ICYMI: Most read by educators

Children who experience adversity may be more likely to experience learning challenges, asserts Pamela Cantor, founder of nonprofit Turnaround for Children. The organization works with schools to use neuroscience to improve outcomes for students.

There is not one “cure-all” for education, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said during a speech before the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools. “I suggest we focus less on what word comes before ‘school’ — whether it be traditional, charter, virtual, magnet, home, parochial, private, or any approach yet to be developed — and focus instead on the individuals they are intended to serve,” she said.

Students at a project-based learning high school in South Dakota will have access to an “entrepreneurial mindset” class this fall. The class will seek to foster skills such as resourcefulness and persistence.

Some schools and communities are using mobile makerspaces to connect students to science, technology, engineering and math. Nonprofit SASTEMIC operates the Geekbus, based in San Antonio, and an Atlanta-based initiative offers lessons via the STE(A)M Truck.

There is national interest in social and emotional learning, but some experts say more information is needed about how best to teach such skills and measure results. Some states have joined a multistate collaborative to develop SEL guidelines.