CHEERS
“Superintendent Tony Watlington said district data shows student attendance has cratered on scheduled half days. Going forward, he said he wants the district to ‘eliminate and sunset half days from our school calendars for now and forevermore.’” —Carly Sitrin, Chalkbeat Philadelphia
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“State takeovers are having a moment,” writes Lily Altavena, who notes that red-state leaders are increasingly losing patience with chronic low achievement and financial mismanagement by local districts, and not just in Texas. —Chalkbeat
JEERS
EdWeek surveyed teachers and about 40 percent shared that they’ve cut back on homework over the past two years. Why? “Forty-seven percent said it was because students refused to do it. The next-highest portion, 29 percent, said that students’ use of tech such as AI to complete homework lessens its value, and 28 percent said equity concerns—that some students have more access to homework help than others—is a factor.” The problem is even worse in high-poverty districts. —Jennifer Vilcarino, Education Week
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Oklahoma has lost three decades of academic ground. So finds Adam Tyner, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Center for Education Policy (and a former Fordham staffer), who talks to Jennifer Palmer about his new research on Oklahoma’s declining student outcomes. “It took Mississippi decades of being a national punchline to make real progress in their state, but for the sake of Oklahoma’s students, I sure hope it doesn’t take us that long.” —Oklahoma Watch
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“When Fear enters the classroom: Minnesota charter schools navigate the lasting impact of immigration enforcement surges.”—Joey Cienian, CharterFolk
Editor's note: This was first published on Mike Petrilli's Substack, SCHOOLED, a twice-weekly free Substack and email newsletter restarting the education-reform conversation.
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Sharp analysis of the week’s biggest K–12 debates
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Curated commentary from across the ed-policy world
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Lively discussion—including reader reactions and pushback
