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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Thu., November 19, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
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Superintendent Mike Ginestre works in his office. Beyond bus routes, he says he built his own AI tool to sort the evidence he gathers during teacher observations.
Superintendent Mike Ginestre works in his office in the Sweet Home central school system on Oct. 28, 2026, in Amherst, NY. The superintendent is encouraging his district to experiment with AI tools to streamline administrative functions.
Grace Jiang/Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Q&A Can AI Take on the Grunt Work So Educators Can Focus on Student Learning?
A New York superintendent says the tech will help his district cut through red tape in transportation and other areas.
Grace Jiang, November 3, 2026
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5 min read
School & District Management Spotlight The New Enrollment Landscape: How Demographics, School Choice, and Competition Are Reshaping District Strategy
Explore strategies district leaders are using to adapt, rebuild trust, and make high-impact decisions.
October 30, 2026
Image of a funnel with money slices flowing through onto student desks
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
School Choice & Charters A Public School District Wants to Maximize Federal Choice Funds. Here's How
Indiana's largest district is laying the groundwork for big investments through the new federal tax credit program.
Mark Lieberman, October 30, 2026
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6 min read
Preschool teacher Melissa Mowbray works with AI on her laptop at Academic Magnet High School during the Charleston County School District Charleston Educator Symposium on July 22, 2026 in North Charleston, S.C.
Preschool teacher Melissa Mowbray works with artificial intelligence on her laptop at Academic Magnet High School during the Charleston County School District's Charleston Educator Symposium on July 22, 2026 in North Charleston, S.C. Some school districts are employing AI to help craft special education students' individualized education programs, but experts warn that doing so could run afoul of student privacy laws without the proper guardrails.
Mic Smith/AP
Special Education How AI Tools Halved This District's IEP Prep Time
Using AI in special education requires thoughtful training and privacy protections, experts say.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 28, 2026
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8 min read
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Macomb Community College's South Campus in Warren, Mich. off of 12 Mile Road on Oct. 15, 2026.
Macomb Community College's South Campus in Warren, Mich., is shown on Oct. 15, 2026. In Michigan, 16 percent of community college students are high schoolers. Nationwide, dual enrollment now tops 3 million students.
Miles Oates/mlive.com via TNS
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A Dual Enrollment Is Surging. Here's How High Schools Can Get it Right
More than 3 million high school students took a college course last year.
Grace Jiang, October 23, 2026
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3 min read
Creative Minds students find their partners during daily family time in Wichita Kansas.
Students find their partners during daily family time on Sept. 15, 2026, at Creative Minds, a microschool run by the public school district in Wichita, Kan. Interest in microschools has surged in recent years, and some school districts are starting their own. One example is in Indiana, where Superintendent George Philhower of the Eastern Hancock district has started the Indiana Microschool Collaborative.
Melissa Lukenbaugh for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Q&A To Compete With School Choice, This Superintendent Turned to Microschools
More school districts have started microschools. George Philhower has started a network of them.
Arianna Prothero, October 8, 2026
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4 min read
Thu., October 01, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. ET
English Learners K-12 Essentials Forum Rethinking Instruction for English Learners
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October 1, 2026
A Pre-K 4 SA student arrives for class, Oct. 9, 2025, in San Antonio.
A Pre-K student arrives for class on Oct. 9, 2025, in San Antonio. As district leaders weigh integrating early learning into K-12 systems, there are logistical challenges to consider.
Eric Gay/AP
Early Childhood How Two Districts Are Shaping Pre-K Learning
Superintendents say a strong strategic vision and high-quality PD are key.
Olina Banerji, September 30, 2026
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2 min read
A school bus crosses over U.S. 160 from the Navajo Nation, left, onto the Hopi reservation, right, Monday, March 4, 2024, in Tuba City, Ariz. U.S. Highway 160 is the de facto border between the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations and two time zones. Mind-bending time calculations is what people in the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. have to endure every March through November. The Navajo Nation, which stretches into Utah and New Mexico, will reset clocks for one hour later despite the rest of Arizona remaining on standard time.
A school bus crosses over U.S. 160 from the Navajo Nation, left, onto the Hopi reservation, right, on March 4, 2024, in Tuba City, Ariz. For school districts that offer offsite work-based learning experiences, transportation is a key challenge.
Matt York/AP
College & Workforce Readiness Transportation Is a Challenge for CTE Programs. How Districts Are Solving It
One district found innovative ways around this barrier.
Jennifer Vilcarino, September 24, 2026
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4 min read
Laura Eady, a 3rd grade general education teacher (left), and Lisa Maddox, an English-learner teacher, prepare lessons together for students at Mt. View Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 2, 2026.
Laura Eady, a 3rd grade general education teacher (left), and Lisa Maddox, an English-learner teacher, prepare lessons together for students at Mt. View Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 2, 2026.
Kevin Wurm for Education Week
Teaching Video How Co-Teaching Helps English Learners Succeed
Increasingly in the Metro Nashville schools, general-education and English-learner teachers team up.
Ileana Najarro & Marvin Joseph, September 21, 2026
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1 min read
Illustration by Nicole Xu showing a teacher in a teacher-parent conference with a laptop that translates a distorted depiction of the student. The female parent of the EL student has a swirly white line of confusion circling her head.
Nicole Xu for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Can Schools Trust AI to Translate for Non-English-Speaking Parents?
AI tools can translate school materials for non-English-speaking parents, but there are challenges around privacy and accuracy.
Alyson Klein, September 21, 2026
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10 min read
Collage of a high school student with words in background and a white hand drawn line image of graduation cap.
Liz Yap for Education Week + Getty
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A Why 'Portrait of a Graduate' Initiatives Struggle to Transform Instruction
Researchers examined how 15 districts are working to build "portrait of a graduate" expectations.
Lauraine Langreo, September 16, 2026
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6 min read