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.
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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

Cougar Mountain Middle School was built next door to Timber Ridge at Talus, a senior living community. It’s resulted in an intergenerational partnership between students and the senior residents. Pictured here on Oct. 30, 2025, in Issaquah, Wash.
Cougar Mountain Middle School in Issaquah, Wash., was built next door to Timber Ridge at Talus, a senior living community. It’s resulted in an intergenerational partnership between students and the senior residents, pictured here on Oct. 30, 2025.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
A 5th grade math class takes place at Lafargue Elementary School in Effie, Louisiana, on Friday, August 22. The state has implemented new professional development requirements for math teachers in grades 4-8 to help improve student achievement and address learning gaps.
Research shows that a positive school climate serves as a protective factor for young people, improving students’ education outcomes and well-being during their academic careers and beyond. A student raises her hand during a 5th grade class in Effie, La., on Aug. 22, 2025.
Kathleen Flynn for Education Week
School Climate & Safety 4 Ways Schools Can Build a Stronger, Safer Climate
Lauraine Langreo, January 30, 2026
4 min read
Students enter school in Spokane, Wash. on Dec. 3, 2025. Most teens surveyed said their school’s cellphone restrictions have had no impact on “making friends.”
Students enter school in Spokane, Wash. on Dec. 3, 2025, with a posted reminder of the cellphone ban. In a new survey, most teens said their school’s cellphone restrictions have had no impact on “making friends.”
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy How Cellphone Bans Have Affected Students' Lives: What Teens Say
Olina Banerji, January 28, 2026
4 min read

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

Illustration of thief/fisherman catching at (@) symbol.
DigitalVision Vectors
In an aerial view, Waymo robotaxis sit parked at a Waymo facility on Dec. 8, 2025 , in San Francisco . Self-driving taxi company Waymo said it is voluntarily recalling software in its autonomous vehicles after Texas officials documented at least 19 incidents this school year in which the cars illegally passed stopped school buses, including while students were getting on or off.
Waymo self-driving taxis sit parked at a Waymo facility on Dec. 8, 2025, in San Francisco. Federal agencies are investigating after Austin, Texas, schools documented incidents in which the cars illegally passed stopped school buses. In a separate incident, a robotaxi struck a student at low speed as she ran across the street in front of her Santa Monica, Calif., elementary school.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via TNS
Protesters demonstrate against ICE agents near the the Whipple Federal Building on Jan. 8, 2026.
Protestors gather after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, on Jan. 7, 2026. The incident later prompted the Minneapolis school district to cancel classes amid broader federal immigration operations.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS

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