Community Engagement

A group of families approaches their school. Representing the intersection of the school/family connection.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Policy & Politics Opinion I Fought for Public Education. What I Learned From Its Detractors
Without community buy-in, education reforms can weaken support for public schools.
Heather Harding, March 19, 2025
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5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Student Absenteeism Opinion An NFL Franchise Is Tackling Chronic Student Absenteeism. Here's How
Athletes understand why showing up every day to work matters. Can they persuade students?
Rick Hess, March 18, 2025
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8 min read
Candid photograph of a diverse group of adults working together on a project in the library. The people are sitting around a table in the library concentrating hard while looking down at their project work on the desk in front of them.
E+/Getty
School & District Management Download Downloadable: A Guide to Working With Community Educators
Bringing community members into school can build public support for learning, ignite student interest, and support teachers. Here's how.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 14, 2025
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1 min read
Custom illustration by Stuart Briers showing a wrench that is filled with a blue abstract tech image of lines and dots, adjusting a cracked yellow school building. The light blue background reveals a subtle clock image.
Stuart Briers for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence From Our Research Center AI Has Taken Classrooms by Storm. School Operations Could Be Next
Generative AI tools could help schools with operational tasks like budgeting, transportation, data analysis, and even zoning.
Mark Lieberman, December 9, 2024
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7 min read
School Climate & Safety Spotlight Spotlight on Reimagining School Safety: A Holistic Approach
This Spotlight will help you examine strategies to create safe learning environments that promote student well-being and academic success.
December 2, 2024
112524 lamberton AP BS 5
Buses line up outside the newly opened Red Rock Central Secondary School in Lamberton, Minn. Community leaders view the $41 million as a boost both for students and the broader community.
Courtesy of Red Rock Central School District
Families & the Community A Small Town's Deep Affection for Its New School
A new school in a western Minnesota town of fewer than 800 residents was a full-community project, from start to finish.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, November 26, 2024
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5 min read
Thu., November 14, 2024, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
English Learners Webinar Family and Community Engagement: Best Practices for English Learners
Strengthening the bond between schools and families is key to the success of English learners. Learn how to enhance family engagement and support student achievement.
Register
November 14, 2024
Law themed still life featuring Themis statue, judge gavel and scale of justice in a law library.
iStock / Getty Images
Law & Courts A School Board Tried to Make Public Comments Civil. It Went Too Far, Court Says
The rules blocked protected speech or were inconsistently applied, judges say.
Mark Walsh, October 9, 2024
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4 min read
People vote at Bedford Hills Elementary School in Lynchburg, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
People vote at Bedford Hills Elementary School in Lynchburg, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
Paige Dingler/The News & Advance via AP
School & District Management Safety Risk or Civic Duty? Schools Can't Always Say No to Voters on Election Day
Schools are often obligated to serve as polling places, even as safety concerns have grown in recent years.
Mark Lieberman, August 23, 2024
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5 min read
A wide-angle lens photo shows people sitting in rows of seats in a full school board meeting room. School board members sit behind a long desk that faces the audience.
An overflow crowd attends a Temecula Valley Unified School District board meeting in Temecula, Calif. on July 18, 2023. School board meetings have been a locus of political drama in recent years.
Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG via TNS
School & District Management School Boards Are Struggling. Could a New Research Effort Help?
A new center will explore how school boards function and how they can improve relationships with the public.
Evie Blad, August 16, 2024
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3 min read
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year.
An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York. A White House summit on May 15, 2024, brought attention to elevated chronic absenteeism and strategies districts have used to fight it.
Brittainy Newman/AP
Student Absenteeism Schools Successfully Fighting Chronic Absenteeism Have This in Common
A White House summit homed in on chronic absenteeism and strategies to reduce it.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, May 15, 2024
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6 min read
Katy Anthes, Commissioner of Education in Colorado from 2016- 2023, participates in a breakout session during the Education Week Leadership Symposium on May 3, 2024.
Katy Anthes, who served as commissioner of education in Colorado from 2016-2023, participates in a breakout session during the Education Week Leadership Symposium on May 3, 2024. Anthes specializes in helping school district leaders successfully manage politically charged conflicts.
Chris Ferenzi for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A How K-12 Leaders Can Better Manage Divisive Curriculum and Culture War Debates
The leader of an effort to equip K-12 leaders with conflict resolution skills urges relationship-building—and knowing when to disengage.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, May 13, 2024
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7 min read
Collage of a construction site and school grounds.
Collage via Canva
Budget & Finance Passing School Bonds Is Hard. Advice From 3 Superintendents Who Did It
‘Educating instead of campaigning’ in an era when district leaders are under a political microscope.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 29, 2024
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8 min read
A group photo picturing 12 of the Memphis 13.
A group photo of 12 of the Memphis 13 students.
Courtesy of the Memphis 13 Foundation
Social Studies What the Research Says Oral History Offers a Model for How Schools Can Introduce Students to Complex Topics
Community history projects like a curriculum in Memphis, Tenn. can help students grapple with issues like school segregation, experts say.
Sarah D. Sparks, April 22, 2024
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4 min read
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