District Strategies

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Naomi Tolentino leads a meeting on student attendance at J.C. Harmon High School on Jan. 16, 2025 in Kansas City, Kansas.
District Dilemmas – Solutions for Common District Leader Challenges
District leaders around the country share how they address some of the common challenges they experience.
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A crossing guard stops traffic as a parents accompany their children back to school on the first day of New York City Public Schools 2025-2026 scholastic year, in the New York City borough of Queens, NY, September 4, 2025.
A crossing guard stops traffic as a parents accompany their children back to school on the first day of the 2025-26 school year in New York City, in the borough of Queens, N.Y., on Sept. 4, 2025. The New York City district is appointing school avoidance liaisons to tackle the problem of students with social or emotional disabilities refusing to go to school.
Anthony Behar/Sipa via AP
Student Absenteeism How to Get Past the Blame Game when Kids Refuse to Come to School
Tackling school avoidance won’t be a one-person job, experts say.
Olina Banerji, September 3, 2026
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5 min read
A student uses Ed, a new district-developed Artificial Intelligence-assisted "learning acceleration web-based platform that will boost student success and revolutionize how K-12 education is tailored to meet individual needs," during the official launch event at Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles on March 20, 2024 .
A student uses Ed, the Los Angeles Unified School District's custom AI platform that later failed, during a launch event at Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles on March 20, 2024. LAUSD has now adopted a moratorium on student AI use. New York City schools have banned AI-powered tools for elementary and middle school students, meaning the nation's two largest districts have adopted major restrictions on student AI use.
Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS
Artificial Intelligence LAUSD Adopts Moratorium on Student AI Use, Another Move to Limit Classroom Tech
The nation's second-largest district is pausing student use of generative artificial intelligence.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2026
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3 min read
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MEAD, CO - AUGUST 18: Parents watch and and take photos of their kids as they enter the school during their first day of class at the Big Sky PK-8 School in Mead on Aug. 18, 2026.
Parents watch their kids as they enter the school on the first day of class at the Big Sky PK-8 School in Mead, Colo., on Aug. 18, 2026. As schools face growing backlash from parents over their use of educational technology, a school communications professional has some pointers on how schools can communicate with parents about how they're using technology.
Joel Solis/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images
Classroom Technology Q&A Facing 'Techlash,' How Should Schools Talk to Parents About Tech Use?
A school communications expert explains how schools should approach their messaging around tech.
Arianna Prothero, August 21, 2026
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5 min read
Numberpad visible on keyboard of ASUS CX1 Chromebook, Lafayette, California, October 27, 2025.
The Canon-McMillan school district in Pennsylvania is one of a growing number of school districts that are scaling back students’ classroom screen time. Students in grades K-2 will no longer have regular access to school-issued laptops or tablets, and students in grades 3-8 will have limited access through Chromebook carts.
Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Sipa via AP Images
Classroom Technology Q&A Why This District Is Getting Rid of Chromebooks for K-2 Students
Some parents, educators, and even students are souring on the ubiquitous presence of the technology.
Lauraine Langreo, August 11, 2026
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6 min read
Image of a teacher and student balancing digital and traditional schoolwork approaches.
Robert Neubecker for Education Week.
Classroom Technology Schools Brace for Growing Backlash to Classroom Screen Time
Many school leaders think a tech reset is overdue, but don't want to dump what's helping kids learn.
Arianna Prothero, August 3, 2026
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7 min read
Signs reading "NO ICE ACCESS" taped to the front doors of Valley View Elementary School, on Feb. 3, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn.
Signs taped to the front doors of Valley View Elementary School declare that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents can't enter the building, on Feb. 3, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn. District leaders across the country are now regularly requesting emergency contact information from families in the wake of heightened immigration enforcement.
Liam James Doyle/AP
School & District Management ICE Raids Are Making Emergency Contacts Essential for Schools
Educators say schools can help families plan for what happens if parents are detained by ICE.
Ileana Najarro, July 16, 2026
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5 min read
Education Preschool Literacy 24282644924710
Davontez Johnson, right, ties preschooler Kodi's shoes, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, at Dorothy I. Height Elementary School in Baltimore. Early educators’ growing concern centers on too much access to technology from a young age.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo
Early Childhood Flipping the Script on Tech Equity in Early Education
This urban majority-minority district plans to limit young students' access to technology.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 10, 2026
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5 min read
Housing HUD Time Limits 25197588934495
Nintendo Switches, like the one the teenage boy is using above, are being used in the Denver Public Schools in an esports program designed to improve student engagement. Education Week recently talked to one of the educators involved in that program, who gave a presentation about it at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., June 28 to July 1.
Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo
Classroom Technology Q&A How This District Is Using Esports to Increase Student Engagement
An education technology specialist discusses an esports development program she created.
Lauraine Langreo, July 9, 2026
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4 min read
Chronic Absenteeism Indigenous Students 24276591105046
Social worker Mary Schmauss, right, greets students as they arrive for school on Oct. 1, 2024, at Algodones Elementary School in Algodones, N.M. A new report says a deep look at attendance data could point schools toward strategies that could help them lower stubbornly high chronic absenteeism.
Roberto E. Rosales/AP Photo
Student Absenteeism The Data Hiding in Plain Sight That Could Help Schools Fight Chronic Absenteeism
A granular look at attendance data could help schools fight mounting absences, a new report says.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, July 9, 2026
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4 min read
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Tight crop of a white computer keyboard with a cyan blue button labeled "AI"
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Staffing, Mentoring, Strategy: Can AI Solve Big Problems at School?
One of the sessions at the ISTE conference focused using AI for strategic questions facing schools.
Arianna Prothero, June 30, 2026
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5 min read
People stand at the counter of a pharmacy in the Queens borough of New York City, on Nov. 18, 2025. President Trump has made certain drug prices drop and has made deals with pharmaceutical companies to continue to keep prices down.
People stand at the counter of a pharmacy in the Queens borough of New York City, on Nov. 18, 2025. School district leaders in a new survey identified rising prescription drug costs as one leading cause for rising health insurance premiums that are straining district budgets.
Anthony Behar/Sipa via AP
Budget & Finance Rising Healthcare Costs Force School District Budget Tradeoffs
The growing cost of such a large expense in school district budgets requires tradeoffs, a new survey shows.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, June 26, 2026
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4 min read
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A staff member from a district school carts away food and household items to donate to student families in St. Paul, Minn., February 23, 2026. Across the Twin cities, teachers and school administrators adapted to support families affected by heightened immigration enforcement.
Tim Evans for Education Week
Families & the Community As ICE Activity Rises, Schools Focus on Family Support
Since 2025, school districts have quickly adapted to shifting effects from federal immigration enforcement.
Ileana Najarro, June 22, 2026
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7 min read