Education
Latest Stories
A High School for Dropouts
A “curated” approach — including on-site childcare and academic coaching — gives adults a second chance at a diploma.
Putting Green Jobs in the Curriculum
California students are becoming more environmentally aware while lowering their high school’s carbon footprint.
Housing Help Turns Indiana’s Single Mothers Into Scholars
A residence for single moms removes some of the burdens of daily life to ease the path to a college degree.
The ‘Barefoot College’ Reinventing Rural Education
Teaching everything from emergency medicine to solar engineering, a radical new university is serving the needs of India’s rural poor, whether they can read or not.
The School That Solved Its Teacher Shortage by Recruiting Its Students
Teacher burnout from remote learning has left many schools struggling to retain faculty. One Florida principal’s solution? Convert students into staff.
The City Where Third Graders Train to Be Engineers
Since Greenville, South Carolina started offering “career education” for its youngest students, the number of graduates earning industry certifications has soared.
In Washington, Students Learn About Climate Change Like Nowhere Else
Food justice classes and mock G7 summits are on the curriculum in the first US state to fund “climate change education” in public schools.
Home Sweet School District
Burnout, low pay and high-cost housing have driven teachers away from rural schools. One town gave them a reason to come back.
Why Wisconsin Kids Figure Out Their Futures Early
The Badger State’s students start mapping out a career path in the sixth grade, saving them time, confusion and college debt they didn’t need.
The British Schools Reinventing Themselves as Refugee Sanctuaries
As pupils arrive from Ukraine, Afghanistan and beyond, hundreds of UK schools are recalibrating to embrace them.
Talent-Hungry Companies Are Teaming Up With Historically Black Colleges
From Google to the NFL, major companies are confronting the labor crunch through deep partnerships with HBCUs.
What Happened When France Sent Low-Income Kids to Wealthy Schools
Bussing disadvantaged students to top-notch public schools has led to higher grades, lower drop-out rates and a call for more integration.
The Texas University That Charges Low-Income Students Precisely Zero
University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley keeps tuition low and offers generous aid to its majority-Hispanic student body. The results are paying off.
The Guarantee That Gets More Low-Income Students into College
When the University of Michigan made a minor change to how it talks about financial aid, enrollment among kids from low-income families surged.
How a Homeless Shelter in a School Paid Off in the Classroom
A school in San Francisco lets unhoused students and their families sleep on site. The students who stay there are improving scholastically.
What’s Behind Black Girls’ Spectacular Graduation Rates in Memphis?
Defying the odds, Black girls are graduating at a higher rate than any other demographic in the city’s public schools.
The Exchange Program Sending American Teens Across State Lines
In a divided country, experiencing another state can expand your worldview as much as studying abroad.
For a Lesson in Pre-K Excellence, Look to Alabama
As the U.S. considers universal preschool, Alabama’s free pre-K stands out as a model for long-term, bipartisan success.
Building an Athletics-to-Med-School Pipeline for Black Men
Focus, teamwork, grit: High-performing athletes possess many of the attributes physicians need — and could be the key to getting more Black men into medicine.
Clearing a Path from Prison to the Bar Exam
A movement to empower formerly incarcerated people to become lawyers is changing the criminal justice system from the inside out.
In Paris, More Student Diversity Means Less Private School Flight
An experiment in shuffling kids from school to school saw more families stick with the public system.
Idled by Covid, School Bus Drivers Are Becoming College Counselors
When an Indiana school district ran short on student case managers, it looked to its road warriors for help.
Free the Playgrounds!
Elaborate, over-programmed playgrounds increasingly dictate how kids should use them. Can a new type of playscape unwrite the script?
The Transformative Power of Replacing Guns With Jobs
Youth involved in gun violence would rather be working than shooting. One group decided to give them what they want.
In this Connecticut Prison, the Guards Double as Mentors
What happens when incarcerated people see a correctional officer not as an overlord, but as someone who can help?
Inside the Student-Led Movement to Depolarize College
Beyond the ideological brawls and anti-speaker protests is a push to make disagreement on campus cool again.
‘Microcredentials’ Are Changing the Pandemic Job Hunt
Some universities are offering college credits as industry-recognized certificates instead, allowing students to use them in the job market long before they graduate.
The Youth Who Turned a Prison Into a Farm
In North Carolina, teens who were once at risk of being locked up have created a place where good things grow.
Do School Plays Lead to PhDs?
A new report shows a correlation that’s held for decades: People with more education are more involved in the arts. Or is it the other way around?
The High School That Follows Its Students to College
A school in Detroit deploys counselors to make sure its graduates are staying on the collegiate track. Unlock your phones, kids.
Can California’s Colleges Be Saved?
Soaring tuition and slipping graduation rates have challenged the UC system’s renown. Now, an attempt to restore its former glory is underway.
A School Where Character Gets a Grade
An A+ for accountability? How one school grades students’ “character data” as much as their homework, and gets a decent report card on future success
My Alternate Route to Harvard
Raised on the plains of North Carolina by parents who grew up in the segregated South, I wasn’t put on the “Harvard track” early. I got there anyway—thanks to one of the best-kept secrets in higher education.
Reversing the Tide
College degree programs like the Bard Prison Initiative give jailed students a chance to thrive once they’re released—and drive down the costs of incarceration for us all.
I’m Not That Guy Anymore
I hated school—until I got slapped with a 15-year prison sentence and discovered calculus, Mandarin and the college degree I never knew I wanted.
The School Where Refugees Thrive
At Fugees Academy, students who arrived in the U.S. as refugees—sometimes without parents or English skills—are graduating at a rate of 90 percent.
“The Best Worst Mistake You Ever Made”
Before they became places to warehouse so-called problem kids, alternative learning centers were designed to help at-risk students succeed. Some are rediscovering that mission.
Crushed by negative news?
Sign up for the Reasons to be Cheerful newsletter.