Private, Public & Charter School's K-12

[phkrause]

The school bus driver shortage has improved slightly but continues to stress K–12 public education

The school bus driver shortage continues to play out across the country, making it more challenging for students to get to school and placing additional burdens on the K–12 public education system. As has been typical in recent years, the beginning of the school year brought forward a steady stream of reports documenting challenges schools are experiencing hiring bus drivers. Our latest analysis finds that school bus driver employment remains 9.5% below 2019 staffing levels.

https://www.epi.org/blog/the-school-bus-driver-shortage-has-improved-slightly-but-continues-to-stress-k-12-public-education/?

Education inequalities at the school starting gate

Summary: As economic inequities in the United States endure and, in some instances, grow, and the large achievement gaps they help drive persist, calls for policy strategies to address these gaps increase as well. It is increasingly apparent that performance gaps take root in the earliest years of children’s lives and do not vanish. It is thus critical that we assess the various aspects of early inequities in both the home and paid care/school contexts. This three-part study combines a statistical analysis of current early gaps and changes over time in the gaps with a qualitative study of multifaceted strategies to narrow them. Altogether, the report provides a strong evidentiary base for identifying promising strategies and for informing research and policies to tackle skills gaps.

 

https://www.epi.org/publication/education-inequalities-at-the-school-starting-gate/?

[phkrause]

She wanted to keep her son in his school district. It was more challenging than it seemed

It was the worst summer in years. Sechita McNair’s family took no vacations. Her younger boys didn’t go to camp. Her van was repossessed, and her family nearly got evicted — again. But she accomplished the one thing she wanted most. A few weeks before school started, McNair, an out-of-work film industry veteran barely getting by driving for Uber, signed a lease in the right Atlanta neighborhood so her eldest son could stay at his high school. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

PHOTO ESSAY: One single mom’s quest to find housing after an eviction Takeaways from AP’s story on the links between eviction and school Getting the story: How an AP reporter chronicled a sensitive story about school and eviction

[phkrause]

?‍? Bot for teacher

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios OpenAI is rolling out a new ChatGPT designed for K-12 teachers, Axios' Megan Morrone reports. ? ChatGPT for Teachers is a purpose-built version of the world's most popular chatbot designed to help with classroom busywork, OpenAI says. ?️ The offering includes vanilla ChatGPT plus some bells and whistles, including: Collaboration features designed for teachers, plus unlimited messages with GPT-5.1 Auto, search, file uploads and image generation. ? Enhanced security and compliance with federal student privacy rules. Administrative controls for school and district leaders. ? ChatGPT for Teachers will be free until June 2027, after which OpenAI says it will try to keep the price "as affordable as possible." Go deeper ...

[phkrause]

? Charted: Gen Z's marriage divide

Reproduced from Pew Research Center. Chart: Axios Visuals The share of 12th-grade girls in America who are interested in getting married someday has dropped 22 points in the last three decades — from 83% in 1993 to 61% in 2023, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. The percentage of boys who want to get married has remained roughly the same, according to a Pew analysis of University of Michigan survey data. Why it matters: It's yet another data point illustrating the deep divide between young men and women — in politics, religion and life goals.

[phkrause]

Judge: Private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away

A private school in Brooksville should be barred from access to state school vouchers after its operator admitted it wasn’t educating students the state paid it to teach, an administrative judge recommended Wednesday.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/25/judge-private-school-accepted-state-vouchers-for-students-130-miles-away/?

[phkrause]

? Books are out, articles are in

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios Many American high schoolers are being assigned fewer books to read cover to cover in favor of shorter material, The New York Times reports. That's based on research and informal surveys, and comes as high school reading scores are falling. ?Some teachers who responded to the Times' survey complained about tech sapping students' attention spans. ? But many also said curriculum programs and test prep leave little time for entire books. ❤️ Some educators say their students still love books — if they can fit them in. Andrew Polk, a 10th-grade English teacher in Ohio, said, "Students absolutely can and do rise to the occasion. It's just a matter of setting those expectations." Gift link.

[phkrause]

Boys at her school shared AI-generated, nude images of her. After a fight, she was the one expelled A 13-year-old girl at a Louisiana middle school got into a fight with classmates who were sharing AI-generated nude images of her. She wound up getting expelled. The case highlights the challenges schools face with AI-related cyberbullying. Read more.

What to know: The girl’s attorney said he has no knowledge of any school discipline for the classmate accused of sharing the images. However, when law enforcement looked into the case, they charged two of the boys who’d been accused of sharing explicit images — and not the girl. The district said in a statement that federal student privacy laws prohibit it from discussing individual students’ disciplinary records.   AI deepfakes can, and do, upend children's lives — at school, and at home. And while schools are working to address artificial intelligence in classroom instruction, they often have done little to prepare for what the new tech means for cyberbullying and harassment.   As kids increasingly use new tech to hurt one another, adults are behind the curve, said Sergio Alexander, a research associate at Texas Christian University focused on emerging technology. “When we ignore the digital harm, the only moment that becomes visible is when the victim finally breaks,” Alexander said.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The rise of deepfake cyberbullying poses a growing problem for schools

[phkrause]

? Ditching phones

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Two experiments with phone bans — one on a Yale study-abroad program and another at New York high schools — delivered similar results: When phones disappear, real life rushes back in, and students say they're relieved, Axios' Erica Pandey writes. Why it matters: Phone bans — and even all-out social media bans — are gaining popularity. Evidence is mounting that too much screen time and too little hanging out with friends fuel anxiety and depression. ? Case in point: Colleen Kinder, a writer and instructor who leads a Yale summer writing program in France, seizes her students' phones at the beginning of the summer. Each year, she faces less resistance. "My students hungered for an absolute disconnect," Kinder writes in a N.Y. Times op-ed (gift link). "Adults need to step up and set parameters so that it's not on these kids to self-regulate," Kinder writes. At the end of their phone-free summer, Kinder's students often report that they're sleeping, reading and focusing better. Teachers at New York public schools have also noticed unexpected benefits after the bell-to-bell phone ban went into effect this fall, Anya Kamenetz writes in New York Magazine. "There's a pleasant buzz in the lunchroom, chatter in the hallways, and an alphabet of new analog hobbies popping up just about everywhere." ♠️ Cards and board games — from Sorry! to dominoes to Texas Hold'em — are back in style.

[phkrause]

? Teens split on phone bans

Data: Pew Research Center; Chart: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Teens are divided on cellphone bans during class, with 51% opposing and 41% supporting, a new Pew Research Center survey finds. ? They're far more united on phone bans covering the entire school day, with 73% opposing and just 17% supporting. That's based on survey results from 1,458 U.S. teens aged 13–17 conducted Sept. 25 to Oct. 9, 2025, through Ipsos. ? Adults are much more supportive of phone bans, with nearly three-quarters saying in a prior survey that middle and high schoolers shouldn't be allowed to use their devices during class. A growing number of states and countries are experimenting with phone bans to keep kids focused on classwork. Full results.

[phkrause]

As literacy rates lag, a pediatric hospital is screening for reading ability

For some young children in Columbus, Ohio, reading assessments don’t start in the kindergarten classroom — they happen first in the doctor’s office. With concerns rising about lagging childhood literacy rates across the country, Nationwide Children’s Hospital has begun screening children’s literacy skills starting at age 3 during pediatrician visits. Read more.

[phkrause]

Young kids missed the pandemic’s school disruptions. Their reading scores are still behind Young students are still struggling to bounce back academically from the pandemic, even though many were babies at the time. In new data from research and testing group NWEA, first and second graders are scoring below kids pre-pandemic in math and reading. Read more.

Why this matters: Researchers say the problem looks bigger than impacts from the pandemic. They point to emerging data that suggest parents are reading less to kids. Testing for younger kids is less common, so the report offers insights into the depth of the academic disruption.   The federal government gave billions of dollars to school districts to help students catch up — with mixed results. In 2024, reading scores for fourth and eighth graders continued a downward slide, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Math scores, however, trended upward.    Schools are beginning to make concessions to accommodate students with weaker literacy skills and short attention spans. Many teachers no longer assign books to their students.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Preparing to study abroad requires knowing what might go wrong during and after the trip   A Senegal boarding school that drew students from the US is at the center of an abuse investigation

[phkrause]

📊 Teens' trusted sources

Data: AP-NORC. Chart: Sara Wise/Axios The generational divide in preferred news sources is stark in new AP-NORC polling. "Old" platforms (print, radio, TV) are slightly preferred by adults. "New" platforms (AI chatbots, social media, search engines) are much more widely used by teens aged 13-17. Why it matters: Younger users are getting their news served to them via algorithm by tech companies that lack editorial accountability — all before they've ever built a habit of navigating directly to a traditional news source. There might be a bright spot: Noah Smith argued on Substack that AI could serve as a "digital Cronkite," an unbiased, moderating source of information that could drive Americans closer toward consensus. Explore the data.

[phkrause]

‘Reading recession’

Test scores have been declining since long before the pandemic disrupted classrooms — and they continue to fall across the country. A few states are making progress, though. Here’s how.

[phkrause]

Some parents don’t want their kids to use tech at school. But districts are pushing back

Parents across the country who are worried about excessive screen time in schools are lobbying educators to go back to pencils and paper. In places like Pennsylvania's Lower Merion School District, some families are taking it even further. Over 600 people have signed a petition asking to preserve parents' ability to opt their children out of digital devices, setting off a clash with the school district. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Kids are in a ‘reading recession,’ as test scores continue to decline  More kids than ever are attending state-funded preschool, with California’s surge leading the way WATCH: Pediatricians say schools need to make time for recess for kids of all ages

[phkrause]

College-educated dads step it up at home

Data: American Time Use Survey via American Institute for Boys and Men. (Covers partnered parents with at least one child under age 6.) Chart: Emily Peck/Axios Dads are spending less time doing paid work and more time doing things like child care and chores at home, Axios' Emily Peck writes from a new analysis of Census data. 👨‍🍼Why it matters: Millennial and Gen X men are more involved fathers than previous generations, a pattern that appears to have accelerated in the post-pandemic period. The difference is particularly pronounced among college-educated men who are part of a couple, finds a new working paper from Ariel Binder, a research fellow at the American Institute for Boys and Men. 🧺 Reality check: Women still do much more unpaid work.

[phkrause]

America’s schools face a backlash on digital devices as screens saturate classrooms

Just a few years ago, America’s public schools were rushing to get every child a laptop.  Now, the conversation has flipped. After pouring billions of dollars into laptops, tablets and learning apps, many schools are facing a digital reckoning. Classrooms have become saturated with screens, and a growing number of parents, teachers and school districts are saying it is time to scale back. Read more.

[phkrause]

✏️ White student population shrinks

Data: U.S. Census Bureau. Chart: Russell Contreras/Axios White students now make up less than half of Americans enrolled in school from nursery through graduate programs, Axios' Russell Contreras writes from new Census Bureau data. White (non-Latino, non-multiracial) student enrollment fell from 46.7 million in 2000 to 36.6 million in 2024. Latino enrollment rose from 10.2 million to 18.4 million over the same period. 🎒 Zoom in: The demographic shift is most visible in early childhood and K-12 education. White children are around 47% of the students at nurseries and kindergartens, and 48% at elementary and high schools. Higher education is the only remaining group in which white students remain a majority (51.1%).

[phkrause]

AP Exclusive: The private school choice boom leaves behind many kids in public school In theory, voucher programs are supposed to give children an educational opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have. In reality, students already in private or home school are most likely to benefit, an analysis by The Associated Press shows. Read more.

Why this matters: More families across the country are experimenting with private school as states — and soon the federal government — use taxpayer-supported scholarships to encourage them to leave public school. Soon, half of all American schoolkids will be able to apply for state money to finance a private education, and many states will offer the scholarships even to high-income families.   In some cases, public school families aren’t aware of these scholarship programs. They may lack transportation to get their kids to private school. Some worry their child won’t survive in a more strict disciplinary environment. Sometimes, as in Texas, the law is written to benefit families who know how to navigate complicated education systems.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump is shifting special ed, civil rights out of Education Department. Here’s what we know    Teens’ reading and math scores have stagnated, US test results show    Indiana becomes the latest state to receive flexibility from Trump on federal education spending

[phkrause]

Finding your superhuman ability

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

I grew up just outside of London, in a small town called Ilford. I went to regular public school, and for years I thought I was stupid, Axios co-founder Roy Schwartz writes. Teachers and kids thought I was stupid. I got awful grades, and when I compared my spelling, handwriting or grammar to anyone else, I confirmed that something was wrong. My parents scraped together the money to get a test. Unfortunately, these tests are ridiculously expensive. Back then especially, but even now, most people can't afford them. Luckily, my parents pulled together the money and got me tested — and wow. 📚 The big picture: It turns out I was intelligent — and I had dyslexia. Unfortunately, not much changed for me. There weren't really any learning accommodations back then. But at least if someone was watching me write, sometimes I could say, "I'm dyslexic," and get a small pass. Between the lines: For years I only saw the downsides to having dyslexia. 🔭 Zoom out: For those who don't have learning differences, let me share my typical experience when writing anything. I recently bought a new house, and I must have written the word "couch" 100 times, or rather intended to, only to write "coach." My spelling of the word "exercise" is so bad that spell-check can't identify it. I have to go to Google, find it in a sentence, then cut and paste it back into my email. Yes, we know the downsides to dyslexia and other learning differences. But they can also have several, almost superhuman, upsides. These have only become clear to me after founding my third startup: 1. 💪 Grit: You hear about this all the time. Parents worry that their kids won't have grit because life has become too easy. It's true. I hire dozens of people each year, and it's a very rare skill. Yet people with dyslexia and other learning differences have grit — and a boatload of it. They know what it's like to struggle, to overcome, to figure out a way forward, and to not give up just because something is hard. Grit is the most important characteristic and skill in this new world. Someone with learning differences has already overcome what most people will never experience. They'll find a way through because they have already had to so many times before. 2. 🧠 Problem-solving: People who have learning differences like dyslexia are wired differently. They actually think differently. I didn't realize my ability until I started Politico and Axios. I'd been very successful in sales and consulting, but I hadn't realized exactly why. Then I learned that dyslexic thinkers tend to be great at understanding complex issues and boiling them down to something most people can understand. This helped me in sales, management and, most importantly, leadership. People with learning differences will approach challenges in a unique way. That different approach helps companies make better decisions and solve difficult problems. What to watch: I know AI isn't a popular topic with young people. But in the age of AI, dyslexia's downsides are basically irrelevant. Can't spell? Doesn't matter. Can't do grammar? Doesn't matter. Can't read fast? Doesn't matter. 🤖 AI will help people with dyslexia and other learning differences to neutralize all of the downsides. Plus, the upsides will be in even greater demand. In a world where AI makes things easier, the skill employers want and entrepreneurs need is grit. And AI can supercharge our ability to solve problems. Today's young people have access to more knowledge, more tools, more freedom and more opportunity than any generation before. By a lot. It's not even close. The bottom line: To those with learning differences, you're ready for what's next — and what's next will be amazing because of you. The world needs people who think differently, especially now. Go be different.

[phkrause]

Recess makes a comeback

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

After decades of schools squeezing playtime out of the day, recess is back in play, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum writes. 🎒 Why it matters: Recess may look like a break from learning. But researchers say free play helps kids return to class healthier, calmer and more ready to focus. "Recess refreshes you. Recess helps you feel a little bit less cynical about what's going on," says psychologist Peter Gray, author of the forthcoming book "Restoring Childhood." 🧩 By the numbers: As of December, 12 states and Washington, D.C., had mandated school recess, while another 12 states required some form of physical activity, according to Johns Hopkins research. And recently, a new Oklahoma law requiring 40 minutes of recess each school day took effect in July. 🧠 The big picture: Unstructured play helps children practice social skills, manage stress and build stronger connections to school. Research has also linked recess to better behavior, attendance, classroom motivation and academic performance. 🤸 Reality check: Not all movement is recess. Broader "physical activity" laws can include after-school sports and gym class. Advocates say children also need time to play without being told how to do it. "Anyone who's ever spent even a day with a kid can recognize that if you kept them sitting all day, they'd go insane — they'd drive everybody else insane," says Hannah Thompson, a physical activity epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley. Zoom out: The decline in recess since the early 2000s is often tied to the testing-focused era that followed the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, when schools devoted more time to reading and math rather than play. Weekly recess time in U.S. schools fell by an hour between 2001 and 2019, according to education consulting firm EAB. 🔔 But the pendulum is swinging back. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently expanded its recess recommendation beyond elementary schools, calling for middle and high school students to get at least 20 minutes, too. Parent-led group Say Yes to Recess has become a national nonprofit, while support for the cause now stretches across the political spectrum. The bottom line: "More recess" isn't just a student council campaign promise. It's increasingly an essential part of the school day.

[phkrause]

🎒 Back-to-school bummer

Data: PwC. Chart: Sami Sparber/Axios U.S. families expect to spend over $900 on average on back-to-school shopping this year, Axios' Sami Sparber writes from a PwC survey. Total K-12 back-to-school spending could climb around 10% this year compared to last, hitting a record $43.3 billion, the National Retail Federation forecasts. Northeast families plan to spend the most, $1,076 on average, well above the $922 national average. That figure covers clothes, tech, after-school gear, books, supplies and other one-time purchases. Explore the data ... Keep reading.

[phkrause]

🎒 Mapped: Back-to-school madness

Data: MDR Education. (Includes public schools. Doesn't include year-round schools.) Map: Brad Jennings/Axios Gone are the days of a shared "back-to-school" moment, Axios' Brad Jennings writes. District calendars show nearly half of all U.S. schools will open before Aug. 16, according to dates compiled by MDR Education, a data company. Four in five will open before Sept. 1. Nearly all public schools in the Deep South open before Aug. 16. Almost none in New England do. One reason for later starts in the Northeast: protecting summer tourism by maintaining a seasonal youth workforce at beaches, camps and other vacation hot spots. Explore the data ...

[phkrause]

🎓 South's student surge

Data: National Center for Education Statistics. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals America's future college pipeline is growing in the South and shrinking elsewhere, Axios' Russell Contreras reports. By 2041, the number of high school graduates is projected to fall by 29% in California, 27% in New York and 32% in Illinois, per the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The South's high school graduate population is projected to grow 3%. Keep reading.

[phkrause]

🎒 Record low test scores

Data: OECD. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Test scores of 15-year-old students fell sharply worldwide in math, reading and science, according to new results from the influential PISA exam. Reading took the biggest hit, falling to the lowest level ever recorded in the assessment. "Hasty reading" — skimming fast but getting it wrong — nearly doubled between 2018 and 2025. OECD, which administers the test, found the sharpest declines in "the very skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources, and thinking critically about what we read." Math and science scores also hit record lows across 23 OECD countries. 🧪 Between the lines: U.S. science scores were a rare exception, ticking up three points from three years ago to match where they stood in 2009 and 2018. American reading and math scores both fell to their lowest on record. Read the full report.

[phkrause]

In an age of instant answers, educators say there’s a case for letting kids struggle a little At a time when an answer or AI-generated help can be seconds away, giving children room to figure things out for themselves can be hard to do. But developmental experts and educators say children need chances to struggle with everyday problems because figuring them out is a skill that has to be practiced. Read more.

Why this matters: If children rarely have to struggle, it can lead to severe anxiety when they have to figure out something on their own, said Dr. Stephanie Carlson, director of the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. The challenge for parents is knowing when to help and when to step back.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Families’ interest in their kids’ education is falling around the globe as scores drop, test shows Americans’ satisfaction with schools is at a low point, new Gallup poll shows  Hundreds of thousands of eligible kids are waiting for childcare assistance How to help your kids make friends at a new school