, retail, simulation environments and control rooms. Optoma Technology is the U.S. headquarters for The Optoma Group, with continental headquarters also in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit optomausa.com.   

CHICAGO, IL (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Otus, a leading provider of K-12 student data and assessment solutions, has been awarded a prestigious Gold Stevie® Award in the category of Customer Service Department of the Year at the 2025 American Business Awards®. This recognition celebrates the company’s unwavering commitment to supporting educators, students, and families through exceptional service and innovation.

In addition to the Gold award, Otus also earned two Silver Stevie® Awards: one for Company of the Year – Computer Software – Medium Size, and another honoring Co-founder and President Chris Hull as Technology Executive of the Year.

“It is an incredible honor to be recognized, but the real win is knowing our work is making a difference for educators and students,” said Hull. “As a former teacher, I know how difficult it can be to juggle everything that is asked of you. At Otus, we focus on building tools that save time, surface meaningful insights, and make student data easier to use—so teachers can focus on what matters most: helping kids grow.”

The American Business Awards®, now in their 23rd year, are the premier business awards program in the United States, honoring outstanding performances in the workplace across a wide range of industries. The competition receives more than 12,000 nominations every year. Judges selected Otus for its outstanding 98.7% customer satisfaction with chat interactions, and exceptional 89% gross retention in 2024. They also praised the company’s unique blend of technology and human touch, noting its strong focus on educator-led support, onboarding, data-driven product evolution, and professional development.

“We believe great support starts with understanding the realities educators face every day. Our Client Success team is largely made up of former teachers and school leaders, so we speak the same language. Whether it’s during onboarding, training, or day-to-day communication, we’re here to help districts feel confident and supported. This recognition is a reflection of how seriously we take that responsibility and energizes us to keep raising the bar,” said Phil Collins, Ed.D., Chief Customer Officer at Otus.

Otus continues to make significant strides in simplifying teaching and learning by offering a unified platform that integrates assessment, data, and instruction—all in one place. Otus has supported over 1 million students nationwide by helping educators make data-informed decisions, monitor progress, and personalize learning. These honors reflect the company’s growth, innovation, and steadfast commitment to helping school communities succeed.

About Otus

Otus, an award-winning edtech company, empowers educators to maximize student performance with a comprehensive K-12 assessment, data, and insights solution. Committed to student achievement and educational equity, Otus combines student data with powerful tools that provide educators, administrators, and families with the insights they need to make a difference. Built by teachers for teachers, Otus creates efficiencies in data management, assessment, and progress monitoring to help educators focus on what matters most—student success. Today, Otus partners with school districts nationwide to create informed, data-driven learning environments. Learn more at Otus.com.

Stay connected with Otus on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Instagram.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

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

In a corner of Huffman High School, the sounds of popping nail guns and whirring table saws fill the architecture and construction classroom.

Down the hall, culinary students chop and saute in the school’s commercial kitchen, and in another room, cosmetology students snip mannequin hair to prepare for the state’s natural hair stylist license.

Starting this fall, Alabama high school students can choose to take these classes–or any other state-approved career and technical education courses–in place of upper level math and science, such as Algebra 2 or chemistry.

Alabama state law previously required students to take at least four years each of English, math, science and social studies to graduate from high school. The state is now calling that track the “Option A” diploma. The new “Option B” workforce diploma allows students to replace two math and two science classes with a sequence of three CTE courses of their choosing. The CTE courses do not have to be related to math or science, but they do have to be in the same career cluster. Already, more than 70% of Alabama high school students take at least one CTE class, according to the state’s Office of Career and Technical Education/Workforce Development.

The workforce diploma will give students more opportunities to get the kind of skills that can lead to jobs right after high school, legislators said. But there’s a cost: Many universities, including the state’s flagship University of Alabama, require at least three math credits for admission. The workforce diploma would make it more difficult for students on that track to get into those colleges.

The law passed in 2024 alongside a spate of bills aimed at boosting the state’s labor participation rate, which at 58% as of January remained below the national rate of 63%. Simply put, Alabama wants to get more of its residents working.

The new diploma option also comes at a time when public perception of college is souring: Only 36% of U.S. adults have a lot of confidence in higher education, according to a 2024 Gallup poll. Just 43% of Alabama high schoolers who graduated in 2023 enrolled in one of the state’s public colleges the following fall.

“The world of higher education is at a crossroads,” said Amy Lloyd, executive director of the education advocacy nonprofit All4Ed and former assistant secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education. “Americans are questioning the value of the return on their investment: Is it worth my money? Is it worth my time?”

Counselors play key role as students weigh trade-offs

One recent afternoon in Huffman High School’s architecture class, a few students in bright yellow safety vests were measuring a wall they had built. At the end of the semester, the project will culminate in a tiny home.

Lucas Giles, a senior, started taking architecture his sophomore year as a way to “be able to fix things around the home without having to call other people,” he said. The new workforce diploma option won’t apply to him since he’s graduating this year, but he said he likely would have opted for it to fit more architecture classes into his schedule–that is, until he learned it would make it harder for him to attend college and study engineering.

“I wouldn’t have the credits,” Giles realized.

Students who earn a workforce diploma and end up wanting to go to college after all can enroll in community colleges, or aim for state colleges that have less stringent admissions requirements, said Alabama education chief Eric Mackey. The key to the new diploma will be ensuring school counselors are properly advising students, he added.

“That’s where the counselor comes in and says, ‘If you want to be a nurse, then yes, you need the practical stuff at the career tech center–taking blood pressure and trauma support–but you also need to be taking biology, physiology, chemistry and all those things, too,‘” Mackey said.

Because the diploma only makes sense for a specific subset of students–those who do not plan to go to a four-year college that requires more math or science and who cannot otherwise fit CTE classes in their schedule–counselors have a huge role to play in guiding students. As of 2023, there were 405 students for every counselor in Alabama’s public schools, well over the recommended ratio of 250 to 1.

Mackey said the state added career coaches in recent years to ease the counseling workload, but in many districts there is just a single coach, who rotates among schools.

Samantha Williams, executive director of the nonprofit Birmingham Promise, fears the workforce diploma may shut off students’ options too early. Birmingham Promise helps students in Birmingham City Schools pay college tuition and connects them to internship opportunities while in high school.

“Do you really think that all of our school districts are preparing students to know what they want to do” by the time they’re in high school, Williams asked.

Williams also worries that lower-performing students might be steered to this diploma option in order to boost their schools’ rankings.

Students who opt for the workforce diploma will not have their ACT test scores included in their schools’ public reports. Legislators decided that schools should not have to report standardized test scores for students who did not have to take the requisite math and science classes.

“The concern a lot of people voiced was ‘Hey, isn’t everyone just going to place the kids who are underperforming in the workforce diploma so their ACT scores don’t bring down the whole?‘” Williams said. “There’s a strong perverse incentive for people to do that.”

Speaking to the state’s Board of Education last fall, Mackey warned the “furor of the state superintendent will come down on” anyone who tries to redirect students toward the workforce diploma because of low ACT scores.

Career and technical education courses already popular

At Headland High School in rural Henry County, Alabama, every student takes at least one CTE course, according to Principal Brent Maloy. The most popular classes, he said, are financial management and family consumer science.

“We don’t force them in–everybody registers themselves, they pick their own classes,” Maloy said. “But there’s just about a zero percent chance that a kid’s not going to have a career tech class when they graduate.”

The school has hosted information sessions for parents and students about the new diploma option ahead of next school year. In a poll of rising juniors and seniors, 20% said they would like to pursue a workforce diploma, and another 30% said they might be interested. Maloy is anticipating about 25% of students will actually opt in to the pathway.

Most graduates of Headland enroll in a two-year school after graduation anyway, Maloy said, and the workforce diploma won’t hinder that. But the high school has only one counselor for its 450 students, and making sure students fully understand this diploma pathway–and its limitations–is likely to add pressure and extra responsibilities on counselors with heavy workloads.

“There’s so much pressure on our secondary counselors already just to make sure that all of the boxes are checked before graduation. It’s going to put an extra box for them to check,” Maloy said.

Ultimately, state businesses and industries want this change, said Mackey, who started his career as a middle and high school science teacher.

“They were saying, ‘We really need students with skills over, say, calculus,‘” Mackey said. “That doesn’t mean some students don’t need calculus–we want to still offer those higher math courses and higher science courses.”

But, reflecting on his own experience as a high school science teacher, “I can tell you that every student doesn’t need high school chemistry,” Mackey said.

Career pathways don’t always align with industry demands

The chamber of commerce in Mobile, Alabama, is one group that advocated for the workforce diploma. Career tech classes are a good way for students to better learn what they want to do before graduating high school, and they are also an avenue for students to get skills in high-wage industries prevalent in Alabama, said Kellie Snodgrass, vice president of workforce development at the Mobile Chamber.

Less than half of high school graduates in the region end up enrolling in college after graduation, Snodgrass said, and only 20% of high-wage jobs in Mobile require a college degree. A large chunk of jobs in the state, and in Mobile in particular, are in manufacturing.

“It’s terrible when a student goes away to college and comes back and can’t find a job, when we have thousands of open jobs here,” Snodgrass said.

In an emailed statement, Trevor Sutton, the vice president of economic development at the Birmingham Business Alliance, said the diploma option was a “win for the state of Alabama” that would allow students a chance to learn both “hard and soft skills like communication and time management.”

At least 11 states have embraced policies that give students flexibility to use career tech courses for core academic credits, according to a review from the Education Commission of the States.

Like Alabama, Indiana also made changes to its diploma requirements in 2024. After more than a year of public debate, the state created three graduation pathways that are meant to lead to college admissions, the workforce, or enlistment in the military. Those changes will be effective for students in the Class of 2029, or current eighth graders.

Having industry buy-in on career tech programs is important, said Lloyd with All4Ed, because most students will need either an industry or postsecondary credential to land a job with a comfortable wage.

“The reality is a high school diploma is not enough in today’s labor market to have a guaranteed ticket to the middle class,” Lloyd said.

The problem, Lloyd said, is most K-12 industry credentials have little use to employers. Only 18% of CTE credentials earned by K-12 students in the U.S. were in demand by employers, according to a 2020 report from the Burning Glass Institute.

The key in Alabama will be ensuring students are going into career pathways that line up with job demand, Snodgrass said. Out of the more than 33,000 CTE credentials Alabama high school students earned in 2023, only 2% were in manufacturing, which is one of the state’s highest need areas.

Still, attitudes toward high school CTE courses–once largely thought of as classes for students who struggled academically–have improved significantly over the years. And many schools offer CTE programs like aerospace, robotics, or conservation that could help students get into high-demand undergraduate programs at universities.

“We’re increasingly blurring the lines between what has been historically siloed in people’s minds in terms of career education versus academic education,” Lloyd said. “Those are very often one and the same.”

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

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

For more news on CTE and career readiness, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub.

Key points:

• Educators see the greatest potential for AI in language translation and career readiness
• 5 AI tools for classroom creativity
• With AI coaching, a math platform helps students tackle tough concepts
• For more news on AI in education, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

AI is becoming increasingly integrated into the classroom, but according to a new report, most educators across K-12 and higher education around the world don’t believe AI is the answer to the biggest challenges they or their students are facing today.

In the second annual McGraw Hill Global Education Insights Report: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Future of Education in the Age of AI, educators once again ranked societal issues like challenges outside of school (52 percent) and mental/behavioral health struggles (43 percent) as the top obstacles to student success.

While educators also said managing such mental and behavioral struggles among their students is the biggest difficulty they experience (45 percent), they seem skeptical that AI will help them address these challenges. Educators ranked supporting students’ mental health and social skill development among the issues that have the lowest potential for AI to have a positive impact, according to the survey of more than 1,300 K-12 and higher education educators in 19 countries, including the U.S., Canada, and in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of McGraw Hill.

“For the second year in a row, educators around the world and across education levels are saying the most significant obstacles they and their students are facing are those that extend beyond the classroom,” said Simon Allen, CEO of McGraw Hill.

“While AI offers new tools to enhance learning, the biggest challenges in education are highly persistent and won’t be solved overnight. That’s why it’s crucial that we continue to listen to what educators are saying so we can identify meaningful solutions to empower their work and address these ongoing challenges.”

How AI is having the greatest impact for educators

The survey also found the use of AI in education is on the rise globally. Two-thirds (68 percent) of educators say they currently use generative AI (GenAI) in their roles or expect to within the next year. Though U.S. K-12 and higher education educators rank among the lowest globally for AI adoption, use among both groups has increased over the last year. Meanwhile, educators across regions and grade levels estimate roughly half (47 percent) of their students are using AI for schoolwork.

Despite doubts from educators about AI’s ability to address their biggest challenges, its growing use is revealing meaningful ways the technology is being used to enhance teaching and support student learning.

• When it comes to areas in which AI can have a positive impact on students, educators see the greatest potential for AI in language translation (1st), preparing students for career readiness (2nd), and helping them improve grades and test scores (3rd).
• For AI’s impact on educators themselves, the potential to save time on administrative work and the opportunity to personalize learning are top ranked (1st–tie), in addition to avoiding burnout (3rd).

Among educators who said that GenAI saved them time (59 percent), the median time savings was 3-5 hours per week. However, educators don’t seem to connect those time savings to more time to tackle the social-emotional or student engagement support they struggle to adequately provide.

“In classroom contexts, AI should support the creation and maintenance of meaningful relationships between teachers and students, and among classmates,” said Dylan Arena, Chief Data Science & AI Officer at McGraw Hill. “We hope to help educators leverage AI to create efficiencies that let them dedicate more time to building connections while personalizing learning experiences for students. It’s also important to help students find ways to use AI to support learning rather than shortcutting it.”

Globally, more than two-thirds of educators (68 percent) said AI could replace only some of their job, ranking time spent on administrative tasks as the most automatable parts of their work and teacher-student relationships as the least automatable.

“AI can be a powerful tool for efficiency and personalization in education. By leveraging AI thoughtfully, educators can extend their capacity, reach, and positive impact on learners,” Allen said. 

This press release originally appeared online.

Key points:

• The workforce is evolving–students must demonstrate AI literacy for success
• A new era for teachers as AI disrupts instruction
• 5 ways kids will learn about careers in 2025
• For more news on AI competency, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

AI skills are evolving from a “nice to have” to a necessity for students who hope to enter the workforce as competitive prospective employees.

The Digital Education Council, which focuses on education and innovation through collaboration between higher-ed institutions and the workforce, has outlined an AI Literacy framework that takes a human-centered approach to AI literacy.

The framework prioritizes the importance of human skills, including as critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence, and offers higher-ed institutions structured guidance around creating AI literacy approaches that will equip individuals with key foundational AI competencies and industry-specific applications.

While the framework is targeted to higher education, K-12 students are developing AI skills and will need competencies as they enter higher education or the workforce.

The Digital Education Council defines AI literacy as “the essential knowledge and skills needed to understand, interact with, and critically assess AI technologies. AI literacy includes the ability to use AI tools effectively and ethically, evaluate their output, ensure humans are at the core of AI, and adapt to the evolving AI landscape in both personal and professional settings.”

Organized around five dimensions of AI literacy, each dimension features three competency levels to define and characterize mastery.

Dimension 1: Understanding AI and data; how does AI work?

• Competency level 1: AI data and awareness
• Competency level 2: AI and data in action
• Competency level 3: AI and data optimization

Dimension 2: Critical thinking and judgment

• Competency level 1: Question AI output
• Competency level 2: Evaluate AI output
• Competency level 3: Challenge AI output

Dimension 3: Ethical and responsible use

• Competency level 1: Understand risks
• Competency level 2: Apply responsible practices
• Competency level 3: Shape responsible practices

Dimension 4: Human centricity, emotional intelligence, and creativity

• Competency level 1: Awareness of human-AI interaction
• Competency level 2: AI as a collaborative tool
• Competency level 3: Develop human-centered AI practices

Dimension 5: Domain expertise

• Competency level 1: Applied AI awareness
• Competency level 2: AI application in professional contexts
• Competency level 3: Strategic AI leadership

Key points:

• More teachers are using AI-powered tools in instructional planning or teaching
• A new era for teachers as AI disrupts instruction
• AI in K-12 instruction: Insights from instructional coaches
• For more news on teaching with AI, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

Roughly half of districts in a nationally representative survey reported that they have provided training to their teachers about generative AI-powered tools as of fall 2024, according to new data from the American School District Panel (ASDP), a research partnership between RAND and the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

The research is based on two sources: survey data from national samples of K-12 public school districts in fall 2023 and in fall 2024 (about 300 districts completed the fall 2024 survey, and about 200 districts completed the fall 2023 survey), and interviews with 14 district leaders who either started training their educators on AI or were planning to do so during the 2024-2025 school year.

As AI moves further into classrooms, it has generated debates around appropriate use for teachers and students. It also reveals the need for district policies and teacher training.

Key findings include:

In fall 2023, 23 percent of districts said they had already trained their teachers on AI use, and 37 percent of districts said they planned to provide AI training at some point during the 2023–2024 school year. In total, 60 percent of districts surveyed in fall 2023 reported plans to provide teacher trainings on AI by the end of the 2023–2024 school year. In fall 2024, 48 percent of districts (from a new representative sample) said they had trained teachers on AI use.

Low-poverty school districts tend to outpace middle- and high-poverty districts in providing teacher training on AI use. By the fall of 2024, 67 percent of low-poverty districts reported having provided training for teachers on AI use, compared to 42 percent of middle-poverty districts and 39 percent of high-poverty districts.

Interviews conducted in the course of research revealed that most district leaders focused their initial teacher trainings on easing teachers’ fears and concerns around using genAI. Most leaders also said they encountered negative teacher views of AI tools, with many saying they viewed it as a threat to traditional teaching. Most district leaders also wanted to empower teachers as they explored genAI use. Overall, most districts seemed to take a cautious approach, focusing first on teacher use before turning attention to how students will or will not be permitted to use AI in the classroom.

Nearly all AI trainings were optional, with just one district conducting a mandatory training. One district leader noted that trainings were there to help teachers feel empowered to explore AI tools if interested. Some districts embedded AI training into broader professional development, others offered bite-size AI training sessions, and still others combined AI training formats to give teachers multiple entry points.

Eleven districts adopted a do-it-yourself approach to AI trainings, which required the leaders to identify learning objectives, create or curate technical content, and design training formats either from scratch or with a patchwork of internal and external resources. This approach shed light on the lack of external experts available to provide the type of targeted AI training teachers need.

The research also reveals two key implications for teacher training when it comes to AI use:

Implication 1: Training and support organizations can help better address educator fear and reluctance to use AI by taking these concerns seriously. 

Implication 2: Districts–especially those serving students in high-poverty schools–likely need additional support to prepare their teachers for AI.

Find the detailed research report here.

Teachers are not very optimistic about their students’ preparedness for the future, regardless of whether their students are going to college or directly into the workforce, according to new research from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup. Only 21% of high school educators believe their college-bound students are “very prepared” for success, and even fewer — just 10% — say the same about students planning to enter the workforce immediately after high school. In fact, 35% say students planning to directly enter the workforce are “not very” or “not at all” prepared. These data align with previous Walton Family Foundation-Gallup research, which found that 24% of high school students feel unprepared for college success and 29% feel unprepared for career success.

Teacher Excitement and Perceptions of Student Success Go Hand in Hand

Notably, the survey data highlight the connection between how teachers’ own excitement for teaching impacts their perceptions of student success, as well as how ensuring student success affects job satisfaction.

· Teachers who strongly agree that they are excited about what they teach are notably more likely than those who do not to say their students are excited to learn in class (83% vs. 58%, respectively) and are on track to succeed (76% vs. 56%).

· Teachers who strongly agree that they are excited about what they teach are 20 percentage points more likely than those who do not to be satisfied with their students’ academic achievement (74% vs. 54%).

· Teachers who strongly agree that they have the flexibility needed to help students do their best are more than three times as likely as those who do not to strongly agree that they get to do what they do best every day (73% vs. 22%).

· Teachers who have the opportunity to do what they do best every day are over 50 points more likely than those who do not to be satisfied with their jobs (82% vs. 31%).

Teachers Say Student Excitement Is Rare, but Consequential

Despite the importance of teacher engagement, only one in three teachers (31%) strongly agree that they are excited about what they are teaching, and just 13% say their students are excited about what they are learning in class.

Student excitement correlates to greater student outcomes: Teachers who agree that their students are excited about what they are learning are significantly more likely than those who do not to say their students are on track to succeed in school (76% vs. 36%). These findings mirror the sentiments expressed by students in previous research, which showed that the most engaged students are 10 times more likely than the least engaged students to strongly agree that they feel prepared for the future.

“Teachers play a critical role in shaping student success, and their own engagement has a direct impact on whether their students feel excited and engaged, which in turn influences their success in school,” said Stephanie Marken, senior partner for U.S. research at Gallup. “These findings underscore the need to support teachers in ways that foster excitement in the classroom, to promote student engagement and better outcomes.”

Teacher Collaboration Boosts Job Satisfaction Amid Reports of Burnout, Long Hours and Concerns About Pay

Nearly half of K-12 teachers (44%) say they feel burned out “always” or “very often.” On average, teachers report working 50 hours per week — only 37% are satisfied with their workload, and less than half (45%) are content with their level of pay. The research shows that these factors contribute directly to overall job satisfaction levels.

In addition to better pay and a more manageable workload, collaboration improves several key aspects of workplace satisfaction. Teachers are 23 points more likely to be extremely satisfied at work if they report regularly collaborating with their peers about best practices, resources and curriculum implementation (40% vs. 17%). Teachers who regularly collaborate are also 12 to 32 points more likely to agree that they know what is expected of them at work, that they have the materials and equipment they need to do their jobs right, that they have someone at work who encourages their development, and that their opinions count in the workplace.

“Teachers shape the future every day. When we create opportunities for them to do their best work and collaborate, students don’t just learn — they thrive,” said Romy Drucker, director of the Education Program at the Walton Family Foundation.

Methodology

These results are based on a web survey conducted Oct. 29-Nov. 25, 2024, with a sample of 1,989 U.S. teachers working in public K-12 schools. Teachers were recruited from the RAND American Teacher Panel, a nationally representative, probability-based panel of U.S. public school teachers. More information about the RAND American Teacher Panel is available at https://www.rand.org/educationand-labor/survey-panels/aep.html. The final sample was weighted to match the school- and teacher-level demographics of K-12 public school teachers in the U.S. For the total sample of 1,989 U.S. teachers, the margin of sampling error is ±2.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Key points:

• Every student will have a career someday, but no two paths are the same
• How CTE supports college and career readiness
• 5 ways kids will learn about careers in 2025
• For more news on career paths, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to judge a middle school competition for a
Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO). While I used to be deeply involved in CTSOs as an advisor and teacher, stepping into an administrator role has allowed me to continue engaging with students in a new way–judging events and witnessing their enthusiasm firsthand.

This year, I judged the middle school career research event, which allows students to explore careers of interest by completing a career interest survey, researching a field, and presenting key details such as education requirements, job outlook, salary, and what a typical workday looks like.

The range of careers students presented was impressive and included jobs like
animators, hospice nurses, and lawyers. However, the most popular job by far was
being a doctor. Not just general practitioners–these middle schoolers aimed high and discussed specialties like cardiology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, plastic surgery, and anesthesiology.

While their ambition is inspiring, it raises important questions for educators, such as:

• What are alternative careers in a student’s field of interest?
• Is this career path truly the right fit for the student?
• What problems are students interested in solving?
• What are the student’s strengths, and how do they translate into a career?

Starting career exploration early

Elementary school: Building awareness

During my judging experience a few weeks ago, I met students who said they knew their career path since they were eight or nine. Not because they deeply researched it but because they were exposed to a job or career early in life. One student wanted to be a pediatric therapist because their sibling received those services. Another wanted to be a hospice nurse because her mother worked in hospice care.

In elementary school, highlighting a variety of careers to younger students is key.
Educators can introduce students to more careers by:

• Inviting guest speakers from different professions to the classroom
• Organizing field trips to businesses or organizations so students can see firsthand what a typical day looks like
• Developing community engagement opportunities where students can meet
  professionals in different fields

The goal is to make career exploration fun, help students break away from what they know or are familiar with, and allow them to recognize their skills and interests while keeping their options open.

Middle school: Expanding exploration

As students progress to middle school, career exploration should become more
structured. Educators can help by encouraging students to:

• Take career interest inventory assessments to align careers with their strengths and interests
• Research career clusters to understand how different careers connect and what pathways exist
• Set short and long-term goals while exploring high school and postsecondary options
• Understand their learning styles, which can influence their career choices. For example, kinesthetic learners might excel in hands-on professions like carpentry or welding

Many middle school students in the competition chose medical careers. They
seemed to understand the demanding path ahead, which starts with an
undergraduate degree and ends with fellowships, totaling 12 to 14 years of school
and training. However, a common trend emerged:

• Nearly every student wanted or planned to attend Harvard or Yale University, showing that many think an Ivy League degree is the only path to success
• Meanwhile, their career interest survey results told a different story about what jobs would be a good fit. Many students had top matches in agriculture, biology, business, and sales, with “doctor” ranking much lower
• Despite this, the students ignored their top-ranked careers and chose “doctor” because of societal expectations or prestige

Instead of discouraging students, educators should broaden their perspective by:

• Giving them opportunities to gain real-world experience through volunteering, internships, and job shadowing. This can help students determine if a career is a good fit before investing years into it
• Encouraging them to embrace flexibility. Most students will shift career interests along the way. Educators should make students aware of other opportunities to help with this

High school: Preparing for the future

By high school, students should have a clearer understanding of their career path, but they should also keep their options open. High school students should be encouraged to:

• Select relevant courses, certifications, and electives
• Participate in clubs and extracurricular activities
• Pursue internships, volunteer opportunities, or part-time jobs in their field of interest
• Develop soft skills like communication, leadership, and critical thinking

While it’s great to see students aiming high, a realistic perspective is just as critical. Success is not limited to one path. If a student’s goal is to help people, they could consider careers in social work or physical therapy instead of being a doctor. Instead of a cardiologist, they could explore medical research, public health, or hospital administration.

Shift focus to inspire the future workforce

Every student will have a career someday, but no two paths are the same. By shifting the focus from “What do you want to be when you grow up?” to “What problems do you want to solve?” educators can help students connect their passions with meaningful career opportunities.

The key is to guide, not dictate. Encourage exploration, provide real-world exposure, and help students remain flexible in their ambitions.

Success isn’t just about titles or prestige, it’s about finding the right fit and a fulfilling path.

Key points:

• Students need modern models to succeed in today’s changing world
• Districts are turning to innovative models to ensure student success
• The League of Innovative Schools pilots cutting-edge models in districts
• For more news on high school innovation, visit the eSN Resource Center

If students are to graduate prepared to succeed as they pursue higher education or join the future-ready workforce, high schools must evolve–and innovative districts are ready to meet the challenge.

Forward-thinking educators in the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools are reimagining what high school looks like, restructuring the workday, moving from grading systems to competency-based systems, and prioritizing personalized learning pathways.

Mineola High School in Long Island (NY) features a structured but flexible mix of teacher-led workshops and seminars, asynchronous independent learning, and career training. This combination ensures students have time to explore their interests and build skills that will help them find success in life.

Vermont’s Bellows Free Academy Fairfax High School ditched the traditional letter grading system and move to a system where students earn scores based on their attainment of standards-based proficiencies. The move resulted in students no longer asking what their grades are, and instead, asking what skills they’re learning and how those skills apply to the real world around them.

At Bostonia Global, a charter school in California’s Cajon Valley Union School District, students come to deeply understand their strengths and interests through the district’s World of Work, a comprehensive K-12 career development and assessment curriculum and framework. The framework ensures that every student is able to articulate who they are and what they want to contribute to the world.

For a detailed look at how these districts are reimagining high school, click here.

Key points:

• The Trump administration is elevating AI programs in K-12 education
• The human edge in the AI era
• Report details uneven AI use among teachers, principals
• For more news on AI in education, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

A new executive order signed by President Trump takes aim at AI policies in K-12 education by “fostering interest and expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) technology from an early age to maintain America’s global dominance in this technological revolution for future generations.”

The order asserts that students need access to opportunities to grow their skills and understanding around AI use, and that early training in AI will “demystify” the technology, better preparing students to become competent members of the AI workforce.

Teacher preparation is key in this new priority, and the order notes that educators must have “the tools and knowledge to both train students about AI and utilize the technology in the classroom.”

To meet the goals outlined in the order, President Trump will establish the White House Task Force on AI Education, which will plan and help agencies implement a Presidential AI Challenge. The Presidential AI Challenge will encourage and spotlight student and educator achievements in AI and foster collaboration between government, academia, philanthropy, and industry to address national challenges with AI solutions.

The AI order is “a transparent attempt to open up schools to unaccountable tech companies, with wholly inadequate safeguards to protect our kids. It mandates that school districts spend their limited resources on unproven software, at the same time the administration is planning to slash districts’ overall funding. The administration has decided to ignore the trained professionals who will need to implement this mandate: America’s teachers. Instead, it is trying to impose AI from on high. It also appears to ignore the pressing need to enhance infrastructure, particularly broadband, in rural and other high-needs areas,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a statement.

“We want to use AI for good. While AI can be a helpful and important tool for educators and students in classrooms, we’ve instead seen systems that produce disinformation, impinge on privacy and tell inaccurate accounts of history,” she continued.

“Parents and teachers alike want students’ data and privacy protected, the ethical use of AI, and opportunities for their kids to safely engage with new technology. Instead, the president’s order prioritizes the interests of billionaire tech donors. It should be rejected in favor of what the research says works best: investing in classrooms and instruction designed by educators who work directly with students and who have the knowledge and expertise to meet their needs.”

“If the purpose of education is to prepare learners to be successful in their careers and positive contributors in their communities, we cannot responsibly serve that purpose without addressing AI in a meaningful way,” said Rob Buelow, general manager of education at Vector Solutions.

“The AI landscape is exploding and the education system is not keeping pace in either preparatory training or technology integrations. AI is now behind everything, from the information students consume in social media to the tools they’ll be expected to use in their jobs. From critical thinking to ethical decision-making to practical skill building, we need to do a better job setting students up for success as the world around them is rapidly changing. Students themselves are very clear that their classroom learning is not hitting the mark, and this is reinforced by employers who struggle with job candidates that have a clear deficiency in expected AI knowledge and skills.”

Key points:

• Students and parents often have a fragmented digital experience
• For more news on digital tools, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

A “patchwork of apps” in schools often leads to app fatigue, frustrating parents and educators who have to use multiple apps weekly, or even daily, according to new research from Cornerstone Communications, LTD. and Edsby.

The new research report, App Overload: How A Fragmented Digital Landscape Is Failing K-12 Education, sheds light on the growing complexities of digital integration in education.

With a universe of educational applications available, the study highlights how the proliferation of individual, poorly integrated digital tools in many districts is impacting students, parents, teachers, and district leaders.

A survey of over 100 teachers, 125 parents, and 50 district and private school curriculum leaders uncovered a stark contrast between administrative optimism and the realities faced by educators and families when using multiple ad hoc or even officially-sanctioned edtech applications.

While district leaders express confidence in the benefits of their selected suite of digital tools, teachers report moderate dissatisfaction due to increased administrative tasks, and parents describe significant frustration with managing multiple applications.

“In many K-12 organizations, a patchwork of apps have become an integral part of our educational system,” said Brooke Greenwald, President, Cornerstone Communications, LTD. “The challenges with this approach depend on which type of user you are. We’ve learned from our lengthy discussions and research that for schools to truly partner with parents, something has to change in many organizations’ approaches to K-12 apps.”

Key findings:

• Excessive app usage: In districts that have not selected a single, integrated system, most schools utilize between 10 and 15 educational apps with some student and parent component, creating a fragmented digital experience for their students and families.
• Parental frustration: Forty-two percent of parents rated their satisfaction when forced to use multiple apps at 5 out of 10 or lower, citing difficulties in navigating multiple platforms.
• Teacher burden: Educators spend an average of 2-4 hours per week using multiple educational apps, with additional administrative time detracting from instructional duties.
• Administrative optimism vs. classroom reality: While district leaders largely believe the current system of apps they’ve officially selected, or grown organically, is effective, teachers and parents crave more streamlined and integrated access.

The report recommends consolidating digital platforms, providing enhanced training for teachers and parents, and implementing policy adjustments based on direct feedback from stakeholders. The findings emphasize the need for unified portals and simplified user experiences to enhance efficiency and engagement in K-12 education.

“While digital tools offer incredible opportunities for improving student outcomes, being asked to navigate 15 official apps is overwhelming educators and families,” said Greenwald. “This report underscores the urgent need for streamlined, integrated solutions that prioritize usability and effectiveness.”

“Districts and private schools that assembled their own edtech suites from piece parts, particularly during the pandemic, are now realizing the downsides of the approach,” said John Myers, CEO of Edsby. “Organizations should evaluate unified, purpose-built platforms that were explicitly designed to simplify K-12 teaching and learning, break down silos, and enable app consolidation to improve users’ experiences.”

This press release originally appeared online.

We just can’t get away from it. AI continues to take the oxygen out of every edtech conversation. Even the Trump administration, while actively destroying federal involvement in public education, jumped on the bandwagon this week.

Who better to puncture this overused acronym than edtech legend Gary Stager. In this conversation, he offers a pragmatic perspective on AI in education, cutting through both fear and hype. Gary argues that educators should view AI as simply another useful technology rather than something to either fear or blindly embrace. He criticizes the rush to create AI policies and curricula by administrators with limited understanding of the technology, suggesting instead that schools adopt minimal, flexible policies while encouraging hands-on experimentation. Have a listen:

So what does AI think about Gary’s POV? In the spirit of the topic, here is what Claude took away from our talk:

Key Takeaways from Gary Stager’s Interview on AI in Education

1. The AI hype cycle has moved quickly from fear to excessive enthusiasm, with many people suddenly claiming expertise without substantial background.
2. Educators should approach AI pragmatically – it’s “just software” that will gradually make everything better, not something to catastrophize or glorify.
3. School policies on AI should be minimally invasive and flexible, allowing for adaptation as the technology rapidly evolves.
4. Hands-on experimentation with AI tools is more valuable than theoretical discussions – “the difference between nothing and expert is about 15 minutes” of actual usage.
5. AI should primarily benefit learners, not just teachers or administrative systems.
6. Creating formal “AI literacy” curricula and standards is premature and likely counterproductive – the curriculum is already “morbidly obese” and can’t handle additional requirements.
7. AI tools can serve as valuable “prosthetics” that enhance human capabilities, similar to how we use glasses without being accused of “cheating.”
8. Educational technology policies are often created by people who lack understanding of the tools, resulting in restrictive measures that limit learning potential.
9. AI can function as an effective copy editor, potentially improving student writing beyond what many currently produce in settings like AP English classes.
10. Technology restrictions in schools (like phone bans) often fail to recognize how these tools can enhance the learning process through curation, recording, and access to information.
11. The rapid pace of technological change means any fixed K-12 AI curriculum would be outdated before students complete it.
12. AI presents an opportunity to rethink assignments and raise standards by making “simple things easy to do” and thereby “making complexity possible.”

Key points:

• School districts turn to AI to improve personalized education for students
• With AI coaching, a math platform helps students tackle tough concepts
• 5 practical ways to integrate AI into high school science
• For more news on AI in education, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

Simply put, AI can do a lot–it can personalize learning, help students expand on ideas for assignments, and reduce time spent on administrative tasks, freeing up educators to spend more time on instruction.

A recent Google blog post outlines how four different school districts are leveraging Google AI tools, like Gemini and NotebookLM, for innovative teaching and learning.

1. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is using NotebookLM and Gemini for curriculum review and district guidance. CPS staff are creating Gems (custom AI experts in Google Gemini) when they upload the district’s curriculum development evidence guides and rubrics. The Gems evaluate the uploaded information and offer a review of the district’s current curriculum. CPS uses NotebookLM for clear communication and understanding around the district’s guidance and policies, ensuring they’re following district mandates.

“NotebookLM and Gemini are helping people experiment with GenAI in exciting ways, transforming the way they work and allowing them to streamline tasks that would otherwise consume their time,” said Lorne Rodriguez, manager of enterprise generative AI, in the blog post. “Knowing they are covered under our district licenses with Google allows CPS to encourage their use to revolutionize the way we educate our students.”

2. Educators in Miami-Dade County Public Schools use Gemini to generate quizzes and answer keys, and students are creating study materials aligned to concepts they’re struggling with for personalized tutoring and support. Students also use Gemini for real-time academic help, such as asking follow-up questions and details about a particular topic.

“While Gemini is providing our employees with access to generative AI, Gemini for teens will provide our high school students with the focused support of AI in a safer environment with appropriate safeguards,” said superintendent Dr. Jose L. Dotres.

3. Albuquerque Public Schools is focusing on grant writing and lesson planning. Teachers can use Gemini to create personalized lesson plans in a much shorter amount of time. With Gemini’s help, the district won four grants totaling $100,000, all by using Gemini to aid in grant research and writing.

“With Gemini, my planning is so fast and easy,” said STEM teacher Natali Barretto. “I can adapt my lesson plan to the needs of my students, and it can give me more ideas. I feel like I can give more attention to my students and projects using AI rather than spending my whole afternoon or weekends working on the planning.”

4. Personalized learning and student resources are the focus in the Ottawa Catholic School Board, where teachers use Gemini to give students differentiated experiences for needs such as special education, English as a second language (ESL) and advanced learners. Gemini also explains concepts and lesson material to students in simple and different ways if students don’t have access to a teacher–for instance, during homework or over a holiday break.

“[Gemini] really empowers the students to make sure that they’re gaining these skills so that they can take them with them to whatever role they end up being, whether that’s postsecondary or in the world of work,” says teacher Tara Potter.

Key points:

• Building an app for kids came with unique challenges
• A new era for teachers as AI disrupts instruction
• With AI coaching, a math platform helps students tackle tough concepts
• For more news on AI tools for kids, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

A recent survey found that 88 percent of U.S. parents believe AI is essential to their children’s education, but most aren’t even sure whether the technology is being used in their child’s classroom.

One promising way AI can be integrated into children’s learning is in the form of autonomous, personalized tutors that children can use at home or at school. With the global shortage of K-12 teachers reaching an estimated shortage of 40 million by 2030, there’s a big opportunity for AI to step in and help close this gap.

As a dad of young kids and co-founder of an AI educational app, I’ve taken the full journey of identifying a gap in education through my own children’s experience, and developing an AI solution tailored entirely to young learners.

Our team spent years refining this complex and sensitive technology, and I’d like to share the key lessons we’ve learned along the way with other founders.

Throw out the traditional app playbook

When my family and I moved from Siberia to California in 2014, my daughter Sofia had to adjust to a whole new language at preschool. Watching her struggle, I realized language-learning tools just weren’t designed for kids. They often involved reading (which she couldn’t do yet), they felt too much like work, and they didn’t offer speaking practice–critical for kids learning a new language.

As my co-founder and I began developing a solution, we quickly saw it would require a completely different approach to adult-focused platforms like Duolingo. Preschoolers don’t learn through drills or repetition–they learn through immersion, play, and discovery. 

In the early stages of developing any educational AI app for children, you have to be highly critical of existing offerings–why are adult apps not suitable for young minds? Do they require more dexterity and attentiveness than is usual for a child?

Study the existing literature on the intersection between children’s learning and advanced tech features. We soon discovered academic research showing how multimodal AI tutors and animated pedagogical agents can outperform traditional learning tools.

You also have to have a considerate roadmap for getting early children testers. In our case, most early users were from a relatively close circle. We were able to start in-house, with my co-founder’s preschool-aged son and my daughter. Others were the kids of my wife’s clients, and we also posted in Bay Area Facebook groups inviting parents who were interested in having their children participate in early tests.

Starting with your own network brings an element of trust and accountability to the founders’ relationships with early users and their caregivers.

Jump through all the extra hoops

Building an app for kids came with unique challenges. First, kids’ voices are much harder for existing Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems to understand than adult voices. You might’ve seen toddlers struggle to get Alexa to respond correctly! Young kids’ vocal cords are smaller and not fully developed. They speak with a higher pitch, mispronounce words (or scream or sing them), emphasize the wrong parts of a sentence, and use less complete grammar–all of which throws off speech recognition systems built for adults.

In these cases–when the available training data for human biomarkers is over-indexed on adults–you’re likely going to have to source your own training data and develop proprietary systems to process children’s inputs. We ended up building our own ASR system just for kids, which we trained on over 5,000 hours of children’s voice data from around the world.

It’s a lot of work, but having this kind of proprietary tech becomes a huge differentiator between you and competitors. You may end up with a more advanced system than even big tech companies, as well as a foundation for more expansive features.

Children’s products also have to be much more limited in their output than many powerful LLMs and text-to-video models we see today, and you will have to refine your model accordingly. We deliberately fine-tuned Buddy’s responses to keep it focused on helping kids with English without veering off into irrelevant conversations.

Responsible product development requires you to protect children’s data and privacy by meeting COPPA and other comparable standards. To become COPPA compliant you must build every element, from data collection to interactive design, in adherence to the highest standards of safety and ethics.

Look globally

Hundreds of millions of children around the world receive inadequate education or learning support. Affordable and accessible tech stands to open up opportunities for them. Over half of the world’s population owns a smartphone, so software tailored to children’s learning needs could offer educational opportunities for low or no cost, in the home.

For example, English fluency can be a lifechanging skill in terms of job opportunities, quality of life, and finances. But you get the best results by acquiring a language before the age of 7, so it’s vastly beneficial to have early access to learning tools catered to children.

Before we built our app, we tried to support my daughter with online tutors, which helped a bit but weren’t really a long-term solution. With fees for private language tutors starting at about $20 per hour, they can be prohibitively expensive for most families. That’s when I knew an interactive AI tutor could be an affordable alternative not just for me but for others with limited means.

Consider how your technology can help level the playing field and lower costs not just close to home, but in other contexts and communities. By making your edtech tool language agnostic, or offering it in multiple languages–all the more achievable with modern AI technology–you may be able to support more children worldwide. 

At its core, my advice to those looking to build impactful educational AI for children is this: Pick a problem you care about deeply, and don’t be afraid to take a unique path. It may require a heavy lift up front, but if your product can truly make a difference, every challenge is worth it.

Washington, D.C.– CoSN today announced that the Mid-America Association for Computers in Education ( MACE) and the Nebraska Chapter of the Consortium for School Networking ( CoSNE) have been approved by the CoSN Board of Directors as official State Chapters. CoSN State Chapters play a crucial role in advancing the organization’s mission at the local level. These chapters provide a platform for education technology leaders to collaborate, share best practices and advocate for innovative solutions in their regions. Through networking events, professional development opportunities and policy influence, CoSN State Chapters empower members to drive impactful change in their school districts.

MACE is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advancing educational technology by fostering collaboration, sharing best practices and supporting educators in the effective use of technology. The organization works to enhance education through responsible use of hardware and software, engage with industry partners to establish technical standards, and connect professionals in the field.   CoSNE was established by the Nebraska Association of Technology Administrators ( NATA), along with a group of Nebraska K-12 chief technology officers, chief information officers and technology directors in smaller districts/regions — or not previously associated with NATA. CoSNE is advancing the focus on policy advocacy, professional development, and engagement with state and national entities to advance educational technology leadership and best practices for every K-12 technology leader across Nebraska.

“MACE-KS is dedicated to fostering a vibrant community where educators actively using or intending to integrate technology can connect and share innovative ideas, effective techniques, valuable materials and proven procedures within educational settings. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with existing educational organizations in Kansas to contribute meaningfully to strategic leadership and system-level technology planning. This represents a joint effort to fortify the overall EdTech ecosystem within our state,” said Travis True, President-Elect, MACE.

“Our focus is on the people making critical technology decisions for school systems. We’re excited to create a space for those leaders to connect, share ideas and work together on the unique challenges we face in Nebraska,” said Bryan Dunne, President, CoSNE. “We look forward to working alongside existing education organizations in Nebraska to add value in the areas of strategic leadership and system-level technology planning. This is a collaborative effort to strengthen the overall EdTech ecosystem in our state.”

The MACE leadership team includes:
Mike Ribble, Executive Director
Lori Rice, President/Webmaster
Megan Nussbaum, Past President
Travis True, President-Elect
Ginny Duncan, Secretary

The CoSNE leadership team includes:
Bryan Dunne, President
Joshua G Jerome, President-Elect
Cory Gearhart, Treasurer
Ross Louch, Secretary
Kevin Gross, Ex-Officio
Rob Uchtman, Ex-Officio
Dorann Avey, Affiliate Member
Andy Boell, Affiliate Member
Scott Isaacson, Affiliate Member

To learn more about CoSN State Chapters and their efforts, visit cosn.org/networking-community/cosn-chapters/

About CoSN CoSN, the world-class professional association for K-12 EdTech leaders, stands at the forefront of education innovation. We are driven by a mission to equip current and aspiring K-12 education technology leaders, their teams, and school districts with the community, knowledge, and professional development they need to cultivate engaging learning environments. Our vision is rooted in a future where every learner reaches their unique potential, guided by our community. CoSN represents over 13 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. cosn.org

Connect with US
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Key points:

• AI’s instant feedback may help students from feeling lost during instruction
• Most teachers agree AI is a time-saver
• With AI coaching, a math platform helps students tackle tough concepts
• For more news on AI and instruction, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

This press release originally appeared online.

As AI becomes more widespread in education, more than half of high school students (56 percent) polled think it can go a long way in reducing math anxiety, a new global survey shows.
 
In fact, 15 percent of those queried reported that they personally experienced a decrease in math anxiety–and 21 percent found that their math scores improved–by using AI, according to the survey, conducted in March by Philadelphia-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). 
 
The survey polled 1,500 11th and 12th grade students from across the U.S. and sixth form students in England and Wales–as well as 250 of their teachers–to get their insights on the impact of AI on math education. The 16- to 18-year-old students queried are participants in this year’s MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge (M3 Challenge), an annual internet-based, intensive math modeling contest organized by SIAM.
 
How can AI help reduce math anxiety? The majority (61 percent) of student respondents suggested that because AI provides instant help, clarification, and feedback, students may worry less about feeling lost in a crowded classroom.
 
Other reasons included AI’s ability to: build confidence by providing round-the-clock help and enabling students to ask questions and get clarification at their own pace in a nonjudgmental setting (44 percent); deliver a personalized approach that improves students’ learning experience and makes math more accessible and understandable (33 percent); and reduce students’ fear of making mistakes by providing guidance without having to ask questions in front of other students (25 percent).

“Math anxiety is a longtime issue affecting millions of people of all ages worldwide, yet to date, there hasn’t been a universal solution,” said Dr. Karen Bliss, Senior Manager of Education and Outreach at SIAM. “This survey suggests that AI may be a potentially effective path forward.”
 
Teacher, student views on AI and math
 
Dr. Bliss points out that, in contrast to student responses, only 19 percent of teachers queried think using AI for math coursework can reduce math anxiety, while more than half (54 percent) are unsure. “Still, it’s clear that the majority of teachers see a place for AI in math education,” she said.

When asked for their best advice when it comes to AI and math education, for example, 61 percent of educators polled suggested that students view AI as a mentor or study partner rather than a crutch, while nearly half (49 percent) see value for students in using AI for help with the process of learning math concepts, rather than to give answers. Almost a quarter (24 percent) of teachers recommended that students create AI-powered flashcards and personalized study plans to help them understand class materials and prepare for tests in the way they learn best.

Expressing their views about AI and math instruction, more than 64 percent of teachers say that it’s best used in coordination with human education from teachers to help students create a bridge between prior and new knowledge. One in five educators believe that AI is the way of the future and both teachers and students will need to embrace it to succeed, while 17 percent stated that AI can be as valuable as textbooks to teach students concepts.

From the students’ perspective, 43 percent of student respondents said they believe there’s a place for AI in math education and it’s best used in coordination with human education from teachers, and nearly a third said AI tools have the potential to revolutionize math education by reducing math anxiety among students.

Nearly half of students said AI tools help them understand concepts without having to get a tutor, while one in three noted that these tools help them learn and understand concepts faster.

Effect on student-teacher relationship

With AI use increasing in the classroom, the survey asked respondents if they find that the teaching experience or student-teacher dynamic has changed. “Interestingly, about a third of both students (35 percent) and teachers (31 percent) reported that AI has an impact on the teaching experience and student-teacher relationships,” Dr. Bliss said.

How could or should the math teacher’s role change as a result of student AI use? Almost a third of both groups said that teachers should put more weight on tests–where AI can’t be used–as opposed to homework and class assignments, to ensure student understanding of materials.

More than a third of educators (35 percent) expressed that math teachers should master AI themselves to be able to properly vet and maximize their students’ use of AI.

A quarter of each group noted that due to AI’s ability to handle routine math practice and assessment, teachers can focus more on one-on-one interactions, addressing specific student needs, and nurturing a more supportive learning environment.

“AI has prompted a trend towards many students preferring independent learning, which can have a positive impact on their math education,” said Dr. Eleanor Jenkins, SIAM Vice President for Education and M3 Challenge judge. “This may present new opportunities for math educators, such as enabling teachers to spend more time overseeing and directing students than reviewing concepts. Teachers may also consider using AI to teach students the basics of math so they can spend more time explaining its real-life applications, something they can do more effectively than AI can.”

Now in its 20th year, M3 Challenge involves high school juniors and seniors, and sixth form students, working in small teams for 14 consecutive hours to devise a solution to a real-world problem using mathematical modeling. Of the hundreds of participating teams, nine finalist teams were selected from across the U.S., England, and Wales, after having their submissions judged by an international panel of Ph.D.-level mathematicians. Finalist teams will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to participate in the competition’s final judging event, which will take place on April 28.

Sponsored by MathWorks, the leading developer of mathematical computing software, M3Challenge spotlights applied mathematics and technical computing as powerful problem-solving tools and viable, exciting professions. This year’s competition, which will award more than US$100,000 (~£75,000) in scholarship prizes, asked students to use math modeling to devise a solution for local U.S. and U.K. authorities to deal with widespread power outages that are threatening communities as global temperatures rise and heat waves become more frequent and intense. It drew the participation of more than 3,600 students across 794 teams.

Learn more about M3 Challenge and the 2025 challenge problem. 
 
See the full list of schools with winning teams. 

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

During a quiz about plate tectonics, two students whisper in the back of my room. I notice but stay quiet. I have one chance to redirect them. Forty-seven seconds into their conversation, with my back to them, I spin around, make eye contact, and say, “I know, right?”

They pause mid-sentence, shocked. “How did you hear us?”

“This may come as a surprise, but when the room is silent, I can hear you whisper.”

Teachers often seem to have eyes in the back of their heads. They respond to a murmured question in a class full of conversation. They can tell if someone’s skipping class a floor away by reading faces in the room. Cognitive scientists call the ability to filter signals from noise the cocktail party effect. Teachers sometimes call it radar, and we use it every day.

Thirteen years in, I credit this radar with much of my success as a teacher. But it’s not instinctual. It’s something anyone can develop with practice and coaching, and my radar used to be terrible. As I gained experience, I lost sight of my growth trajectory. I lost sight, specifically, of how teachers develop the radar necessary for classroom management. And that made it harder to help new teachers grow their own skills when they asked for help.

That was until I got into birdwatching.

Birdwatching is astonishingly multisensory. Your eyes scan for the slightest disturbances in a still forest. Was that a wing flapping or an acorn falling? When the wind and rain pick up, you peer more vigorously, discerning the types of motion that leaves and branches make when pressed by different forces.

Simultaneously, you’re listening for calls and knocks that distinguish one bird from another. Was that one bird or two? Was that the same bird I just heard a half mile back? Novel sounds became distinct notes. It’s the feeling of hearing a song, and suddenly recognizing it’s a familiar tune.

These sights and sounds meld with texts, guides, and knowledge about what species are likely in an area and when they migrate. Could that actually be a rose-breasted grosbeak at this time of year? Is that pecking more likely to be a red-bellied woodpecker or a northern flicker? A birder filters what to attend to and what to ignore.

How can anyone learn this? For me, it took authentic practice and constant feedback from experienced birders. I realized that I was basically re-learning radar. And it’s changed the way I look at my early days of teaching.

For most teachers, student teaching is their most valuable preparatory experience, and a strong program gives them armor against burnout. But most education majors only get 10-15 weeks of it, and those in alternative pipelines typically get even less. States minimally regulate student teaching, so quality is scattershot.

But if we don’t prepare and support new teachers consistently, we’re just driving them back out of the classroom door. Fixing this will take time. Meanwhile, what can early career teachers do to get better faster, and how can experienced teachers help? Here are three strategies that birding made clear to me.

The first is to practice noticing things in the classroom. On a birdwatching trail, I learned to slow down for every slight movement and sound. I perceived things I didn’t know I could notice. It works in the classroom, too – just name what you observe aloud. The new kicks, the haircut, their posture. Statements of fact build the muscles of radar.

Second, observe as many other teachers as possible. My birding skills improved by moving beyond my backyard, to lakeshores and prairies and thickets. If I could start my teaching career again, I would request professional development days to observe beyond my content area, grade level, and even my school. This exposes you to new approaches to familiar challenges. You see what’s possible.

Third, I was lucky to have a trusted mentor who saw the teacher I could be, even when I was at my worst. Just as I need pointers when I misidentify a feather or call while birding, early teachers grow and sustain themselves with great coaching. A good mentor is the equivalent of an additional year of experience. But even though long-term retention of high-quality teachers pays for itself, not all schools invest in coaching. If that’s the case, look for educators you feel trust and affinity with. Ask them to observe you, give you feedback, or watch footage of you teaching. Experienced teachers want to work in a building filled with other great teachers, and they’ll share what they know to make that possible.

Today’s teaching force is less experienced than ever, with a widening gap between veteran teachers and new ones. Anyone entering the classroom deserves the support and experience they need to thrive in spite of those headwinds. Birdwatching reminded me of our collective responsibility to sustain all of us in this work because none of us gets better alone. We rely on the support and guidance of those with experience. And for most, it starts with classroom management. Let’s stop treating preparation as an afterthought. Instead, let’s invest in our early career teachers so they have the skills to rebuild our profession and build longterm careers in the classroom.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

For more news on classroom management, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub.

Charlotte, NC— Discovery Education, the creators of indispensable K-12 learning solutions used in classrooms around the world, today announced an exciting new slate of standards-aligned educational content and instructional resources for Back-to-School 2025 that will inspire teachers and engage students. The development of Discovery Education’s newest content is based on feedback from the company’s school-based partners and makes teaching and learning even more relevant, interesting, and personalized for users of Discovery Education products.

Available within Discovery Education Experience, the essential companion for engaged K-12 classrooms, this new content supports instruction in a variety of disciplines including ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Careers Exploration. Designed to work alongside innovative product enhancements announced earlier this year, these new resources empower teachers to create personalized learning experiences with inquiry, excitement, and exploration that will hold students’ attention while challenging them academically.

Among the new content and resources now available to users of Discovery Education Experience are: 

Ready-To-Teach Lessons Enhancing Curriculum

• Built around research-based instructional strategies, these new ready-to-teach lessons and activities target critical classroom needs and help teachers create unique learning opportunities for each student. Highlights include new Math Talks for grades 3-5, which feature activities focused on making sense of mathematics through open-ended prompts and rich student discussions, Daily Fix-Its and Weekly Edits, which are teacher-led presentations targeting common student grammar errors, and more.  

New Immersive Learning Resources

• Featuring interactive experiences that deeply involve students in their learning journey, the immersive resources recently added to Discovery Education Experience use the award-winning Sandbox app—available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store—to encourage active participation, critical thinking, and real-world application of knowledge. Recently added lessons enable elementary students to explore the phenomena of seasonal change, travel back in time to a medieval castle, investigate animal habitats around the world, and more.  

Exclusive Virtual Field Trips Promoting Real-World Connections
These virtual field trips are free and available to all. Register here and find out more.

• The Superpower of Story: A Virtual Field Trip to Warner Bros. Studios (Grades 6-12) This Virtual Field Trip (VFT) introduces students to the exciting world of storytelling with “The Superpower of Story” at DC Comics Headquarters. Students will get a behind-the-scenes look at how comics and films come to life with insight from industry creators. 
• “Meet the Magnets” Virtual Field Trip (Grades K-5) Hosted by Sesame Workshop and the National Science Foundation (NSF), this interactive experience takes young learners to NSF’s Magnetic Field Laboratory, igniting their curiosity about the everyday applications of magnet science in our lives.
• Total Health: A Virtual Field Trip with the NBA and WNBA (Grades 3-8) This VFT encourages students to live a healthy lifestyle with a behind-the-scenes look at how professional basketball players from the NBA and WNBA maintain their health on and off the court!  

DE Original Series Boosting Literacy Skills

• With The Writer’s Block, middle school students build grammar, literary analysis, and communication skills with relatable hosts and captivating storytelling. Launching with four exciting episodes featuring lessons on run-on sentences, context clues, and writing purpose, the series is a go-to resource for differentiated ELA instruction.  

Need to Know Series Exploring Ancient Wonders and Key Topics in Civics

• The popular social studies series, Need to Know, features dynamic explorations of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt for middle school students, highlighting geography, culture, and the lasting relevance of ancient civilizations in shaping the modern world. The new civics-focused series, Need toKnow Jr., isfor grades K-2and simplifies big societal concepts like laws, voting, and community roles, helping young students understand how our communities and governments function. Both series combine engaging student videos with ready-to-use lessons.  

In addition, the Future Ready Career Hub has been expanded with curated career exploration resources including Career Quest, a new series of student-driven explorations that invite learners to explore a range of career opportunities, and Career Profiles 2.0 activities that encourage students to step into a role of interest. These resources map to 14 National Career Clusters® and connect classrooms with Career Connect, which offers students virtual access to industry professionals. 

“Discovery Education understands that curiosity is central to the learning experience, as it drives student engagement, motivation, and persistence,” said Lance Rougeux, Discovery Education’s Senior Vice President of Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Engagement. “The new resources we are introducing today for Back-to-School 2025 are designed to pique the curiosity of all students, starting that exciting chain reaction that begins with student engagement and ends with students prepared for success beyond graduation.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s award-winning digital resources and professional learning solutions, visit www.discoveryeducation.com, and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.    

About Discovery Education 
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art, K-12, digital solutions support learning wherever it takes place. Through award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, innovative classroom tools, and strategic alliances, Discovery Education helps educators deliver powerful learning experiences that engage all students and support higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories. Through partnerships with districts, states, and trusted organizations, Discovery Education empowers teachers with essential edtech solutions that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and accelerate learning. Explore the future of education at  www.discoveryeducation.com. 

Key points:

• Building a data-literate school culture takes time and intention
• We are all digital immigrants now
• Data-informed decision-making in education: A comprehensive approach
• For more news on data literacy, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

While digital literacy has become an aspirational cornerstone of modern education, the exponential growth of data-driven decision-making across industries reveals critical gaps that demand a stronger focus on data literacy. Digital literacy provides foundational technical competencies, but data literacy is necessary to equip students with the analytical frameworks needed to responsibly navigate our quantified world.

In today’s technology-rich classrooms, digital literacy is becoming a foundational skill–students are learning to navigate devices, use educational software, and collaborate online. But as we prepare students for the future, it’s no longer enough for them to simply use technology. They must learn how to understand and interpret data that drives so many aspects of their lives.

This is where data literacy comes in. While digital literacy is about accessing and sharing information through digital tools, data literacy is about making sense of the information those tools produce and using it wisely. For K-12 educators, building students’ data literacy is not a “nice-to-have.” It is essential.

Our classrooms are data-rich, but are we data-literate?

Whether we realize it or not, data is everywhere in our schools. Every test score, attendance log, learning app, or digital assignment generates data. Teachers use data dashboards to track student progress. Schools use analytics to identify at-risk students or allocate resources. Students, too, interact with data daily, whether analyzing graphs in math class or using feedback from educational platforms to guide their learning.

However, using digital tools does not automatically mean students, or educators, understand the quality, context, or implications of the data they see. Students may know how to make a chart in Google Sheets, but do they understand what story the data tells? Do they know how to question a graph they see on social media? Can they understand the difference between correlation and causation? This gap is what separates digital literacy from data literacy, and it’s a gap we urgently need to close in K-12 education.

What is data literacy for K-12 learners?

Data literacy in a school context means more than reading charts or calculating averages. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published a Forum Guide to Data Literacy, which articulates the processes to create data-literate schools, but does not directly outline the skills of data literacy itself. The authors would posit the following are the necessary core skills for data literacy:

• Understanding how data is collected, and by whom
• Asking questions about what data does (and doesn’t) show
• Analyzing patterns and drawing evidence-based conclusions
• Recognizing bias in data collection or interpretation
• Considering the ethical use of data, especially personal information

When students are data literate, they’re equipped to make informed decisions, evaluate claims, and engage as thoughtful citizens in a data-driven world. In other words, they’re not just passive consumers of information, they’re critical thinkers.

Why it matters for K-12 teachers

As educators, we regularly interact with data, benchmark scores, reading levels, engagement analytics from edtech tools, and state test results. Data is only helpful if we can interpret it accurately and use it effectively to support learning. The same goes for students. As artificial intelligence, personalized learning platforms, and algorithm-driven content become more common in classrooms, students must understand how data influences what they see and how they are assessed. Teaching data literacy helps students succeed academically and develop the civic skills they’ll need to navigate the wider world.

Integrating data literacy into K-12 curriculum

The good news? You don’t need to be a data scientist to teach data literacy. And it doesn’t require a separate course. You can build it into existing coursework.

In math, students can move beyond computation to analyze real-world datasets. They can explore questions like, “What trends do we see in this data?” or “What might be missing from this information?”

In science, students can design simple investigations, collect data, and consider variability and bias in their experiments.

In ELA, students can critique the use of data in argumentative texts or analyze how data is used to persuade in advertisements or media.

In social studies, students can interpret historical or demographic data, question sources, and discuss how data is used to shape policy.

What’s important is creating opportunities for students to question, reason, and reflect–core components of both critical thinking and data literacy.

Professional learning for educators

Just as we strive to be lifelong learners, we need time and support to develop our own data literacy skills. Many of us were trained to teach content, not to analyze student data or model data reasoning in the classroom. Professional development focused on data literacy can help us feel more confident using student data for instruction, identifying meaningful trends, and teaching students how to critically examine information. Educators need to be given the necessary resources to support the development of data literacy, including the technology tools, time, and fiscal resources to be successful.

Schools and districts can support this work by embedding data literacy into ongoing training, not just tech integration workshops. Coaching, co-teaching models, and collaborative inquiry teams can also build teacher capacity and create shared language around data use.

Data ethics and student agency

There’s another layer of data literacy that’s especially relevant in today’s digital age: ethics. Students’ data is collected constantly, from learning platforms, devices, and even classroom tools. Yet many students aren’t aware of how this data is used or what rights they have. Teaching students to think critically about data means helping them ask:

• What personal data am I sharing–and who has access to it?
• How can data be used to help or harm individuals or groups?
• What responsibilities do we have when interpreting or presenting data?

These conversations help build data literacy and digital citizenship and student agency. It empowers students to ask hard questions and make informed choices–skills that are essential well beyond the classroom.

The road ahead

Building a data-literate school culture takes time and intention. It requires rethinking what we teach, what data we share with students, and how we engage with information ourselves. The payoff is worth it. We will create students who are more confident, more critical, and more capable of navigating the world around them.

As K-12 educators, we’ve already done the hard work of integrating digital tools into learning. Now it’s time to go further. Let’s help our students not only use technology but understand and question the data behind it. Let’s prepare them not just to function in a digital society, but to lead in it.

Key points:

• Unplugged activities make coding accessible to all students
• 5 fast and fun Hour of Code resources
• 5 ways online coding programs prep students for success
• For more news on K-12 coding, visit eSN’s STEM & STEAM hub

Teaching K-12 coding without computers may seem like a daunting task, but it can be a powerful way to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of computer science and problem-solving without the distraction of technology.

The absence of computers can be an opportunity to focus on the logic and thinking that underpins programming, allowing students to engage in activities that foster critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.

Here are some strategies and resources to aid in teaching coding concepts without relying on computers:

1. Unplugged activities and games

Unplugged activities are hands-on, offline exercises that teach coding concepts in a tangible and engaging way.

Algorithm relay race: This activity teaches sequencing and problem-solving. Students are divided into teams, and one student from each team is given a series of steps to follow, but they must be read aloud and performed in sequence. For example, a “robot” (one student) might need to follow instructions such as “take 3 steps forward, turn left, then take 2 steps forward.” The challenge is to give clear, logical instructions and perform the task in the correct order, simulating how an algorithm works.

Human robots: In this activity, students act as “robots,” and one student gives the commands. The student who is acting as the “robot” must follow those instructions exactly, just like a computer would. This reinforces the importance of precision and clear instructions. Teachers can modify the activity by adding conditionals (e.g., “If the robot encounters an obstacle, turn left”) or loops (e.g., “Repeat this action three times”).

Board games: Some board games, such as Robot Turtles, introduce coding concepts like loops, conditionals, and debugging. The game is designed for younger students and uses tiles to represent simple code commands, allowing students to navigate obstacles and solve puzzles. This is a fun, interactive way to demonstrate how code can lead to results.

2. Storytelling and computational thinking

One way to introduce coding concepts without computers is through storytelling and narrative activities. Students can create their own stories using programming logic.

Story problems: Pose story problems where students must break down the scenario into steps. For example, ask students to describe how to get from home to school, emphasizing the sequential steps involved. Afterward, ask them to think about decisions they might need to make along the way (e.g., traffic lights or road closures), which introduces the idea of conditionals.

Create a simple “Choose Your Own Adventure” story: In this activity, students can create their own “choose your own adventure” style stories. They can write multiple paths based on decisions a character might make, mirroring how conditional logic works in code. This type of activity not only introduces programming logic but also encourages creativity and critical thinking.

3. Visual programming tools

True, this approach may involve some computer usage, but it’s worth including–visual programming tools are great for introducing programming concepts in an intuitive way. Many of these tools allow students to manipulate visual blocks that represent code, which can be a stepping stone before moving to text-based programming.

Scratch: Scratch is an excellent platform for younger students to begin coding, and it provides an offline mode for use without internet access. Students can snap together visual blocks to create animations, games, and interactive stories.

Tynker: Another visual programming tool, Tynker offers a range of coding activities for various age groups. Some lessons and puzzles can be printed out, allowing students to complete them offline.

CoderZ: This gamified coding platform requires no installation and combines STEM, computer science, and critical life skills. It is suitable for educators of all backgrounds

Online resources to inspire unplugged coding lessons

Several websites provide detailed lesson plans and resources for teaching coding without computers:

• CS Unplugged: This resource offers a wealth of free, downloadable activities designed to teach computer science principles without computers. The activities range from games to card tricks and are perfect for a classroom setting.
• Code.org: While primarily known for its online lessons, Code.org also provides unplugged activities, such as the Hour of Code tutorials, which can be adapted for offline use.
• Kodable: Kodable offers a fun, gamified approach to coding for young children, with several unplugged activities that teach coding fundamentals.
• Hour of Code: The Hour of Code, part of Code.org, includes several unplugged activities like “Building Algorithms with a Dance Party,” which encourages students to learn sequencing and problem-solving through movement and music.

Beyond individual lessons, it’s important to build a coding culture within the classroom. Encourage problem-solving and critical thinking by allowing students to explore solutions on their own or in groups. Emphasize the importance of debugging, collaboration, and persistence–skills that are critical to both coding and real-life challenges.

Teaching coding without computers allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts behind programming. Unplugged activities, visual tools, storytelling, and hands-on experiences help educators make coding accessible and fun for students of all ages.

Today, ISTE+ASCD announced a $1 million grant from Pinterest to help school leaders create healthy digital cultures. The initiative will establish digital wellbeing task forces in 12 school districts, bringing together educators, leaders, and experts in youth mental health and digital citizenship. These task forces will support districts in creating the right conditions for students to practice becoming upstanding members of their digital communities. I had the chance to grab ISTE+ASCD CEO Richard Culatta for some details. Click to listen:

More news from today’s release:

While 98% of educators say teaching digital citizenship should be a priority in their school, only 36% say it is actually being prioritized, according to data from ISTE+ASCD. 

Through this partnership, ISTE+ASCD will form digital wellbeing task forces for a cohort of school districts – bringing together teachers, school leaders, and experts in youth mental health and digital citizenship. These task forces will support districts in creating the right conditions for students to practice becoming upstanding members of their digital communities. Along with other partners, ISTE+ASCD will provide guidance and support as each district explores models, shares perspectives, and develops strategies to improve students’ digital wellbeing.

In addition to supporting the district task forces, ISTE+ASCD will release a new online course which will be available to educators everywhere sharing the effective strategies for building healthy digital cultures at school as well as a new video series focused on teaching digital citizenship.

“If we’re going to prepare young people to become learners and leaders in a digital world we have to do more than teach them how to put their phones in a pouch,” said Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE+ASCD. “Becoming a healthy digital citizen isn’t just about managing device access, but teaching digital habits that spark curiosity, create community, and solve problems. This partnership with Pinterest will help school leaders create the conditions that support student wellbeing, focus, and meaningful learning.”

The initiative will model this holistic approach to digital citizenship in 12 districts including New York City Public Schools, Buffalo Public Schools (NY), Pocantico Hills Central School District (NY), Rockford Public Schools 205 (IL), and Rowland Unified School District (CA). The initiative is expected to reach more than 10,000 educators and 250,000 students across the participating districts and many more educators through participation in the online course.

“At Pinterest, we believe that schools can take advantage of all that technology has to offer students, while minimizing the harms and distractions,” said Wanji Walcott, Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer, Pinterest. “Tech companies need to work together with teachers, parents, and policymakers to build solutions that ensure in the hands of our students, smartphones are tools, not distractions. Only then can we effectively empower young people to become responsible digital citizens.”

School systems experience nearly daily security incidents with increasing sophistication, resulting in data breaches, financial losses, and operational disruptions. Recent reductions in federal support have created additional challenges, but the sector demonstrates unique strength through collaborative information sharing and grassroots support networks. The conversation highlights the critical importance of focusing on fundamental security practices, vendor accountability, and cross-district cooperation to strengthen K-12 cybersecurity despite limited resources.

Guest speaker, Doug Levin is co-founder and national director of the K12 Security Information eXchange (K12 SIX), a national non-profit dedicated solely to helping schools protect themselves from emerging cybersecurity threats.

Computer generated transcript below:

Kevin Hogan
OK. Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Innovations and Education, eSchool News’s podcast on the latest and Greatest and Everything, Ed Tech. I’m your host, Kevin Hogan on the content director for eSchool News, and I’m glad he found us in this episode. I’m joined once again by our resident cybersecurity expert, Doug. 11 to discuss the evolving landscape of digital threats in schools. Doug is the co-founder and national director of the K12 Security Information Exchange. That’s a national nonprofit dedicated solely to helping schools protect themselves from emerging cybersecurity threats. He brings over 3 decades of experience in at tech policy issues to this. Role. Those school districts increasingly rely on technology for both classroom instruction and administrative operations. They face growing cybersecurity risks. From ransomware attacks, forcing school closures to sophisticated fishing skins that target administrators, these threats continue to evolve. So in this episode, we explore the current state of cybersecurity incidents. We look into how attackers are becoming more sophisticated in targeting schools, and we identify practical steps that district leaders can take to protect their systems. Have a listen. I think Doug’s Insights will be very valuable for you. OK, Doug, as always, a pleasure to see you through the zoom and to have a conversation. I always appreciate your insights over the years on, on what our readers and our listeners can do to help protect their schools and districts. So, thanks for joining me.

Doug Levin
Yeah, my pleasure to be with you, Kevin.

Kevin Hogan
I guess usually we have our annual updates. We did these through COVID, right and you think that that might have been the craziest of times as we sit here, it’s a different flavor of crazy, but things, things continue to be interesting, right?

Doug Levin
Right, I think it’s what may you live in interesting times, right? Is is the curse as it goes.

Kevin Hogan
Yeah. So let’s dive right into it. I’m assuming from, you know, reading your work and and others that it’s not like cyber security has gotten any less worrisome, right? If not it it, it’s gotten even worse.

Doug Levin
The trend lines are certainly continuing, right. We’re seeing school systems, you know, pretty frequently becoming victims of cyber security incidents, typically seeing nearly one a day happen to some school system, large or small, across the US we are seeing an increase in sophistication and target. Running against K12, so less drive by and more targeted, they understand they’re attacking schools. They may understand who the Superintendent is or who the principal is. They may be grabbing graphic elements, you know, from the school system website or spoofing that. So that’s. Certainly quite worrisome. And then of course, we’ve seen the impact of these incidents continue to grow as well. Well, and we can think about impact really anyway you want to conceive of it, whether it’s the amount of data that has been stolen and leaked from school systems, the sensitivity of that data, the amount of money, maybe that school systems have been extorted out of or has been stolen from them through scams or even through operational disruptions. And it’s increasingly common that we’ve seen school systems literally have to close, send students and teachers home and not even be able to deliver any services whatsoever. And responding to a significant incident. The only bright side on that latter point is typically when school systems are, you know, essentially have that worst case scenario happen. They usually they’ll limit closures to maybe two or three days. Usually book ended around a weekend or something like that. But even still, when students and teachers are back in school, it can be weeks, or sometimes even months. Before their IT systems are restored. You know, it’s just what needs to get restored in order to guarantee sort of the safety of kids to come back to school is is what they’re dealing with. So definitely still a challenge for us and frankly, you know, we continue to rely on technology more and more for everything from the classroom to operations. And so this is. Risks and threats that we’re facing and we’re going to continue to face really forevermore, I.

Kevin Hogan
Think and one of the distinctions that I know in our in our. Past conversations. It’s as much about human behavior as it is about the technology itself, right? I mean, it’s most of these. Things get more sophisticated and you know, I just personally find myself continue to have to fend off, you know, that text from the boss, right, asking me to go buy a gift card and not talk a little bit about, you know, that it might not even suit me as much as the software as about training of your of your faculty and students.

Doug Levin
Yeah, I may have a little bit of a contrary take on that issue, right. It’s certainly something that I hear all all the time and there’s no question that people being aware of. Of scams and common scams in ways that you know, cyber criminals are trying to convince people to click links or share information. I mean on on offers ways that that certainly is common. But I think what we try to focus on in our work, our technical solutions that hopefully. Protect all users if we can avoid getting that phishing e-mail into somebody’s inbox, we don’t have to worry about them clicking it. If we can neutralize that malware or ransomware before it takes hold in a school system. Without a user having to intervene so much the better, because I think at the end of the day, even the training programs that send simulated phishing attacks and try to get people to click less and identify those phishing emails more accurately, you know you’re never going to get that down to 0. The real challenge I think we’re facing and. And you know our members school, it directors are facing. Is creating systems that are resilient enough that a single teacher, a single student, their access being compromised doesn’t result in the downfall of everybody’s being affected. And I’d also note we’ve seen this, you know, pretty dramatically in recent months. The weakest link that can bring down a system in some cases that link is within the school district. Itself, but in other cases it’s maybe their vendors or partners, right? And given that so many of the solutions that schools rely on are cloud hosted nowadays, it turns out that if a threat actor can compromise A vendor, they may be able to get data information from hundreds or thousands of school systems versus just. One district at a time. Couple that with the fact that school systems and a lot of these online systems have data that is not just on current students and staff, but historical records going back 10/20/30, even 40 years, just staggering to think of. About the amount that that amount of information, but also if if it gets breached like how do you even find people who were associated with the school system 20 years ago? It’s nearly an impossible task. So what?

Kevin Hogan
Sort of suggestions. Would you have in terms of measures that our readers, our district executives right now? Let’s say they have some sort of level of cyber security.

Doug Levin
Sure, of course.

Kevin Hogan
Yeah, everything’s basic. There’s an understanding that’s that’s there. What are some?

Doug Levin
Next steps that they should be thinking about taking, or even just should they be asking their vendors and their partners? Yeah. So I mean, we are big believers in in simplicity, right? School systems don’t have their resources of Fortune 500 companies with the federal government. It’s a rare school system that has. A siso or someone with a cybersecurity background in an IT role and they’ve got tremendous number of responsibilities and things they’re juggling every day just in supporting the teachers and administrators and students and doing their work and keeping the systems up and running. What we do is we focus on the ways that school systems are frequently compromised, most frequently compromised versus the edge cases where folks are taking advantage of sort of super sophisticated attacks that may involve 0 days, things for which we hadn’t seen before. They may hit school systems, but the fact of the matter is that. The cyber criminals, who tend to go after schools tend to use well worn techniques that we have pretty good defenses for. One set of practices is around password management and multifactor authentication. It is frequently the case that when school systems are compromised, it is through a compromised credential, so literally the threat actor has stolen or social engineered someone into giving a username and password to them, and then they will try that against a school system, and then once they’re enabled, you know they’re able to escalate and get. Into a lot of mischief, so multi factor authentication is a a super important step to to guard against that. School systems have made tremendous progress in rolling that out, but too often it is just on some systems or maybe for some user. And interestingly, in the last few years, we’ve seen students become a vector for school incidents as well. So I think it wasn’t that long ago we thought of student accounts as being pretty innocuous and it wouldn’t be unusual for a school system to assign easily guessable username and password to a student. Maybe their birthday, and maybe that wouldn’t change for their whole academic career. Well, it turns out that you know kids reuse usernames and passwords across services. Once you understand how that algorithm works, it’s easy to generate it for us. Others as well, and that’s led to some some large incidents that have affected school systems nationwide, coupled with sort of over sharing that’s going on in either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, depending on the system that the school system uses. So locking down those credentials. For all users. I think is a big thing to do. The second is really limiting what school systems are exposing to the. That right? So it’s trivial for folks to use scanners online to look for known vulnerable software. So people issue patches, issue vulnerability alerts and then the bad guys can go to search engines online that are sort of very similar to Google and search for servers that are running vulnerable. Software and then take advantage of that using known exploits. So there’s really two things that we ask all systems to do. 1 is to sort of know what you have facing the Internet. And limit what you can. If it’s a service running and you don’t need it, shut it down. Or if you can’t shut it down, find a way to limit its exposure to the web. You can Geo IP block to keep traffic from certain countries coming. You can put a web application firewall in front of it. You can put a VPN. In front of it, but just something that is not just leaving it exposed unprotected to the web and then related to that. Making sure to keep tabs on when patches are are available for your Internet facing products and making sure that you’re patching those systems frankly pretty promptly. Some threat actors. The time from vulnerability to actually, you know, vulnerability and just disclosed to an exploit built and then sort of used in the real world. That timeline is shrinking rather quickly. And so, you know, there may be older rules of thumbs that you want to patch with in 30 days or 90 days. Well, we’re seeing, you know, exploits in some cases within hours. So we certainly encourage folks to get onto a faster patching cadence and particularly for security patches for Internet facing systems. So those are really the things that we encourage people to focus on most. I mean, there’s a whole set of other practices that are good that are important, but those, you know, working on those I think would go a long way to reducing the the challenges that that a lot of school systems continue to. Face.

Kevin Hogan
Yeah. Now in terms of resources, obviously your organization is is up there at the top of the list to to reach out to, but also in the past few years there there were a number of federal programs and federal kind of initiatives that we would point to these school news to say you know upon. Further review and you need to do so. What is that looking like these days? And I’ll assume that those are limited now versus in the past. Where else would they reach out to?

Doug Levin
An interesting story, right? I guess interesting in quotes. So I think you know over the last couple of years we had started to make I think pretty significant in roads with the federal government to help them understand that the K12 sector was under assault and needed needed support. And we saw support being marshalled out of Sisi. The Federal cybersecurity agent. And see, we saw the US Department of Education starting to embrace its role in in helping school systems navigate this issue. We’ve seen the FCC launch a cyber security pilot program as well, and there was other money devoted to sort of SLT, state and local governments, broadly speaking, for which schools could benefit. Depending on your. Unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the first what three months of this new administration is a pretty significant sea change in how this administration is viewing the federal role with respect, at least let me speak narrowly to cybersecurity, right. So the US Department of Education’s work has ceased. And there’s obviously been large cutbacks there, so we there’s no longer an A venue for stakeholders to engage with the department on these issues. We’re not expecting more resources on these issues. That we’re aware of to be coming out of the department and some of what they. Have. Produced previously is no longer to be found on their website. For its part, this is still provides resources for K12, but just even earlier this week there been announcements that they are going through their own significant downsizing. And one of. The projects that SISA and its parent organization, the Department of Homeland Security, have been funding is a group called. Msac or the multi state Isaac. And so they serve all of state and local government, including school systems. They’ve had flat 50% funding to them, cut suddenly without warning. And I should say so far, right. And so that support is gone from schools. And at least right now it does appear that the FCC pilot program is continuing the pace, but obviously I would say that right now its prospects for becoming. A permanent part of the E rate program and the Universal Service Fund, I think are probably a little bit longer than they were. You know a few months ago. So you know, in talking to some colleagues, it it almost feels like we’re just sort of back to where we were maybe about four or five years ago where you know, enterprising groups of districts and regions and states. Working together or really having to bootstrap this support themselves. So on a I guess a good news front at K-12 6K12 security information exchange. We we act as a Ketel specific isec. We don’t have any federal funding. The federal government doesn’t dictate what we cover and they’re not the primary source for our threat. Intel for our members. So we work with a number of private providers and others to source. That threat? Until so, our work continues apace, but it’s a big country and there’s a lot of people engaged in it and. And there’s no question that, you know, while some resources remain, these sorts of cuts, coupled with other financial pressures that districts are facing from threats to school lunch funding, you know there’s concerns about, you know, Esser, stimulus money being yanked back without warning, right? All that creates uncertainty for school systems. And at the end of the day. The choice is between, you know, busing kids to school and feeding them, or buying that new advanced firewall system, or, you know, getting 24/7 sock. Monitoring like you know where that money is gonna gonna go and and there’s sort of no argument with that. But it does suggest that schools are going to be even softer targets than they have been in the past. And there’s certainly no reason to believe that the threat landscape is going to be changing whatsoever as far as schools are concerned. Certainly cyber criminals are have been successful and. Getting money one way or another from school systems, either by directly extorting it or or selling data that they’ve stolen from schools. So we don’t have any reason to believe that’s going to change so challenging times. But opportunities for us to come together. Continue to come together develop, you know, sort of common sense. Best practice, really. Our emphasis is really just focusing on a few key things and working to kind of raise the tie for all the boats there on those, you know, getting the basics.

Kevin Hogan
Right. Yeah. And it desperate attempt on my part to leave this conversation with the glass half full. Talk a little bit about the fact that districts do come together, right? I mean, there there are those sort of grassroots sort of things that I know from various Ed tech conferences that I go to. It’s like sharing best practices as an industry. It seems like this group wants to help each other as opposed to keeping secrets to themselves.

Doug Levin
Yeah, you know, that’s absolutely right, Kevin. So I I was contacted by a reporter in regards to the power school incident and they felt that it was remarkable that they saw online and in various groups that school systems were collaborating with each other to respond to this incident. And because I guess they don’t see that in other sectors and I think it’s just the most natural thing in the world for us. You know, I think we’re used to not having a lot of resources certainly as compared to other sectors, we’re in no way really competing with each other on this stuff, right. And everybody is under resourced. Everybody you know, people change jobs and go from district to district or from the district to the state. Or to other you know, outside groups and so you know, we build these networks of support and I think they’re critically important. I mean, one of our primary recommendations sort of in our long our list of recommendations for school systems and what to do is to communicate a. Celebrate right. And when I first started getting into this work, I joked that it sort of felt like Fight Club, which is, you know, the first World Fight Club is you don’t talk about it. Yeah, I think we are well beyond that now. And I think people are actively talking about it and sharing in groups within states, in groups, across States and even, you know, just based for instance. In our national conference, which you hold in February of every year, the conversations are a level. Upper right and people are sort of engaging with much more nuance about these issues and sort of talking through like trying to figure out how to to meet this moment, if you will. I also think by the way, that there’s an incredible opportunity right now for E tech vendors and suppliers to come together. You know, there’s been some recent research that suggests something that we’ve seen coming, which is that school systems are going to be asking more from their vendors and suppliers with respect to cyber security, and they’re asking for many more assurances that they’re doing the right things. This feels very much like the emergence of the. Student data privacy issue about a decade ago and right now, it feels like school systems are struggling with figuring out what questions to ask and then kind of what the right answers are to those questions. It’s a complicated thing, but I would argue that this is a moment in time where, you know, the tech companies. Probably could help the K12. Get smarter about what to ask for, like what are signals of trust with respect to cybersecurity that school district leaders should be looking for before they make a purchase or adoption decision. And so we’re relatively low in our maturity as a sector compared to others. The good news is that we can make. Pretty dramatic progress. Pretty fast if we can drive to some consensus. On some key issues.

Speaker
No.

Kevin Hogan
Well, obviously you’re very busy and get busy here every day. I really appreciate you taking the time out to speak with me. Always really informative conversation with insights that are are really helpful for our readers and listeners. So thank you and thank you your group for the work that you do. It’s hugely important and look forward to keeping the conversation going.

Doug Levin
Yeah, you beg Kevin, keep up the good fight.

Kevin Hogan
And that’s all we have for this month’s edition of Innovations and Education here at East School News. I’d like to thank you for getting to the end. I think the conversation with Doug was really instrumental, and I hope that it’s helpful for you. Until next time I’m Kevin Hogan and thanks again for clicking through.

Key points:

• SkillsUSA competitions help students learn what employers will expect of them
• How CTE supports college and career readiness
• Online learning in high school helps students explore career pathways
• For more news on careers and CTE, visit eSN’s Innovative Teaching hub

The most effective way for students to learn career-ready skills in fields such as advanced manufacturing and robotics is by applying these skills in the context of authentic projects and real-world scenarios.

For 60 years, SkillsUSA has provided these types of hands-on learning opportunities for students in the form of regional, state, and national competitions–and participants in these contests have gained valuable career experience.

A nonprofit organization for career and technical education (CTE), SkillsUSA serves more than 413,000 middle school, high school, and college students and instructors nationwide. The organization is best known for its skills competitions that bring students together to network with industry professionals and test their abilities in more than 100 career fields.

When students take part in SkillsUSA competitions, they compete with students in the state based on technical standards created by industry leaders. They learn what’s expected of them from employers in their chosen field, and they see how well they measure up to their peers.

The winners of regional and state competitions are invited to compete in the national SkillsUSA Championships, the premier showcase of America’s most highly skilled CTE students. “It’s also one of the largest hands-on workforce development events in the world,” says SkillsUSA Senior Program Manager Tracy Whitehead.

Held each June, the SkillsUSA’s National Leadership & Skills Conference event features more than 6,500 state champions from across the United States competing head-to-head in 114 skill and leadership competitions.

“Business partners make it possible for us to achieve our mission of preparing students for career success,” Whitehead says. “Their support includes personnel, equipment, and in-kind donations that are essential to hosting these competitions.”

Intelitek is proud to have served as a SkillsUSA sponsor since 1991. As a Bronze Industry Partner, we chair two skills competitions: Robotics & Automation Technology (RAT) and Automated Manufacturing Technology (AMT). We organize the competitions for these events as part of the manufacturing cluster together with other vendors in these fields and volunteers. Along with these other sponsors, we also arrange for equipment so that all teams compete on a level playing field, run and judge the competitions, and provide prizes for the winners.

In the Robotics & Automation Technology competition, teams of two students lay out and program a robotic manufacturing production system in response to a given scenario. The project tests each team’s approach to problem solving within a simulated work environment, allowing students to display their skills in a valid, measurable format.

Each project requires students to use a variety of technical skills they would be required to demonstrate within an authentic workplace, including the use of robotics, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), sensors, and electrical systems.

The most recent RAT competition was described as follows: “This competition challenges two-person teams to demonstrate operation of a five-axis servo-robot along with a set of sensors and motorized devices to resolve a production process problem. Teams set up and demonstrate operation of a robotic workcell from a word problem. Competitors also utilize and program a Siemens LOGO PLC as part of the contest, as well as a Cognex vision camera. Competitors are required to create a flowchart and sequence of operation. Teams are also judged on efficiency, speed and teamwork.”

In the AMT competition, students manufacture a part for a fictitious company doing the CAD, CAM, and then actually milling the part on a CNC machine. The competition tests their technical skills as well as their ability to work as a team, manage their time, document their work, and deliver an accurately milled product.

A 2023 report from the Student Research Foundation shows that SkillsUSA members consistently outperform their peers not enrolled in a career and technical student organization (CTSO) in seven essential areas:

1. Earning a license or certification related to their field of study
2. Meeting potential employers
3. Being excited about their chosen career
4. Gaining work experience as a student
5. Understanding the work environment
6. Being excited about school
7. Connecting school to the real world

For instance, 79 percent of SkillsUSA participants earned an industry license or certification in their chosen field, compared with 50 percent of CTE students who did not take part in a career and technical student organization. Eighty-three percent of SkillsUSA participants said they were excited about their chosen career, compared with 66 percent of non-CTSO students. Fifty-eight percent met potential employers, compared to 37 percent of non-CTSO students.

SkillsUSA competitions give CTE students real-world exposure to in-demand career skills, applied within authentic challenges and scenarios. They connect students with practicing industry professionals and help them gain hands-on experience that empowers them to excel in their chosen field.

“The employability and leadership skills–and just the motivation and the confidence you get from involvement with SkillsUSA–is amazing,” a former SkillsUSA participant is quoted as saying on the organization’s website. “It helped me to have a feeling of worth.”

The SkillsUSA NLSC competition is one of the most inspiring events I have ever attended. Seeing the thousands of students parading through the streets of Atlanta, proudly wearing their SkillsUSA uniforms, participating in competitions and events with pride, and encouraging their peers to succeed, is truly the oxygen that makes companies like ours not only come back year after year, but also gives us the motivation to do what we do all year long for CTE education.

Key points:

• We must nurture the human values that AI cannot replicate
• Most teachers agree AI is a time-saver
• 5 practical ways to integrate AI into high school science
• For more news on AI and career readiness, visit esN’s Digital Learning hub

In the Future of Jobs 2025 report, the World Economic Forum predicts that 60 percent of jobs will require upskilling or retraining, or they’ll be threatened. The skills we have today may not keep us secure for long.

As professionals at all levels confront this disruption, career survival now demands we continuously learn, embrace the discomfort of being beginners again, and boldly step into the unknown. GenAI and automation are eliminating traditional career entry points, leaving young job seekers without the stepping stones we once had (NYT, 2025). 

The AI tectonic shift: Education and workplace worlds pulling apart

This workforce transformation is exacerbated by an alarming disconnect between education and industry. The education world was always a little behind the workplace, but this gap is suddenly transforming into a rapidly widening chasm. Education and workplaces are drifting apart like tectonic plates in an earthquake. On one retreating cliff edge stand schools actively banning ChatGPT and other AI tools, clutching traditional assessment models as the ground trembles beneath them. On the opposite edge, workplaces are accelerating their AI integration, changing how and who they hire, investing heavily in generative AI training and reimagining entire workflows around these technologies.

This widening gap makes career obstacles worse, especially for young people caught in between these separating worlds. It’s time for educators to engage with industry leaders to explore humans’ role in an AI-augmented workplace and revamp what we’re teaching and assessing, ensuring young people can still find meaningful paths into the workforce.

Balancing new powers: AI’s potential to advance our shared values

Yet within this challenging landscape lies unprecedented opportunity. With increasingly powerful AI tools, we can finally tackle the harder, more complex, and messier people-problems that were previously too difficult or expensive to address. AI can help us promote universalism–understanding, tolerance, and care for people and the planet.

The acceleration of innovation, feedback gathering, and iteration creates pathways for solutions we couldn’t previously imagine. Thriving in this new world requires emotional and cognitive resilience to handle constant information flow.

AI enhances our drive for achievement but disrupts our need for security, tradition, and conformity. This fundamental challenge to identity and livelihood explains much of the negative reaction to AI–and highlights why bridging the education-workplace divide is so crucial for those entering this rapidly transforming world.

Bridging the chasm: A framework for human-AI competencies

To close the education-workplace gap, organizations are creating new training approaches for an AI-driven world. 

After reviewing approximately 100 articles on AI’s impact across different sectors, Technovation, a global AI accelerator for girls and women, has developed a preliminary progression of skills that addresses both the technological and human dimensions of this challenge.

This framework combines two critical perspectives: first, that technology is a powerful tool for action–demanding a focus on computational action rather than just coding or AI literacy–and second, that these powerful tools give us the opportunity to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges. 

This framework offers a potential bridge across the tectonic divide, equipping young people with the integrated human-AI competencies they’ll need to navigate a disrupted career landscape and find meaningful work in an evolving economy.

Building resilience in education

In the AI-transformed workplace, success will belong to those with innovation, initiative, and resilience. Developing a problem-solver mindset–proactively creating solutions, testing new approaches, and anticipating future needs–gives people a lasting advantage as traditional skills and career pathways erode. These capabilities represent uniquely human traits that AI cannot replicate.

However, current education systems fail to build these skills. We need to fundamentally rethink how we teach resilience and adaptability. Proven models already exist–the military and airline industries have been training personnel to handle life-or-death situations in uncertain environments through simulations for decades. Similarly, video games excel at building these capabilities. These immersive approaches represent an untapped opportunity to teach real-world problem solving, complex decision making under stress, and emotional resilience at scale–exactly what young people need to navigate the disrupted career paths they now face.

Beyond technical capabilities, we must nurture the human values that AI cannot replicate. Teaching the mechanics of empathy–identifying with others’ suffering and wanting to solve bigger problems–provides both moral development and practical purpose in an automated world. This connects directly to the universal values that give us purpose, and that AI can help us advance. 

The tools for this revolution already exist–what’s missing is action. We need to immediately reimagine education systems that build innovation, empathy, and resilience. Educational leaders need to partner with industry today, not tomorrow, to design and implement these approaches.

While GenAI churns out answers, we must raise a generation that knows which questions to ask and which solutions to build.

Key points:

• Many school counselors feel underprepared to manage complex student mental health needs
• School counselors ID “critical shortfalls” in student mental health crisis
• Student mental health needs grow as challenges persist
• For more news on school counselors, visit eSN’s SEL & Well-Being hub

Middle and high school counselors juggle overwhelming caseloads, expanded mental health duties, and additional administrative burdens–all of which limit their ability to provide individualized support for students, according to the 2025 School Counselor Report from YouScience.

The new analysis is based on survey data of more than 300 middle and high school counselors in both public and private schools.

Due to time scarcity, 89 percent of middle school and 86 percent of high school counselors surveyed struggle to provide personalized student guidance but understand the importance of doing so. The growing need for more resources that can streamline and enhance their daily work has become even more evident. The report found that 91 percent expressed the desire for an aptitude assessment to provide essential personalized support.

Additional findings include:

• Heavy caseloads: Over 56 percent of counselors manage caseloads of 300-400 students–well above ASCA’s recommended ratio of 250:1. As a result, counselors must prioritize urgent issues over proactive career and academic planning, which is problematic as other data has shown that 75 percent of high school students feel unprepared to make college or career decisions.
• Mental health demands: Seventy-three percent share that mental health support is a major part of their job, but feel underprepared to handle the growing complexity of student mental health needs. This lack of support can contribute to decreased student engagement in school and diminished motivation for future planning.
• Administrative burdens: Fifty-four percent noted that compliance-related administrative tasks consume a significant portion of their workday, taking time away from direct student interaction, highlighting the demand for more efficient solutions to support student guidance.

“School counselors play a critical role in shaping students’ futures, but they’re being stretched too thin to have the impact they are positioned for,” said Edson Barton, Co-Founder and CEO of YouScience.

“By equipping counselors with the right technologies, we can help them provide more personalized guidance at scale, ensuring every student has the support they need to navigate their education and career path with confidence. When counselors have access to modern solutions, they can focus on what matters most: helping students discover their innate strengths (aptitudes) and build a future aligned with their skills and aspirations.”

To enhance counselor support and improve student outcomes, the report offers three recommendations to districts: 

1. Adopt digital career exploration platforms and aptitude assessment tools to help counselors provide tailored support more efficiently at scale.

2. Invest in automated scheduling systems and administrative support to free up counselors’ time for more student engagement.

3. Increase access to mental health professionals and offer specialized training to better equip counselors in supporting students’ growing mental health needs.

This press release originally appeared online.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

When Adrienne Staten’s fellow teachers first started talking about using artificial intelligence tools in their classrooms, Staten was not on board.

“AI was scary to me,” said Staten, who’s been a Philadelphia educator for 27 years. “It was like some ‘I, Robot,’ they’re going to take over the world kind of stuff.”

Staten teaches English at Northeast High School, the city’s largest high school, where many of her students have learning disabilities, are dealing with trauma and mental health challenges, or are learning English. She said she didn’t think incorporating a new technology into her lesson plans would help much.

Then, about three years ago, a colleague wrote Staten a poem using an AI chatbot. That completely blew her mind, she said. From there, Staten decided she had to learn more about generative AI, how it works, how she could use it as a teaching tool, and how to inform students about the pitfalls, biases, and privacy dangers of the emerging technology.

AI companies have made grand promises to teachers and school leaders in recent years: Their product will personalize student learning, automate tedious tasks, and in extreme cases, transform the role of teachers altogether. But experts have also raised ethical concerns about how student data is used (and misused) by AI companies, how students can use AI for cheating and plagiarism, the erosion of critical thinking skills, and the spread of misinformation.

Philly school officials say they’re grappling with these questions, while also asserting that the district is leading the way on AI through a professional development program that begins this year. The district has established detailed guidelines and procedures for using AI that attempts to protect student data privacy. But those policies haven’t stopped the district from rethinking certain tasks, like the way teachers design assessments and judge skills such as writing.

As the technology becomes more advanced and embedded within peoples’ lives, teachers like Staten want more support and guidance about it. That means the district must respond and evolve quickly. They also want to guard against how previous technological innovations affected schools and students.

“Everyone seems to have forgotten all of the lessons learned from the social media era,” said Andrew Paul Speese, deputy chief information security officer for the district. “If this tool is free, you are the product.”

How Philadelphia schools are experimenting with AI

When ChatGPT became popular a few years ago, Staten said, “I think we all as teachers were uncomfortable.” Their first thought was that students would use it to cheat, she said.

But what she found is that some of her students were “petrified of it.”

“They don’t understand how it works. They don’t get the idea that just because it spits something out, it doesn’t mean you have to use it,” she said.

Staten can relate. Her early days of teaching involved a lot of printed paper, textbooks, and handwriting. When the district gave teachers “brand-new, shiny computers,” they sat unused in her classroom. She said she was not a particularly tech-savvy person — until COVID.

Now, every student has a Google Chromebook laptop, and the access to technology has transformed how Staten thinks about lesson planning. Being able to do their own research gives all of her students ownership of the lesson, and it’s changed how they respond to activities, Staten said.

Her students who are English learners have found using AI helps them feel more comfortable with their writing and grammar while also giving Staten an opportunity to talk about tone and voice in their writing.

The AI will “spit something out,” and then it’s a conversation starter with that student to determine “is that really you? Does that sound like you? Do you know what this word means?”

Ultimately, Staten said she wants her students to learn how to use machines as a tool to help them locate their humanity within their own writing.

In general, that’s the sort of attitude the Philly school district wants to cultivate. But the district has also prioritized being very clear about what the policies are for acceptable use of AI that guide that enthusiasm, said Fran Newberg, deputy chief in the district’s office of educational technology.

Since November, the district has been training teachers to work with two approved generative AI tools: Google’s Gemini chatbot (which is available for high school students and staff) and Adobe’s Express Firefly image generator (available for all K-12 students).

Both of those programs are examples of generative AI, which includes any tools that draw on a dataset to create new work, such as large language model chatbots like ChatGPT, or programs that produce images, music, or video.

The district’s guidelines for generative AI provide broad resources for some of the most frequently asked questions about academic integrity, verifying information produced by an AI tool, and some examples of how AI could be used in the classroom.

Above all, the district’s guidelines say educators must require students to disclose their use of AI and use citations where applicable.

Balancing passion with appropriate limits can yield encouraging results. At one district school, Newberg said elementary students wrote detailed descriptions of their own imaginary mythological bird creatures. Then, they drew pictures of what they thought their bird would look like. At the end of the project they plugged their descriptions into Firefly.

She said those students looked on in wonder as their drawings and paragraphs were brought to life.

School leaders worry about student data privacy, safety

The district’s approach to AI policy has provided a foundation for what some experts hope will guide national efforts to use AI in education.

Starting this month and next, the district is rolling out a new professional development program called Pioneering AI in School Systems, or PASS. Developed in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania, PASS provides three tiers of professional development involving AI — one for administrators, one for school leaders, and one for educators.

Michael Golden, vice dean of innovative programs and partnerships at Catalyst @ Penn Graduate School of Education, said by the fall of this year he and his colleagues hope to make PASS available to any school district in the country and across the globe.

“We’re building on the prowess and expertise in Philadelphia to create something that’s scalable and usable in many different contexts,” Golden said.

The district’s enthusiasm for and caution about AI are part of what made Philly an attractive option for the professional development program. But in some ways, the district was pushed to embrace the technology.

Speese, the district’s deputy chief information security officer, said two things happened that forced the district to take AI seriously.

First, in August 2023, an influx of Philadelphia teachers asked for support and information about generative AI just as New York’s school chief made a decision to block ChatGPT citing “negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content.”

Then, Microsoft made its AI assistant, called Copilot, a mandatory part of their software.

Philadelphia has been a Google-centric district. But Speese said he knew if Microsoft was mandating AI in its software, he suspected Google would soon follow. If district officials banned AI tools altogether, it could completely cripple student computers, email servers, and other systems. A blanket ban could also push some students and teachers towards untested models, putting themselves and their schools at risk.

“Obviously, even if we tried to block it, people are going to be using it on their mobile phones so how do we enable you to use these tools in a way that makes sense within our environment?” Speese said.

So district officials set about changing contracts to include language about safe data collection, privacy, and data storage.

The contract language stipulates the data a student feeds into the tools and the output those tools generate must be “housed exclusively in the United States,” can’t be sold or shared without permission, and that vendors won’t use the data to train their AI models.

“Parents have a right to feel that we are doing everything we can to protect their children’s digital footprint,” said Newberg, the deputy chief for education technology.

AI companies have run afoul of other state’s laws and other school district’s rules. One whistleblower told Los Angeles school officials that the AI tool their district adopted was misusing student records and left sensitive student information open to potential hackers.

Newberg drew a connection between AI and the reaction to the rise of social media. She said district leaders initially brushed off social media as a tangential development. But then social media started impacting students’ mental health, increased cyberbullying, and broadcast photos and sensitive student data to the world.

“We want our students to start having agency and start being skeptical,” Newberg said. “We were not as smart with social media.”

But new, free, and experimental AI tools pop up every day. It’s hard for guidelines and rules to keep up.

For teachers like Staten, educating her students about the biases embedded in these systems, how to protect their privacy, how to see through misinformation, and recognize when a fact is actually an AI-generated hallucination, is paramount. And that’s what keeps her up at night.

“I just want to know that I gave them all the equipment and tools that they need to be okay out there,” Staten said. “It’s a process. I realize that it’s going to take some time.”

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

For more news on AI in education, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

HVAC projects to improve indoor air quality. Tutoring programs for struggling students. Tuition support for young people who want to become teachers in their home communities.

These were some of the ways Maryland schools were using what remained of the state’s federal pandemic relief dollars.

Those projects and similar ones in schools around the country are now on hold — and states and school districts are on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars — after Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the U.S. Department of Education would not pay for any more expenses related to pandemic recovery.

In a letter to state education leaders, McMahon said the department would not honor deadline extensions to spend COVID aid it had approved just a few months ago under the Biden administration.

“Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion,” the letter states. “The Department’s initial approval of your extension request does not change anything.”

The last opportunity to spend pandemic relief money was 5 p.m. Friday, the same day McMahon sent the letter.

Maryland State Superintendent Carey Wright called the decision “catastrophic.”

“These funds have been spent or committed with every expectation of reimbursement,” she said. “The federal government must keep its word to students, educators, and families.”

The federal government allocated roughly $190 billion to U.S. schools across three separate aid packages to help them respond to the challenges of COVID. The last and largest of these, the American Rescue Plan, provided $123 billion to K-12 schools, with 20% of the money required to go toward academic recovery.

The original deadline for schools to spend that money was January — and most schools met that deadline. But some ran into supply chain problems. And labor shortages slowed down construction projects as well as tutoring programs. In other cases, fewer students than expected enrolled, so the programs cost less than anticipated.

The needs that pandemic relief funds were meant to address haven’t gone away. Results from national and international tests find that student performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. Students continue to miss school at a high rate.

The Biden administration created a process for states to request extensions on their own behalf and on behalf of school districts. An analysis by K-12 Dive late last year found that the U.S. Department of Education had approved at least $1.7 billion in extension requests and expected to approve more.

Schools with extensions would have until March 2026 to spend the last of their COVID relief dollars.

School districts and state education departments went ahead with contracts for construction, tutoring, and more based on those deadline extensions.

In an emailed statement, Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the federal Education Department, said those extensions set a bad precedent and allowed money to be spent beyond their intended purpose.

“COVID is over,” she said. “States and school districts can no longer claim they are spending their emergency pandemic funds on ‘COVID relief’ when there are numerous documented examples of misuse.”

States can submit requests for reconsideration for individual projects, and decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, Biedermann said.

But state education officials said they already explained the purpose of their projects when they requested deadline extensions.

“We went through an extensive process of justifying these expenses during late liquidation, and now we’re being asked to do it again, and also being told we may not receive these funds,” said Joshua Michael, president of the Maryland State Board of Education. “This feels like the opposite of efficiency to me.”

The federal department did not respond to questions about how much money is being withheld or how many states or school districts are affected.

Maryland education officials said the state already had reimbursed school districts $305 million for which they had expected federal reimbursement, and school districts had made commitments for another $113 million, some of which they may have spent.

Michigan education officials said 27 school districts had entered into construction contracts worth some $40 million based on assurances that they had another year to spend the money. State Superintendent Michael Rice said school districts may have to eat into their savings or cut costs elsewhere to honor those contracts.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said 20 school districts could lose out on $85 million.

The Council for Chief State Schools Officers said it is still working to understand the full scope of the issue.

Elleka Yost, director of advocacy and research for the Association of School Business Officials, said school districts still will have to honor their contracts, which could mean cutting other budget areas.

“Federal funding has become increasingly unpredictable for districts, making it very difficult for school business professionals to accurately forecast and plan,” she said.

Before McMahon’s letter, many states already reported delays in reimbursements for which they had already submitted paperwork. Earlier this year, the Department of Education announced it would apply greater scrutiny to requests for reimbursement, requiring states to first spend money and then show that it was for an approved purpose.

Still, states may yet be reimbursed for some of the money that’s currently outstanding.

Marguerite Roza, who has closely tracked pandemic relief spending as director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, said many states worked hard to spend all their money before the original deadline, when the need was greatest.

Those that were slower to ramp up spending are now more exposed to the changing political tides in Washington, Roza said. At the same time, the Biden administration encouraged states and school districts to find ways to keep spending the money rather than return it — and districts acted on those incentives.

McMahon’s letter, she said, is making the process “needlessly chaotic.”

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

For more news on education funding, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub.