School Models

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    Tennessee launches direct admissions pilot with student aid component

    The initiative aims to ease high schoolers’ paths to college by providing financial aid information and automatic acceptance to participating institutions.

    By Natalie Schwartz • July 24, 2025
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Week In Review: Education Department cuts move forward and principals convene in Seattle

    We’re rounding up last week’s news, from changes to federal oversight to a set of delayed Energy Department rules.

    By • July 21, 2025
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from K-12 Dive

    K-12 Dive has gathered some a selection of our best coverage from 2025 so far as a one-stop resource on the trends to watch in the months ahead.

    By K-12 Dive staff
  • A district administrator stands at a podium that says "UNITED" while presenting on high-impact tutoring.
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    Anna Merod/K-12 Dive
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    UNITED '25

    How Portland Public Schools can afford to offer high-impact tutoring

    Oregon has been struggling with student literacy for years. The state’s largest public school district is tapping into a tutoring model to reverse that trend.

    By • July 18, 2025
  • geothermal hvac system, Trane Technologies, North Shore school district
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    Courtesy of Trane Technologies
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    Chicago-area school district deploys geothermal system that’s a US first

    The dynamic closed-loop system uses groundwater to reject and absorb heat to provide year-round space conditioning for a 130-year-old elementary school, Trane Technologies says.

    By Brian Martucci • July 17, 2025
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    Anna Merod/K-12 Dive
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    UNITED '25

    This New Jersey district tackled chronic absenteeism despite COVID

    A 2018 partnership between Hamilton Township Public Schools and the Foundation for Educational Administration led to notable attendance gains.

    By • July 16, 2025
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    Canva / Photo Edit by Grace Diaz

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    Sponsored by Good Reason Houston

    The future demands more than a diploma. It’s time K–12 did too.

    Diplomas don’t guarantee a future. Here’s what schools should measure instead.

    By Cary Wright, CEO of Good Reason Houston • July 14, 2025
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Week in Review: School choice, reading gains and looming policy changes

    We’re rounding up last week’s news, from the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” to a pair of transgender athletics cases headed to the Supreme Court.

    By • July 14, 2025
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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    POP QUIZ

    Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    From the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” to notable achievement gains in young students, what did you learn from our recent stories?

    By • July 11, 2025
  • A desk and chair are pictured in a classroom that has a window. A backpack is hanging off the back of the chair.
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    FG Trade via Getty Images
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    Michigan district agrees to reform seclusion and restraint policies

    A Justice Department probe found the Montcalm Area Intermediate School District violated the Americans with Disabilities Act in how it punished students.

    By • July 11, 2025
  • A student with a backpack gets on a yellow school bus.
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    Fly View Productions via Getty Images
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    4-day school week yields mixed results in Oregon study

    Researchers found no evidence of large positive effects, but did see higher math scores and graduation rates for high schoolers in rural schools.

    By • July 10, 2025
  • A Black professional man leads a demonstration on the Python coding language.
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    Laurence Dutton via Getty Images
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    California high school reimagines classrooms as ‘learning studios’

    Compton High School is using technology-driven communal class spaces in an effort to modernize and create a more collaborative environment.

    By Briana Mendez-Padilla • July 9, 2025
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    Kara Arundel/K-12 Dive
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    3 things to know about school choice in the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

    Who pays, who qualifies and what's next? We answer your questions about the first federally funded private school choice program available nationwide.

    By • July 8, 2025
  • School teachers looking over lesson materials together in a staff meeting.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Can this team-based staffing model reduce teacher turnover?

    Teachers participating in the Next Education Workforce model were less likely to quit compared to those in traditional classrooms, researchers found.

    By • June 26, 2025
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    Senate passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ putting US closer to offering national private school choice

    Critics say funding public school systems, which educate most of the nation's students, should be Congress’ priority.

    By • Updated July 1, 2025
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    Spencer Platt / Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Rural LGBTQ+ youth less likely to say schools are supportive

    These students were more likely to find supportive communities online and used them at higher rates than their urban and suburban peers, a report said.

    By • June 24, 2025
  • A group of people are standing in a library holding the same book.
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    Kara Arundel/K-12 Dive
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    DC high school’s book project opens students’ eyes to writing process

    Phelps ACE High School 10th graders spent the school year writing personal poems and learning about publishing — and themselves — along the way.

    By • June 24, 2025
  • A student sits on the stairs inside alone. The student has one hand to their forehead and the other hand is holding a cellphone.
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    Jatuporn Tansirimas via Getty Images
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    Phone bans proliferate as digital media’s harm to students grows clearer

    Though many studies link screentime to emotional and behavioral problems, one group of researchers urges that correlation may not mean causation.

    By • June 23, 2025
  • An adult stands with a student carrying a backpack outside of a school building. Their backs are to the camera.
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    fstop123 via Getty Images
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    3 parent engagement missteps — and what schools can do instead

    Educators should have frequent, ongoing communication with families and share complete pictures of student academic progress, NWEA research says.

    By • June 20, 2025
  • A student uses an arch welder to merge two pipes together.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    1 in 3 Americans recommend trade school for high school graduates

    “The time has come to radically rethink how we’re preparing America’s future workforce,” the American Staffing Association’s CEO said.

    By Carolyn Crist • June 13, 2025
  • A photo illustration of a circle encompassing a question mark, pencil, and scantron test.
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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    From California’s lawsuit against the Justice Department to new research on children’s well-being, what did you learn from our recent stories?

    By • June 13, 2025
  • A handful of younger students are in a school gym playing bocce with balls.
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    Kara Arundel/K-12 Dive
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    Elementary school bocce team wins more than medals in Special Olympics competition

    Students with and without disabilities from Washington, D.C.’s Barnard Elementary School gained skills in acceptance, inclusion and teamwork.

    By • June 9, 2025
  • A Black professional man leads a demonstration on the Python coding language.
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    Laurence Dutton via Getty Images
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    More teens lean toward alternative postsecondary options

    School counselors recognize stigma remains for these options but say it’s important that students understand available nondegree pathways.

    By Briana Mendez-Padilla • Updated June 5, 2025
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    SolStock via Getty Images
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    DOJ warns California districts of ‘legal liability’ in transgender athletic policies

    The agency sent a letter to districts after a transgender athlete won gold in a state high school track and field competition over the weekend.

    By • June 4, 2025
  • A school building is seen against a blue sky. On the building are the words Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology 6560
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    Retrieved from Fairfax County Public Schools.
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    Education Department investigates Virginia school’s admissions policy for discrimination

    The federal review began after the state found "reasonable cause" that Fairfax County Public Schools violated the Virginia Human Rights Act and Title VI.

    By • May 27, 2025
  • A girl student and two boy students are shown appearing to be bored, tired and daydreaming in a classroom.
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    courtneyk via Getty Images
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    As attention spans shrink, 4 ways educators can keep students engaged

    Incorporating active learning techniques like check-in questions and breaks can help ground students amid distractions.

    By Briana Mendez-Padilla • May 21, 2025