DeShea Simon, an assistant professor at Hampton University in Virginia, revolutionized her classroom after realizing traditional desks hindered collaboration. In this blog post, Simon writes that this approach fosters a space preparing students for future workplace dynamics.

Brittany Cohen's second-grade class at Glenhope Elementary School in Texas combines math education with Dallas Mavericks fandom. Students are inspired through immersive lessons and caught the attention of Mavs player Dereck Lively, who surprised the class and joined their charitable efforts.

Mark Tuitert, a speed skater who won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, follows the wisdom of the Stoics to focus on making the right choices, looking out for the interest of your team and building character, traits he outlines in his book, "The Stoic Mindset: Living the Ten Principles of Stoicism." "In all areas, from sports to politics to business, individuals and teams demonstrate that success doesn't have to come at the expense of others. The quest for character is the quest for a good life," Tuitert writes.

The word "trauma" has entered the lexicon to describe everyday negative events, which licensed clinical social worker Nancy Colier calls disturbing as real trauma is "a devastating, painful, and life-changing experience." Colier writes that "[s]eeing and claiming 'trauma' everywhere we look won't bring us relief. Relief, paradoxically, arrives when we give up our fight with reality and relax with life on life's terms."

Sora's inaugural report unveiled significant digital reading growth for the 2022-23 school year, revealing regional genre preferences and peak reading months. The study that tracked 62,000 schools globally also showed increased interest in comics, graphic novels and series, with e-books being the most popular format.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the initiation of Arkansas' Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, providing $120 grocery benefits per eligible school-aged child during the summer months, aiming to alleviate childhood food insecurity. Kristi Putnam, secretary of the state's Department of Human Services, highlighted the program's significance, ensuring access to nutritious meals for children, especially during school breaks.

On the ASCD Connect podcast, Huda Essa, author of The Consciously Unbiased Educator, discusses how school leaders and educators can disrupt exclusionary practices in schools and utilize diversity as an asset to support greater student achievement.

Instructional leaders are key to helping teachers shift to a more phenomenon-based approach.

As Utah's statewide book ban law takes effect, school districts face the challenge of retroactively applying new guidelines, potentially leading to statewide book removals. Plans are under consideration to review past bans and to determine compliance with the updated legislation.

An emerging trend is allowing AI technology to create manufactured nude images -- often of real high-school students. Legislators in some states are taking action to help address this new technology, including in Washington state, which recently banned the practice.