Spill The News

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It hadn’t occurred to Ryan that going to college could endanger his parents’ safety, until he was halfway through filling out the financial aid form. He sat in his room at his computer, staring at the box he had to click acknowledging that…

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There’s a growing backlash to educational technology in the classroom, as I described in my story co-published with The New York Times in March. To dig deeper into the topic, I led a Hechinger Report webinar last week on screen time in the…

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A teacher in Wisconsin recently got a call with an intriguing offer: a promise to have 80 percent of her federal student loans forgiven — for a fee. The teacher, Lauren, owes about $60,000 in debt more than a decade after graduation, so…

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If you have student loan debt, you might receive calls or see targeted social media ads promising to help reduce, or even eliminate, your balance — for a fee. The problem is, many of these offers are fraudulent, in some cases the companies…

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As schools introduce artificial intelligence into the classroom, a new analysis suggests that these tools could be steering students in different directions depending on who they are. Researchers from Stanford University fed 600 middle…

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Over the last several years, much has been written about the surge in mental health problems among American youth, reinforced by the 2021 public advisory from the U.S. surgeon general that labeled this situation a “crisis.” The concerns…

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A few days into the new semester this January, the LaSalle Parish school district in rural Louisiana made a pronouncement: There would be no more homework. None of the 2,500 students in this district — from the youngest learners up through…

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Why is caring for the planet considered ‘unmanly’? That’s a question Joseph Henderson, a lecturer at the University of Vermont, has been grappling with recently. There’s research suggesting that boys care less about the planet than girls,…

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TOLEDO, Ohio — William Werner’s first-grade class was squirming. Some of his students at McKinley STEAM Academy were still completing reading worksheets one morning last month while others who had long finished were building pyramids out…

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I spent most of the last two weeks on the road in California at three education conferences that highlighted the risks – and potential benefits – of artificial intelligence in the classroom. The American Educational Research Association…

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More than a third of the federal government’s education research budget — an estimated $289 million — could go unspent this year, according to an analysis by an advocacy group. The Knowledge Alliance, which represents 20 private research…

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Our national politics are divided and angry in a way that often feels beyond our control. The division doesn’t just stay “out there” but filters down to the community and school level. I worry about what kind of environment that creates…

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Financial aid offer letters are supposed to tell families how much they will have to pay for college, which can be the deciding factor in where — or even whether — students go to college. But too often, the letters leave out important…

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A first-of-its-kind study has found that early intervention services — which can include occupational, physical and speech therapies, among others — improve children’s test scores, even years down the road. The study, conducted jointly by…

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A first-of-its-kind study has found that early intervention services — which can include occupational, physical and speech therapies, among others — improve children’s test scores, even years down the road. The study, conducted jointly by…

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Academic freedom is not a gift. It is a structure long protected by tenure, a contract with no expiration date that guarantees procedural protections to faculty. Tenure has granted faculty at U.S. colleges and universities the rights to…

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MYSORE, India — Employers around the world share a familiar complaint: Universities often don’t prepare students for fast-changing job demands. Too many new graduates need extra preparation before they’re workforce-ready. In India, rather…

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When policymakers debate whether community colleges should offer bachelor’s degrees, the arguments often sound abstract: mission creep, duplication, threats to university enrollment. Yet for the students that community colleges serve and…

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CRAFTSBURY COMMON, Vt. — More than a dozen newborn lambs cavorted around a fenced-in yard beneath the scrutiny of their mothers and a few watchful students taking turns attending to them. The lambs’ successful births have been a needed…

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CRANSTON, R.I. — Before he landed in prison three years ago for selling drugs, Joe worked on and off as a construction laborer. In his free time, he’d do little projects around the house, his youngest daughter by his side. “I always liked…

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It’s easy to get swept up in the hype about artificial intelligence tutors. But the evidence so far suggests caution. Some studies have found that chatbot tutors can backfire because students lean on them too heavily, get spoonfed…

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As a mom of a child with special needs, I often spend the majority of my day filing insurance forms for reimbursement. I can spend hours on the phone trying to find out why coverage was denied for my child’s therapy. Usually, it is due to…

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FORT KENT, Maine — Michael Robertson struggled in school almost from the very beginning. But it was in seventh grade, when he started smoking cigarettes and drinking, that school seemed to become nearly unbearable to him. “There was always…

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When my son was about to turn 5, I was faced with a decision that may be familiar to parents of children whose birthdays are close to kindergarten enrollment cutoff dates. In my local school district, children must be 5 years old on or…