The Hechinger Report

JUNE 6, 2018

Nationwide, K-12 schools are leading a fledgling “net-zero” building boom that has grown from a few proof-of-concept structures a decade ago to hundreds of buildings completed or under construction. Much of the advocacy for net-zero buildings has focused on environmental and economic incentives. My lesson plan is: Here’s a problem.

K-12 107

K-12 Elementary School Middle School Advocacy 107

The Hechinger Report

JANUARY 16, 2017

(From left to right) Sixth graders Mia DeMore, Maria DeAndrade, and Stephen Boulas make a number line in their math class at Walsh Middle School in Framingham, Massachusetts, one of 132 “Basecamp” schools piloting the Personalized Learning Platform created by the Summit charter school network. Photo: Chris Berdik.

Charter School 71

Charter School Middle School Project-Based Learning Elementary School 71

The Hechinger Report

JULY 30, 2018

Most states have something on the books to encourage competency-based options, but only about a half-dozen have loosened seat-time dictates enough to dispense with grade levels, according to Matt Williams, chief operating officer and vice president of policy and advocacy for the personalized-learning nonprofit KnowledgeWorks.

Tradition 111

Tradition Charter School High School Cultures 111

The Hechinger Report

MAY 2, 2020

A network of charter schools in California and Washington developed the Summit Learning Program for their students almost a decade ago; the model got a boost in 2014 from Facebook engineers after Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, visited a Summit middle school.

Junior High 127

Junior High Charter School Elementary School Social Studies 127

The Hechinger Report

JULY 10, 2019

Kristen Danusis, a former school psychologist who became the principal in 2013, tells me that many of her students live “off the grid,” in households that earn little regular income. For decades, nonprofit advocacy groups and corporate donors have targeted K-12 education for intervention. Yet, inside Isaac Paine, tech abounds.

K-12 97

K-12 Charter School Middle School Elementary School 97

The Hechinger Report

AUGUST 6, 2024

Experts, books, videos, detailed lesson plans — to teachers at the time, it felt like a blur of continuous learning. Her daughter loves school, she said, and her son in middle school can’t wait to try out for the soccer team. Slowly, educators began sharing strategies and co-teaching classes.

High School 140

High School K-12 Professional Development Heritage 140

The Hechinger Report

MAY 23, 2022

But critics say the bill’s language is so vague that it will lead many schools and teachers to over-correct, avoiding anything that might anger a parent. Anita Carson, a middle school science teacher in Lake Alfred, Florida, said she’ll keep talking to the LGBTQ students who come to her for support, even if it costs her a job.

Cultures 22

Cultures Library Elementary School Advocacy 22

The Hechinger Report

FEBRUARY 4, 2024

It hit us like a ton of bricks,” said Laura Foster, a local mother who helped create the progressive advocacy group the Ridge Network to fight the right-wing dominance of Pennridge’s schools. A middle school reading program would be altered because the books, one board majority member said, were too “doom and gloom.”

Education Policy 142

Education Policy Education Advocacy Social Studies 142