District Strategies

Collection

District Dilemmas – Solutions for Common District Leader Challenges
District leaders around the country share how they address some of the common challenges they experience.
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
English Learners K-12 Essentials Forum Rethinking Instruction for English Learners
Join this free event to explore teacher preparedness, family communication, and strategies to ensure equity and opportunity for students.
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
On off button on a tech background.
Getty
Artificial Intelligence AI Is Working Its Way Into Everything. Can School Districts Really Ban It?
It’s very difficult—maybe even impossible—to turn off generative AI for entire school districts.
Alyson Klein, September 9, 2026
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4 min read
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