Boston Day and Evening Academy, a charter school, has become a model for alternative education by offering personalized support for students facing challenges such as pregnancy, homelessness and health issues. The school provides flexible scheduling, competency-based learning and resources like free meals and an in-school health clinic, helping students graduate despite significant obstacles.

Assessments often evoke anxiety among students, but integrating technology can make them more engaging and less intimidating, writes Stephanie Smith Budhai, a faculty member at the University of Delaware. Tools like Canva for infographics, Popplet for mind mapping and TikTok for demonstrations allow students to creatively demonstrate their learning without realizing they're being assessed, Budhai writes.

Poor communication with your team can affect employee trust, retention and engagement, writes clinical psychologist and author Monica Vermani, who offers seven steps to better communication, including the need for leaders to engage in two-way communication, adapt their style and invest in training. "When leaders share organizational goals and values, talk about opportunities on the horizon and share information about navigating organizational changes and challenges, they create a culture where employees feel valued and included," Vermani writes.

Developing AI literacy in K-12 students is crucial for equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in a tech-driven economy, writes Arman Jaffer, founder and CEO of Brisk Teaching. He highlights the importance of initiatives like California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s bill mandating AI and media literacy in the state’s K-12 curriculum and calls for expanding these efforts to include more robust, real-world AI applications across subjects like math, science and English

K-12 IT teams are focusing on cybersecurity, AI integration and equitable access to technology in 2025. Hansang Bae of Zscaler highlights the need for zero-trust architecture amid rising cyberattacks, while Delia DeCourcy of Lenovo emphasizes the importance of AI literacy and infrastructure, while schools are also adopting biometric authentication and IoT, requiring robust data protection measures.

Students at Jimmy Carter Middle School in Albuquerque, N.M., honored the former president during his state funeral by penning letters of kindness and learning about his life and legacy. Principal Michelle Velasquez said it was "a profound honor" for the school to be named after Carter, who "exemplified service, integrity and a commitment to making the world a better place."

In the December issue of Eductional Leadership, Brendan Hoyle, director of arts and innovation at Norfolk Collegiate School in Norfolk, Virginia, shares how design thinking—and a little creativity—can fuel joy and agency in the classroom.

Imaginative play is formative to young people’s learning and development. So why are some elementary schools taking it away? In the new issue of EL, veteran 4th grade teacher Karen Engels explores ways to bring creativity back into the classroom.

Douglas Fuchs, a professor of special education at Vanderbilt University, is poised to challenge the prevailing notion of full inclusion for students with disabilities in general education classrooms. In an upcoming paper in the Journal of Learning Disabilities, Fuchs argues that evidence supporting inclusion is fundamentally flawed, noting that many students with disabilities might benefit more from intensive, specialized instruction in separate settings.

Major companies such as Google, Microsoft and Southwest Airlines are highlighting the importance of social-emotional learning in schools to prepare students for the workforce. Google values self-awareness and responsible decision-making, Microsoft emphasizes emotional intelligence and adaptability, and Southwest looks for communication and teamwork skills.