Missouri

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Missouri
Cass Career Center
Assistant Director, Nicole Tews, walks a student through the administration office at the Cass Career Center in Harrisonville, Mo., on September 29, 2026. The center has a math and an English teacher who are integrated into students' industry-specific career programs.
Melissa Lukenbaugh for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Q&A Reading, Writing, and Math Skills Are Top Priorities in This CTE Program
How these teachers are connecting the dots between academic and technical skills.
Lauraine Langreo, October 26, 2026
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4 min read
Cass Career Center
Layton Heaper, a senior in the welding program at the Cass Career Center in Harrisonville, Mo., works on a project on Sept. 29, 2026. Through the school's integrated academics program, students learn and apply English and math skills related to future careers.
Melissa Lukenbaugh for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness The CTE Program Answering the Question ‘Why Do I Need Math to Be a Firefighter?’
Integrating academic learning into career and technical education comes with challenges.
Lauraine Langreo, October 22, 2026
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13 min read
Tom Bober
Students read books in the library at Captain Elementary School in Clayton, Mo., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. School Librarian Tom Bober works with teachers at the school to help instill a culture of reading early in students' lives.
Neeta Satam for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Creating a Culture of Reading for Pleasure Amid a Focus on Basics
School librarians at Missouri's Clayton school district bring a culture of reading to all students.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 19, 2026
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9 min read
Image of students in isolation in artistic manner with red evocative color and shadows.
Laura Baker/Education Week & Getty
Special Education Investigation Finds 'Shocking Overuse' of Seclusion and Restraint in This District
Restraint and seclusion should not be used in routine school discipline, the Justice Department says.
Evie Blad, February 24, 2026
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5 min read
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, left, attends a news conference with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, right, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Gov. Lee presented the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2024, his administration's legislative proposal to establish statewide universal school choice.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, left, attends a news conference with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 28, 2023. Both Republican governors have championed new programs that let families in their states use public funds for private education. The programs in both states are facing legal challenges.
George Walker IV/AP
School Choice & Charters The Legal Fight Over Private School Choice: Who Is Suing and Why?
Court battles are underway—or recently wrapped up—for programs in at least nine states.
Mark Lieberman, February 24, 2026
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1 min read
Third-grader Fallon Rawlinson reads a book at Good Springs Elementary School in Good Springs, Nev., on March 30, 2022. For decades, there has been a clash between two schools of thought on how to best teach children to read, with passionate backers on each side of the so-called reading wars. But the approach gaining momentum lately in American classrooms is the so-called science of reading.
Third-grader Fallon Rawlinson reads a book at Good Springs Elementary School in Good Springs, Nev., on March 30, 2022. Many more states and districts are emphasizing evidence-based practices, including phonics, in reading programs. But the U.S. Department of Education's withholding of teacher-training funding could stymie some of those efforts.
Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP
Reading & Literacy Trump School Funding Freeze Has Some Districts Scrambling to Save 'Science of Reading' PD
Teachers need ongoing assistance to make difficult shifts in teaching reading. Some districts had counted on the withheld Title II funding.
Sarah Schwartz, July 17, 2025
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4 min read
Pencil drawing a checkmark in a box. U.S.A. ballot measures voting in elections.
DigitalVision Vectors
States 5 Ways You Didn't Know the Election Will Affect K-12 Schools
Voters will weigh ballot items that affect funding for electric school buses, tax revenue for state education budgets, and more.
Mark Lieberman, October 31, 2024
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8 min read
Illustration of magnet attracting letters.
Dan Page for Education Week
Science Reading and Writing Like a Scientist
English and science teachers in Missouri middle schools collaborate to help students tackle complex scientific texts.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 28, 2024
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6 min read
Photo of a diverse group of elementary children swimming with floats in a swimming pool with their Black male instructor behind them watching.
E+
Student Well-Being & Movement How School Districts Nationwide Can Build Water Safety for Students
Take a look at how these districts help prepare students for the water by providing water safety and swim lessons for their students.
Isaiah Hayes, July 24, 2024
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5 min read
cellphone distraction policy bans in schools static
Laura Baker/Education Week via canva
Ed-Tech Policy Tracker Which States Ban or Restrict Cellphones in Schools?
See which states are requiring cellphone restrictions or bans in schools.
Arianna Prothero, Lauraine Langreo & Alyson Klein, June 28, 2024
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1 min read
Students at Mount Vernon Library in Raleigh, N.C., pose with free books after their book fair. School librarian Julia Stivers started the free book fair eight years ago, in an effort to make the traditional book fair more equitable. Alternative versions of book fairs have been cropping up as a way to help students' build their own personal library, without the costs associated with traditional book fair models.
Students at Mount Vernon Library in Raleigh, N.C., pose with free books after their book fair. School librarian Julia Stivers started the free book fair eight years ago, in an effort to make the traditional book fair more equitable. Alternative versions of book fairs have been cropping up as a way to help students' build their own personal library, without the costs associated with traditional book fair models.
Courtesy of Julia Stivers
Equity & Diversity School Librarians Are Creating Free Book Fairs. Here's How
School librarians are turning to free book fairs in an effort to get more books to children in poverty.
Brooke Schultz, June 24, 2024
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9 min read
Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven talks to students participating in Future Farmers of America during an event in February 2024, in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven talks to students participating in Future Farmers of America during an event in February 2024, in Jefferson City, Mo. Vandeven is stepping down from her position after more than eight years on the job.
Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
States Q&A 'Politics Does Not Belong in Education,' Says a Departing State Schools Chief
Improving student outcomes requires finding common ground, says Missouri's long-serving education commissioner, Margie Vandeven.
Libby Stanford, June 4, 2024
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9 min read
Calendar 4 day week
iStock/Getty
School & District Management The Complicated Fight Over Four-Day School Weeks
Missouri lawmakers want to encourage large districts to maintain five-day weeks—even as four-day weeks grow more popular.
Mark Lieberman, May 21, 2024
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7 min read
Student being assisted by AI
Nicole Xu for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence The Pros and Cons of AI in Special Education
AI can make special educators' jobs easier by handling paperwork and serving as an adaptive tool. But there are privacy and other concerns.
Alyson Klein, May 13, 2024
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9 min read