AdLit News Headlines

When students get to middle and high school without strong reading skills, the results can be devastating. In response to a recent Chalkbeat survey, dozens of parents and educators described secondary students who refuse to read out loud for fear of being teased, who can’t understand math word problems or science vocabulary, and gradually give up on school altogether. They worried such students face poor job prospects and bleak futures.

Read the pet profiles written by students at Booker T. Middle School in Newport News. According to the shelter’s executive director Alison Fechino, the group’s engagement and development director asked teachers at Booker T. for help recently. The teachers allowed 7th grade students to write profiles for the pets as part of an extra credit public service announcement assignment. As of Thursday afternoon, the shelter has 91 dogs in the building, it’s down to two open cages and the shelter also has 46 dogs in foster care, said shelter director Amanda McQuarry.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer along with state environmental and workforce leaders announced 16 K-12 institutions, school districts and educational partnerships have been awarded $205,028 to develop Great Lakes-based science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) educational programs for students. These grants build on the Governor’s historic educational budget proposal, which includes the highest per-student investment ever, $1 billion for new school construction and renovation, funds to hire and retain 15,000 teachers, and more resources for on-campus mental health support.

Reading lists should reflect many different people and experiences.

Adolescents in the U.S. are chronically sleep-deprived, in part because most schools start too early. This summer, California will become the first state in the nation to require later start times.

A principal shares his insights into the systems that make an alternative high school run smoothly for all students.

An after-school program teaches Black girls to research and envision a curriculum that empowers them.

Cindy R. Escobedo chronicled the aspirations, challenges and joys of Latina mothers and daughters who pursued college degrees together. Cindy identified nine working-class mother-daughter families consisting of 22 women — all but three of whom attended college in California at the same time. The mothers are largely immigrants — from Mexico, Peru, Belize, Guatemala — while all but one of the daughters U.S. born. But beneath the joy of achievement are complex journeys because for every mother who made sacrifices on the way to her degree, so too did her daughter. Here are their stories.

American teenagers are reporting severe levels of anxiety and depression. But when Connecticut moved to expand mental health services in schools, it ran into fierce opposition in one town.

Listen to EdSurge’s Podcast, where they dig into the issue of school start times, looking at the latest in brain science and at the policy debate heating up in states around the country.

Both Albany’s valedictorian and salutatorian are English language learners. Their words of wisdom for other students? Don’t be afraid to go after your dreams.

Science fiction is a great entry point for helping elementary and middle school students think about science in new ways.

Curiosity and creativity were on display when dozens of top teachers from around the U.S. gathered on the National Mall at the end of April. While reflecting on the state of their profession, a trio of finalists expressed a variation of the following observation: Teachers are experts who deserve more trust. Read more insights from Teacher of the Year finalists.

SLJ shares an exclusive first look and cover reveal for An American Story by Kwame Alexander, which publishes in January 2023. Additionally, we chat with him about the inspiration for the book, his reaction to Dare Coulter’s art, and how he envisions the book’s use in classrooms and libraries.

A generation of students may be weighing the value of college versus its cost, questioning whether college is still the ticket to the middle class.

The competition is being held fully in-person for the first time since 2019, after disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

These tips will help new teachers prepare their classrooms for the fall and ensure that all of the space is used wisely.

Listen to or read a community poem culled from submissions to NPR’s Morning Edition as part of teacher appreciation month. NPR put out this call a week before the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, so the majority of contributors are not reflecting on that horrific day but a late addition did reflect that loss.

NPR’s poet in residence Kwame Alexander took lines from submissions to create a community poem. This poem is dedicated to all teachers, but especially to Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles, fourth grade teachers who lost their lives at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

The Khan Academy and Arizona State University Prep Digital’s partnership to launch the Khan World School, a virtual school for high schoolers, brings together two of the powerhouses in digital learning with the promise of creating a breakthrough schooling model.

Two years ago, Thomas Jefferson. known as TJ and frequently ranked the best public high school in America, radically altered its admissions process, eliminating a much-feared test and a $100 application fee, in the hope of admitting more students of color and low-income students. The changes at the magnet school in Northern Virginia sent parents and alumni into a frenzy. 

How did it feel to be one of the newly admitted students? The Washington Post followed four Thomas Jefferson High School freshmen through a difficult, unusual and absorbing academic year.

Jacob Bradley graduates high school soon and will already have a job that he was able to co-op with and now is signing a letter of intent for a full-time job. Trade workers are in high demand all over the United States. Many high schools, like Montgomery County, are using co-op programs to show students the options available.

The shocking shooting that left 14 children dead at a school in Texas is forcing parents and schools to once again confront how to talk to kids about violence. Experts have told The Times these are complex and sensitive conversations, but also vital. Here are some tips experts have suggested from previous Times coverage.

High school teachers can guide students to success in writing assignments by structuring tasks to account for working memory.

At West Philadelphia High School, administrators and teachers have tried to cushion the pandemic’s impact and keep students engaged in school.

An exercise to build empathy can de-escalate student conflict.

Free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick is releasing his memoir as a graphic novel. Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game will be released next spring and focus on his time in high school when he effectively had to choose baseball or football as the sport he’d continue pursuing.

Experts say Colorado’s local control landscape means wide variation in the kinds of extra help provided to secondary struggling readers — if there’s any at all

During this Mental Health Awareness Month, listen to one D.C. organization’s tips for having healthy conversations with young family members about difficult topics like mass shootings, racial hatred, abortion rights and gender equality. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill into law Monday establishing a new state holiday known as “Victims of Communism Day” on which public schools are required to teach students about communist regimes.

The discussion around whether Shakespeare is still relevant in classrooms today is one that has been flourishing for years, with strong cases on all sides. Consider pairing some of the traditional works of the Bard with these newly reimagined stories. 

The 2,400 podcast submissions for NPR’s contest offer a rare glimpse into the minds of young people.

NYC education officials plan to expand transfer high schools to serve those students, using a Bronx school as one model.

This is a coming-of-age story involving your brain. Billions of neurons wire together to form a biological supercomputer — how?

All but the most selective colleges see the largest plunge in students in 50 years.

Eight years after her Y.A. psychological thriller “We Were Liars,” E. Lockhart returns with a prequel, “Family of Liars.”

BookTok covers a wide range of book genres, including romance and fantasy. But when it comes to books that people love on TikTok, young adult literature is king. That’s why we rounded up this big list of the most popular YA books on TikTok.

Three imperatives to giving boys an education worth living for.

New York Times best-selling young adult author Nic Stone had plenty to say about writing inspirations, banned books and the power of literature to foster empathy at her talk at Augusta University on Tuesday afternoon. Mostly, however, she spoke about being human.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) affect our daily lives in ways too numerous to count. Having a broad understanding of these disciplines is essential for navigating an increasingly complex future.

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Andrea Elliott on the way public education must “fill in the gaps” left by societal abandonment of poor children and families.

Listen to high school history teacher Kurt Russell from Oberlin, Ohio, who in April was named the 2022 National Teacher of the Year. Geoff Bennett recently spoke with Russell about why he chose teaching, what inspires his students and how the new recognition changes his approach to the job.

This is a problem we can, and must, fix to unlock opportunities for all children

The teens in Vandegrift High School Banned Book Club are part of a swelling movement of students who are gathering all across the country to fight, in ways large and small, for the right to read.

Many authors are unearthing long-buried evidence and exalting hidden figures of the past to afford readers (and their educators) a more richly textured version of our collective experience. The 15 books discussed herein, which range from middle grade to YA, restore the urgency and excitement of history while highlighting the marginalized voices that have so often been written out of established curricula. 

To reap the benefits of music on learning, kids need consistent and abundant musical practice, according to the latest cognitive research.

‘Good Trouble’ is a resounding rebuttal of the model minority myth — not because Jordan is a “bad kid,” as his father regrets having said during the Big Fight, but because he’s wayward and loving, sweet and frustrating, and sure, a bit of a troublemaker. 

Answers to common questions about identifying and compassionately addressing issues of anxiety and depression in adolescents.

When it comes to optimizing learning, we don’t value breaks enough, neuroscientists suggest in a new study.

Fewer students are choosing language electives at school, but contrary to popular perception, it isn’t purely a lack of interest causing the decline. A recent study suggests students want to study a language, but can’t.

How we as Americans approach restrictions on literature curriculums is not only flawed but also wholly reactionary. My experience at that meeting and others convinced me that the problem is not that we disagree but how. We need to shift focus away from reflexive outrage about restrictions and bans and toward actual discussions of the merits and drawbacks of the individual books.

For a long time, conventions have stated that middle grade books should focus on friendship and family, while YA books focus more on romantic love. And choices for middle school readers who love romance are few and far between. But there are some great ones out there. And this seems to be changing with more tween romance books being published in recent years.

As the only person in his immediate family born in the United States, Ezat Sharifi feels a sense of obligation to help immigrants. That’s why he recently joined a small group of students in Howard County, all first generation U.S. Citizens or immigrants themselves, in raising more than $1,200 for Afghan refugees living in their community.

This thrilling period in human development is often misunderstood.

Teachers can guide high school students to be active participants in their learning by having them work together on authentic tasks.

If not for a statewide pitch competition for entrepreneurial students, three Indianapolis high schoolers likely wouldn’t have started their business. And they certainly wouldn’t have seen that company, Find Ideal Applicants, earn $20,000 in early-stage investment that valued the company at $1.5 million.

Their success stems from involvement in Indiana’s annual Innovate WithIn contest, which carries a $25,000 prize and offers entrants the chance to work with industry leaders to bring their proposed products to market.

Very short stories also known as flash fiction, micro fiction, drabbles, and the like are a delightful form of fiction. They are tiny punches of great writing and can come in all genres.

From building improvements to keep blind and visually impaired students safe to culturally responsive libraries, here’s how Philly’s Lindback Award-winning principals plan to use their prize money.

From discussions about teen mental health to explorations on the possibility of alien life, the 2022 Student Podcast Challenge offers a glimpse into the mind of kids and teens from across the country. This year, the contest received well over 7,500 minutes of podcasting from 45 states and the District of Columbia. While all the entries spotlight a different topic, one thing is clear: we need to listen to kids more often – and we don’t often get the chance to.

Teachers can use these tools to give students feedback, and seek feedback in return, to support deeper understanding and growth.

The widely adopted Next Generation Science Standards raise the bar on what middle school students should know and be able to do. Are there enough well-trained teachers to help students get there?