AdLit News Headlines

Los Angeles County on Thursday announced it will offer its nearly 80 school districts the option to participate in a free mental telehealth service for the region’s 1.3 million school students. Los Angeles Unified School District and Compton Unified School District have already opted into the program, which will deploy in a phased approach for all districts in the county that participate. 

New research suggests cannabis use can alter development of the cerebral cortex, and in a fraction of patients, increase risk for psychosis.

The votes are in! See who won this year’s Youth Media Awards.

Winter can be a good time for reading thoughtful books. It’s like the pale daylight and early darkness create a space for stories — in particular for stories that ask the reader to mull over themes and ideas that can sometimes be difficult. It’s a time that allows for reading deeply, giving things proper consideration — and sitting with the feelings that can create. With that in mind, here are five new YA books out this winter that will reward such reading.

Relatives and friends with challenges such as arthritis inspired Carson Middle School students to come up with solutions

The program has been a game changer at already-participating schools, like South Philadelphia High School.

Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different.

In recent years, Groundhog Day, celebrated on February 2, has become synonymous with the film where a weatherman finds himself in a time loop, repeating the same day over and over. Here are a few middle grade and YA titles to pass along to young readers interested in time loops. If they love them, they can read them over and over.

New report highlights the value of learning, exploring and socializing online.

The number of states requiring students to pass an exam to receive a high school diploma continues to fall, a sign that attitudes towards the once-popular general competency exams have shifted dramatically.

Openers matter and set the tone for the lesson that follows. Here’s how to start strong when you need to.

To improve literacy rates in the U.S., reading expert Timothy Shanahan says we need to stop looking for silver bullets and instead invest in teaching a much broader range of skills.

How one Kentucky high school helps students dream big and jumpstart their future.

Three Florida high school students are poised to sue Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after the state Education Department rejected a new Advanced Placement course covering African American studies. The news comes one day after the College Board announced it would revise the course.

Library media specialists will be part of the team writing the standards with the state Department of Education team. There will be multiple public hearings before the standards are finalized. The hope is that they can be in place for the 2025–26 school year.

Schools are struggling to keep their shelves stocked as oversight by parents and school boards intensifies.

Step 1: Ditch the myth that all teens are sullen, angry creatures.

Ms. Slack hopes that teaching her students to think like scientists can be a catalyst for change right in their neighborhood.

Author Meg Medina will be the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2023-24, the Library of Congress (LOC) and Every Child a Reader announced today.

The state’s Department of Education said in a letter that the course content was “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

Tutoring has become a go-to solution for school districts across the country, amid an unprecedented gush of federal dollars to address pandemic setbacks. But many districts are investing in opt-in online programs that experts say have not been shown to fill in learning gaps for students who need it most.

Virginia schools would be required to notify students when they receive awards under legislation proposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), his latest response to certain schools’ failure to do so.

The legislation comes after several Northern Virginia high schools acknowledged that they were months late in telling students they had been named “commended students” by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., which recognizes the highest scorers on a national standardized test.

George Lopez is opening up about the inspiration behind his new middle-grade novel and what it’s been like influencing kids throughout his career

Teenagers share what drives them in school: inspiring teachers, interesting classes, the feeling of accomplishment and more.

Worries about social media’s effect on hardwired kids are coming from all corners. Seattle Public Schools on Friday filed a 91-page lawsuit against the companies behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube in a federal district court.

The public school district alleges that students are being recommended harmful content online, exacerbating a mental health crisis, and social media companies are allowing it to happen.

“Each day, they walk through a million reasons to give up, yet each day, they persist,” teacher Zach Posnan said of his Conwell Middle School students. He’s trying to raise $7,000 for equipment.

A CSI elective for 6th graders. A math class that teaches the Egyptian roots of the “Pythagorean” theorem. School leaders in Brooklyn Center share their secrets to helping students re-engage after the turmoil of 2020. “You start to get kids who run to math class,” one Liberian-born teacher says.

This week’s One Class at a Time Winner, a sixth grade teacher from Washington Middle School, is hoping to keep the magic of reading alive.

New research suggests there are four general profiles of gifted adolescents: humanitarians, politicians, regulators and stabilizers.

From fantastical tales of mysterious rings that cause mayhem, and highly anticipated sequels like Cameron Battle’s second adventure, all the way to insightful stories chronicling the famine of the Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s, 2023 is shaping up to be a marvellous adventure when it comes to middle grade releases! 

PEN America and Brooklyn Public Library are teaming up to co-host the first-ever Freedom to Read Advocacy Institute for the spring 2023 semester. This free online four-week training program for high school students will prepare and certify the next generation of free expression advocates to combat book banning and fight for the freedom to read in their schools, libraries, and communities across the country. Applications are due January 19. There is no cost to apply, and the program is free.

Many children and adolescents are responsible for disabled, chronically ill or aging family

This year’s list includes edtech entrepreneurs, social changemakers and tireless educators.

Educators can help empower middle and high school students to independently manage their growing responsibilities.

On this week’s podcast, we’re looking at the potential impact of this new AI tool by talking to a couple of educators who have used the chatbot and already had some surprising interactions.

As global temperatures rise, middle school students are learning research skills that could help cool off their school and neighborhood.

We Need Diverse Books has announced the winners and honor titles for their annual Walter Dean Myers Awards. Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Jeff Edwards, won in the teen category. Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement by Angela Joy, illustrated by Janelle Washington, won the younger readers category.

The pandemic hurt children’s reading skills. Librarians are doing what it takes to connect them with books, including dance routines.

Literacy lessons are embedded in every academic class. Even in biology.

Virginia’s Attorney General Jason S. Miyares said he will launch an investigation into allegations of racial discrimination at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Miyares announced following claims from a group of parents that the school withheld notifications this fall from students whom the National Merit Scholarship Corp. named “commended students,” a distinction given to the nation’s high scorers on standardized tests. 

Los Angeles schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho has announced a plan to create a unique progress report for every student. The proposed Individual Acceleration Plans, or IAPs, would affect all students in the nation’s second-largest school district and provide parents with a clear explanation of how their children are doing in school. His plan also calls for “late buses” so children can stay after school for tutoring and get a ride directly to their homes; efforts to improve learning and make up ground lost during the pandemic.

This essay by Ashley Hope Pérez is part of a series of interviews with — and essays by — authors who are finding their books being challenged and banned in the U.S.

While more long-term studies are needed to truly understand how the use of phones, tablets, and other screens is affecting kids’ mental health, a 2022 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found a link between screen time and obsessive-compulsive disorder in pre-teens over a two-year period.

New laws tell teachers how to discuss the history of slavery and racism. We visited four schools to see what kids are really learning.

Policymakers across local, state, and federal governments regularly make decisions about how to allocate resources to U.S. public schools. For students, these decisions matter. For decades, advocates and researchers have raised alarms about inequities in resource allocation and pushed for reforms to the country’s school finance systems. These inequities have roots in the complex, decentralized ways in which public schools are funded. 

This list of 32 activities covers digital citizenship, activities that will help students find online resources, and how to stay safe on the internet; ultimately setting students up for success in their digital learning journeys.

While there are lots of YA books that don’t feel like YA, there are also plenty of YA books that are just so dang good that everyone should read them. I’ve included a little of both in this list. 

I felt isolated and powerless until I sought out Black spaces at my NYC specialized high school.

Thoughtfully assessing their progress allows middle school students to make adjustments in order to achieve their academic goals.

When done well, career and technical education (CTE) expands opportunities for student success after high school while strengthening workplace readiness.

The new Advanced Placement class on African American Studies comes amid new state laws restricting how historical racism is taught.

As gender remains the single strongest determinant of school participation among Nepalese adolescents, it is important to understand the social-emotional needs of adolescent girls and how can they be addressed.

Los Angeles Unified’s unexpectedly big increase in eighth grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress drew praise and skepticism after the release of the scores last month. The results may have warranted some of both.  

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s new middle-grade anthology dives into stories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who shaped the United States.

There’s nothing we love more than a fantastic edition of a great YA book, and with so many amazing books out there, it’s become quite the cornucopia of lovely anniversary and special editions! 

The stress of living through the pandemic physically changed adolescents’ brains and prematurely aged them by at least three or four years, according to a Stanford University study(opens in a new window).

High school English teacher Beth Knapp talked with Education Week about how she routinely seizes on opportunities in the popular culture to build rapport with her students while also growing their vocabulary and hers.

When the revision process is scaffolded, students learn that writing multiple drafts can be fun and will lead to better writing.

Pending Gov. Phil Murphy’s signature, a bipartisan bill would make New Jersey the first state to standardize media literacy lessons for all students.

A longtime librarian picks 15 books: Picture books for your littlest ones, middle-grade novels for young readers and young-adult titles for teens.