EdWeek's Must Read Articles

Bringing you the must-read articles in K-12 education on some of the hottest topics, so you can improve your subject matter expertise quickly.

You can also browse these topics pages: student achievement, opportunity/achievement gap, and the digital divide.

High-Performing & Dedicated Team

Pedestrians cross a nearly empty street in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, U.S., on Thursday, May 28, 2020. The annual Walmart Inc. shareholder celebration attracts a varied crowd who pour money into the hotels, bars and restaurants in and around the retailer's hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. The Covid-19 pandemic forced Walmart to pivot to a virtual gathering on June 3.
Pedestrians cross a nearly empty street in downtown Bentonville, Ark., on May 28, 2020. The superintendent there has found strategies to recruit and retain educators, including child care and affordable housing for staff.
Terra Fondriest/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Businesswoman and businessman HR manager interviewing woman. Candidate female sitting her back to camera, focus on her, close up rear view, interviewers on background. Human resources, hiring concept
iStock/Getty
An illustration of a professional female holding the lines that divide the week days of a calendar and removing the first line so that it's knocking the letters MON off the grid.
iStock/Getty

You can also browse these topics pages: teacher quality/effectiveness, retention, and recruitment & hiring.

Efficient Operations/Budget & Finance

An image representing disputes over property taxes.
DigitalVision Vectors
Budget & Finance How Do Schools Solve a Problem Like Property Taxes?
Mark Lieberman, February 12, 2026
11 min read
Teachers utilize a team teaching model, known as the Next Education Workforce Model, at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025.
Teachers utilize a team-teaching model that spreads out teacher expertise and facilitates collaboration at Stevenson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz., on Jan 30, 2025. Some of those models depend on having coaches and interventionists—positions that risk getting cut during lean budget times.
Adriana Zehbrauskas for Education Week
business and investment planning. Magnifying glass with business report on financial advisor desk. Concept of data analysis, accounting, audit, business research.
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You can also browse these topics pages: budget & finance and school funding.

Parent & Community Engagement

California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks to reporters as Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, left, and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, right, listen outside the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 5, 2025, with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield behind him. Bonta this week sued the U.S. Department of Education, asking a court to block the agency's finding that the state is violating FERPA by <ins data-user-label="Matt Stone" data-time="02/13/2026 4:22:45 PM" data-user-id="00000185-c5a3-d6ff-a38d-d7a32f6d0001" data-target-id="">not requiring schools to disclose</ins> students’ gender transitions <ins data-user-label="Matt Stone" data-time="02/13/2026 4:22:45 PM" data-user-id="00000185-c5a3-d6ff-a38d-d7a32f6d0001" data-target-id="">to</ins> parents.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts California Sues Ed. Dept. in Clash Over Gender Disclosures to Parents
Mark Walsh, February 13, 2026
4 min read
Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac walks around the exhibition hall of the National Conference on Education in Nashville, on Feb. 12, 2026. Reljac is the superintendent for Fox Chapel Area School District in Pennsylvania.
Mary Catherine Reljac walks around the exhibition hall of the National Conference on Education in Nashville on Feb. 12, 2026. Reljac, the superintendent for Fox Chapel Area school district in Pennsylvania, is working to combat chronic absenteeism through data analysis and tailored student support.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Amelia Vance, the founder & president of the Public Interest Privacy Center, leads a discussion on Feb. 10, 2026, at George Washington University law school in Washington, D.C. about problems in providing clear information about digital learning tools to educators and families. Panelists included Meg Jones, a professor at Georgetown, and Sara Collins, the director of government affairs at Public Knowledge, a nonprofit organization.
Amelia Vance, at left, the founder and president of the Public Interest Privacy Center, leads a discussion on Feb. 10, 2026, at George Washington University law school in Washington. The panel discussed problems schools are having providing clear information to parents and educators about the digital learning tools students are using. <br/>
Alyson Klein/Education Week

You can also browse these topics pages: families & the community and parent engagement.

State-of-the-Art Facilities/Maintenance

20260122 AMX US NEWS CPS CANCELS CLASS FRIDAY DUE 1 TB
A crossing guard assists students as they arrive for classes at Chalmers STEAM Elementary school on Jan. 22, 2026, in Chicago. Extreme cold hitting much of the United States in the coming days could test schools' aging infrastructure and force school closures. Chicago Public Schools called off classes for Friday, Jan. 23.
Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune

You can also browse this topics page: school facilities & design.

Prepare Students for Career & College in a Global Environment

Intern Alex Reed, an 18-year-old high school senior, assists Dana Miller in veterinary care at the Ark of the Dunes Animal Hospital in Chesterton, Ind., Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
Intern Alex Reed, an 18-year-old high school senior, assists Dana Miller in veterinary care at the Ark of the Dunes Animal Hospital in Chesterton, Ind., on June 4, 2024. Chesterton High School works to place seniors in internship placements that align with their career interests.
Eric Davis for Education Week
Photo of students walking on college campus.
iStock
Stephanie Perez, 9, right, and Jaylin Garcia Mejia, 9, center, watch an introductory lesson on A.I. during Funda Perez’ 4th grade computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025.
Fourth graders participate in an introductory lesson on artificial intelligence during a computer applications class at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., School No. 6 in Passaic, N.J., on Oct. 14, 2025. Some experts suggest schools should use computer science classes to teach AI skills.
Erica S. Lee for Education Week

You can also browse these topics pages: college readiness, college access, career readiness, and graduation requirements.

Diversity

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minneapolis Public Schools for discrimination in its efforts to shield teachers of color from layoffs and reassignments.
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minneapolis Public Schools for discrimination in its efforts to shield teachers of color from layoffs and reassignments.
Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
Equity & Diversity Trump Admin. Accuses Minneapolis Schools of Racism in Protecting Minority Teachers
Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune, December 11, 2025
2 min read

You can also browse these topics pages: diversity and teacher diversity.

School Safety

Sign indicating school zone.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Tracker School Shootings This Year: How Many and Where
January 1, 2026
3 min read
A mother holds her children at the memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church after Wednesday's shooting, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Minneapolis.
A mother holds her children at a memorial outside Annunciation Catholic Church following the Aug. 27 shooting at the Minneapolis Catholic school. The shooting, in which two children died and 21 people were injured, was the largest school shooting of 2025, a year during which there were fewer school shootings than in any year since 2020.
Ellen Schmidt/AP
Photo of stone columns.
E+

You can also browse these topics pages: school safety and school shootings.