Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

Federally funded electric buses are coming to a school near you

Feb 19, 2024
A new federal program is beginning to send electric school buses to schools across the country, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Early adopting districts weigh in on how the new buses are working so far.
Eric Joiner, transportation supervisor for the Ralls County School District, shows reporters the computer that displays range, speed and energy output on an electric school bus on Nov. 20, 2023, in Center, Mo.
Tristen Rouse/St. Louis Public Radio

The UK's private schools may be getting even more expensive

Oct 19, 2023
Labour, the main opposition party in the United Kingdom, wants to undo a tax exemption private schools have enjoyed for decades.
Eton College, an elite private school west of London for the wealthy and famous, pictured in 2015.
Jack Taylor/AFP via Getty Images

Superintendents have always been politicians. Now they have to be diplomats too.

Jul 19, 2023
In a Rand survey, 80% of superintendents call their jobs stressful, largely because of the intrusion of political issues into schooling.
Heather Schwartz of the Rand Corp. suggests providing more communication tools to school leaders.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

COVID broke the habit of attending school. Now, districts are spending millions to bring kids back

Jun 27, 2023
About one in three students are chronically absent, double the number before the pandemic.
About one in three students are chronically absent, double the number before the pandemic.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Public spending on preschool hasn’t gone up in two decades

May 18, 2023
A new report finds that funding has stagnated in the last two decades. Some states are trying to buck the trend.
Public funding for preschools has stagnated in the last 20 years. Some states like New Jersey are looking to change that.
Daria Nipot / Getty Images

Why do teachers pay for school supplies with their own money?

Apr 7, 2023
Instructors are investing their cash, along with their skill and passion, in their students' education.
School supplies are often in short supply in the classroom, so many teachers dig into their own pockets to provide them.
Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

The advent of ChatGPT creates demand for software to detect its use

Feb 1, 2023
Since the chatbot launched, schools have sought tools to inform teachers when students try to pass off AI-generated writing as their own.
Some students are using artificial intelligence programs like ChatGPT to do their homework. Now school districts are seeking software to identify AI-generated writing.
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

No chicken nuggets? How supply chain snags are affecting school lunch.

Dec 16, 2022
Shortages and unavailable goods mean schools can't always serve what's listed on their menus.
This fall, more than half of public schools are still having trouble obtaining the food items they want.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

What it means to be a new teacher in 2022: "I'm a student teaching students"

Dec 1, 2022
School districts, flush with cash from federal Covid relief funds, are looking to hire, and new teachers are figuring out how schools must adapt in the wake of a pandemic.
New teachers are navigating the start of their careers in the wake of the pandemic.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

School districts mull how to spend surprise donations from MacKenzie Scott

Nov 18, 2022
"One moment, we had, like, $1,200 in this account, and then we had, like, $20,001,200."
The recipient school districts are now considering how to use their donations, whether on improvements like a new gym or investments like college scholarship funds.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images