Skip to main content

AdLit News Headlines

AdLit gathers interesting news headlines about literacy, middle grade and YA books, best practices in instruction, and other key topics related to middle school and high school teaching and learning.

Get the headlines sent to you weekly!

To receive the week’s stories, sign up for the AdLit Weekly Headlines —it’s free!

Note that links may expire after a week or so, and some websites require you to register first before seeing an article. AdLit does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in outside publications or their websites.

Florida Says AP Psychology Doesn’t Violate The Law, After All (opens in a new window)

Washington Post

August 10, 2023

Florida Education Commissioner Manny Díaz Jr. said in a letter sent late Wednesday that high schools may teach Advanced Placement Psychology without running afoul of Florida law — including material on sexual orientation and gender identity. Amid confusion, many large districts had said they would stop offering the longtime course.

High Schoolers Account For Nearly 1 in 5 Community College Students (opens in a new window)

KQED

July 25, 2023

The number of high schoolers taking college classes has been surging for more than two decades. In what is called dual enrollment, students simultaneously earn high school and college credits from a single class. These advanced college-level courses are no longer just for gifted students who have exhausted the high school course catalog. Now they’re a tool to encourage more Americans to enroll in college by giving them an early taste of post-secondary education and a head start with a few credits.

Why Students Are Missing School, How to Fix It (opens in a new window)

Voice of America-Learning English

June 30, 2023

Education officials and activists are concerned about an increase in the number of American students who are absent for many days during the school year. Unless school leaders draw upon the knowledge of their students and families, they are unlikely to create effective solutions.

What It Really Takes to Help Students Succeed (opens in a new window)

Washington Post

June 09, 2023

Yes, we do know how to help students succeed in school. Too many schools just don’t do it. This post looks more broadly at four important lessons on how schools can help students succeed that are explained in the book “Schools of Opportunity: 10 Research-Based Models of Equity in Action.”

8 Great Dystopian Books For Middle School Students (opens in a new window)

Book Riot

June 08, 2023

Finding dystopian books for middle school readers can be tricky because some of the novels descend into extremely dark territory that some readers can handle, but might be too much for others. It can be a challenge to pull together the right books, but when you do, and you hook a student on a great series, it can be an amazing experience for everyone. Diving into fictional worlds that deal with bleak futures can be a great way to escape our own troubles or makes us feel a little better about the future in general.

Summer Reading: 5 Books That Explore LGBTQ Teen and Young Adult Life (opens in a new window)

The Conversation

June 02, 2023

In recognition of LGBT Pride Month, The Conversation reached out to Professor Jonathan Alexander for recommendations of young adult fiction books that feature LGBTQ characters. What follows is a list that Alexander, who has just stepped down as the children’s and young adult fiction section editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, considers as “must-reads” for this summer.