Several 10th- and 11th-grade students in Virginia are learning electrical engineering basics for a few weeks on a university campus as they create "solar suitcases" from We Share Solar kits that will be sent to Kenya to provide light for a refugee classroom. The students also are writing letters to the refugee students to help personalize the donation.

Children ages 8 and younger often understand more of what they read when the book is in print, according to an analysis by Natalia Kucirkova of the University of Stavanger in Norway and the Open University in the UK, and Adriana Bus of Leiden University in Amsterdam. However, the researchers noted benefits of certain enhancements that come with some e-books that help support students' comprehension.

Educators who speak one language can contribute and make a difference in multilingual education, writes language educator Tan Huynh. In this blog post, Huynh shares three roles monolingual teachers can assume in supporting multilingual students, such as resisting English-only learning policies and encouraging students to become literate in their first language.

Eighty educators from 10 countries or regions have been hired to teach this fall in French- and Spanish-language immersion programs in public schools across Louisiana. The instructors -- from countries including Canada, France, Guatemala, Mexico and Spain -- recently completed their orientation for the three-year exchange program.

A study published in The Lancet estimates that more than 1.1 million children around the world have lost at least one parent or custodial grandparent, while more than 1.5 million children lost at least one primary or secondary caregiver because of COVID-19. Losing a parent or other caregiver can have severe consequences for children, increasing their "risks of experiencing mental health problems; physical, emotional and sexual violence; and family poverty," researchers said.

A study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health found 1 in 20 children hospitalized with COVID-19 developed neurological complications. About one-third of these children had symptoms that persisted, and researchers said they did not know how long such problems might continue.

We want to hear your stories. In each issue, Educational Leadership's "Tell Us About" column publishes brief contributions from readers describing their experiences related to that issue's theme. For the November 2021 issue, we'd like to hear what one action you think leaders can take to increase teachers' confidence in their ability to make a difference. Share your 100- to 200-word submission by August 16.

To combat Zoom fatigue, we must engage students in new and exciting ways. Learn six ways to intentionally use virtual conferencing tools in teaching and learning this school year on the ASCD blog.