Urban Education

Learn more about urban schools and districts, including research and polices that affect city schools
Baltimore City School students find worms in the soil while exploring the woods and looking for decomposers during a scavenger hunt at Great Kids Farm and Forest Camp on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Catonsville, MD.
Baltimore City School students find worms in the soil while exploring the woods and looking for decomposers during a scavenger hunt at Great Kids Farm and Forest Camp on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Catonsville, MD.<br/>
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Student Well-Being Video Where These Urban Students Get To Learn About (and in) the Outdoors
This urban school district gives students the opportunity to learn in and about the outdoors at their district-owned farm.
Sam Mallon, September 5, 2023
4:17
Illustration of calendar on teacher's desk with days falling off.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty images
School & District Management What the Research Says 4 Studies to Know on 4-Day School Weeks
Recent studies raise questions about the usefulness of shortened school weeks.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 14, 2023
6 min read
Photo of calendar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School & District Management What Happened When One of the First Large School Districts Adopted a Four-Day Week
New research on a large district's adoption of the 4-day week shows drops in home values, teacher retention, and achievement.
Caitlynn Peetz, February 13, 2023
5 min read
Woman standing on a paper boat with a tsunami wave approaching.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management Leading a City School District Is Tough. A New Program Aims to Ease the Way
Its creators hope to drive down big-city superintendent turnover by preparing candidates for the stresses of leadership.
Evie Blad, January 25, 2023
3 min read
Image of stairs going down.
Education Week and erhui1979/DigitalVision Vectors
Student Achievement With NAEP Scores in Hand, Schools Double Down on ‘Urgent’ Recovery Efforts
Results for large districts were unsurprising, leaders say, but reinforce the need for long-term investments.
Caitlynn Peetz, October 25, 2022
5 min read
Photo of whiteboard
tumsasedgars/Getty
Recruitment & Retention Can Cushy Perks Keep Superintendents From Quitting?
Recent contracts aim to keep big-city superintendents with provisions like eye-popping salaries, sabbaticals, and retirement contributions.
Stephen Sawchuk, March 4, 2022
7 min read
Illustration of school building be erased.
Getty
School & District Management Opinion The New Problem Facing Urban School Districts
Big city district leaders across the nation may have to know how to downsize, write two education experts who have been through a reset.
Van Schoales & Brian Eschbacher, February 25, 2022
5 min read
School & District Management Interactive Masks, Vaccines & Testing: How the Biggest City School Districts Operated in Fall 2021
Education Week tracked COVID-19 protocols for some of America’s largest school districts at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.
Tonya Harris, August 30, 2021
1 min read
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piranka/E+
School & District Management The Fastest-Improving City School Districts Aren't the Ones You Might Expect
An analysis of how much city districts are overcoming their demographic odds reveals some surprising success stories as well as others where progress is slipping.
Stephen Sawchuk, July 1, 2021
8 min read
great city schools
Emma Patti Harris + Getty Images
School & District Management Interactive In-Person or Remote Learning: How the Biggest City School Districts Are Operating
Track how 75 of the largest school districts were providing learning to students in 2021 in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tonya Harris, February 8, 2021
2 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Race and Schools Are at the Core of Trump's 'Suburban Lifestyle Dream'
The president’s supposed suburban ideal draws attention to the ongoing debate about how housing and schools are inextricably linked. What does the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream” have to do with education?
Andrew Ujifusa, August 10, 2020
7 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty
School & District Management As Districts Seek Revenue Due to Pandemic, Black Homeowners May Feel the Biggest Hit
New research redoubles attention to the property tax burden on Black communities as recession-slammed districts look to make up for slumping income and sales taxes.
Daarel Burnette II, July 23, 2020
6 min read
Tara LeRoy, left, and her daughter Bailey, 10, tend their pony at their home in Palmyra, Wis. LeRoy has joined with other parents in seeking ways the Palmyra-Eagle district could stave off dissolving because of financial pressures.
Tara LeRoy, left, and her daughter Bailey, 10, tend their pony at their home in Palmyra, Wis. LeRoy has joined with other parents in seeking ways the Palmyra-Eagle district could stave off dissolving because of financial pressures.
Lauren Justice for Education Week
Student Well-Being Open Enrollment Has Drained One District. It's Looking to Dissolve
Wisconsin’s Palmyra-Eagle district has lost more than half its students in the last decade, sparking a fiscal crisis. A special board is deciding whether the district should be allowed to dissolve.
Daarel Burnette II, December 10, 2019
8 min read
Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Andy Beshear appears at the state Democrtic Party's election night watch event.
Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Andy Beshear appears at the state Democrtic Party's election night watch event.
Bryan Woolston/AP
School & District Management Education Issues Resonate in Governors' Races
This year's November elections—a preview to next year's nationwide showdowns—cast their own spotlight on education, a dynamic that played out most prominently in the Kentucky governor's race, where teachers organized to unseat a combative incumbent who'd sparred with them.
Evie Blad, November 12, 2019
4 min read