Indianapolis Public Schools Commissioner Will Pritchard reflects on visiting various schools within the district, highlighting the formidable challenges faced, including student homelessness and COVID-related disruptions, while also acknowledging the dedication of teachers and the daily triumphs happening in classrooms. Despite the hurdles, he emphasizes the resilience and talent of both students and educators in the school system.

Park rangers employ creative methods to maintain visitor engagement without traditional incentives like grades or attendance, offering valuable lessons for educators seeking to engage students, writes James Fester, a consultant and author. In this article, Fester writes that strategies like structured storytelling, progressive participation prompts and active audience involvement foster deeper learning experiences.

"Classroom preparation goes from hours to seconds" with AI assistance, say sixth-grade teachers Janice Donaghy and Jean D'Aurio, who detail an AI-assisted lesson plan to meet the varying levels and goals of students in a general and special ed inclusion class. The teachers, who use Canva, Diffit and other AI tools, say AI also was able to translate lessons right away for a new student who spoke no English, and Franklin Square School District Superintendent Jared Bloom of New York explains that "[t]he promise really is to personalize learning, not just differentiate it, in a way that's not taxing or exhausting for teachers."

A school in San Diego Unified School District is using the SchoolAI platform to create personal chatbots for elementary-schoolers to help boost curiosity and critical-thinking skills among students, says principal Laurie Brady Francis. One way students are using the chatbots is to glean information needed to write a topic paragraph, then having the bot review the writing by the student.

Around one-third of teachers are either regularly using tools powered by AI in their work or have made initial attempts, with social studies and English-language arts teachers among the most common users, according to a RAND survey. Some teachers may be unaware that AI is embedded in some tools they already use, noted the report's authors, who found that AI-powered tools are used most commonly to create classroom materials and individualize instructional content for students.

In the first half of this academic school year, more books have been banned from public schools than the entire last year -- over 4,300 books in 23 states -- according to new report from PEN America, a free speech organization. The report found that as these book bans accelerate, especially those on topics like race, sexual assault and the LGBTQ+ community, Florida schools tracked the most removals with 3,135 books removed in the first half of the academic year.

Retaining teachers is crucial for student success, says Jessica Kato, NBCT, who advocates for innovative career paths like hybrid teaching and master teacher roles. Read more of this blog post to learn how to champion our educators' growth and keep them thriving.

The National Board has a new podcast called National Board Conversations. NBCTs from across the country take you through their journey, and provide help for candidates who are currently going through the process. Listen to the podcast.