Caitlynn Peetz Stephens is a reporter for Education Week who covers school district leadership and management. Prior to working at Education Week, she covered local education in Maryland and South Dakota.
Gehring Academy of Science and Technology students attend an assembly on Nov. 22, 2024, to honor the Las Vegas school's designation as a 2024 Blue Ribbon School. The Trump administration in August ended the U.S. Department of Education school recognition program that began in 1982 and has recognized public and private schools for academic achievement each year.
A faculty member at Findley Oaks Elementary School holds a Centegix crisis alert badge during a training on Monday, March 20, 2023. Emergency alert systems have spread quickly to schools around the country as a safety measure. The nation's largest district is the latest to adopt one.
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on Oct. 22, 2024. Statewide bans on synthetic dyes in school meals are gaining momentum, with one such ban already in effect.
Fourth graders are served lunch at Heather Hills Elementary School in Bowie, Md., on October 22, 2024. More states are banning artificial dyes from school meals.
Tanya Lloyd, director of early learning at the Alliance for Community Empowerment, interacts with a child in the Head Start program on Sept. 28, 2023, in Bridgeport, Conn. More than 100 Head Start programs that are due to receive their annual federal funding allocations on Nov. 1 could go without that funding if the federal government is still shut down.
A 5th grade math class at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, La., is shown on Aug. 22, 2025. Nearly two-fifths of educators said in a recent EdWeek Research Center survey that the uniquely volatile policy environment since President Donald Trump took office has made them less likely to want to remain in their jobs.
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts visits with preschoolers at the Taylor Education Center on Sept. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Iowa. He is currently being held by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Monique Darrisaw-Akil, center, superintendent of the Uniondale district in New York, traveled to Ghana in July to meet with leaders of the Achinakrom school. Students from two elementary schools in the Uniondale district and the Achinakrom school worked on a shared literacy project throughout the 2024-25 academic year, and leaders plan to continue the partnership this year.
Ashley Perkins, a 2nd-grade teacher in Dummerston, Vt., writes a "welcome back" message for her students in her classroom on Aug. 22, 2025. Chronic absenteeism has trended down some in recent years, but remains at elevated levels, creating a challenge for schools as the 2025-26 school year starts.
Parents await news during an active shooter situation at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025. This is the first school shooting of the new academic year.
Vera Triplett, the CEO and founder of Noble Minds Institute for Whole Child Learning, right, walks with Amber Powell, a 1st grade teacher, on Aug. 6, 2025. The school, located in the East Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans, will convert to a private, independent school this school year.
Chanel Ferran Gutierrez, a 10th grade student at Newcomer Academy, prepares to be vaccinated during a pop-up immunization clinic in the school's library in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 8, 2024. Sagging student vaccination rates and the highest volume of measles cases in years have prompted fears of outbreaks once students are back in school.