WHAT WE’RE READING
“Welcome to the life of a beta mother,” writes Rachel Wolfe. “After decades where the dominant expectation for high-achieving parents was to intensively helicopter, a new generation of moms is saying ‘enough.’” —The Wall Street Journal
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“Roughly 76,000 fewer students enrolled in Texas public schools this academic year—the first non-pandemic decline in nearly four decades,” writes Jaden Edison in The Texas Tribune, with Hispanic students accounting for 81 percent of the drop. “What stands out in the data is that public school enrollment is falling even as Texas continues to grow,” said Carlo Castillo of Texas 2036. “In many parts of the state, population gains are no longer translating into public school enrollment growth. That points to a broader structural shift policymakers and district leaders will need to plan for.”
The Texas decline reflects nationwide demographic changes already driving budget shortfalls, layoffs, and school closures around the country, as reported in The New York Times last week. It’s time to follow Cleveland’s lead and prepare communities for the challenges ahead.
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
