Students in Chicago Public Schools this year learned American history through the "1619 Project," the New York Times Magazine's acclaimed project examining the legacy of slavery in the US. Mary Kovats, a social studies teacher who is using the project's resources, has been discussing the Civil Rights movement with students and connecting unrest of that time to what is happening today.

A third- and fourth-grade teacher in Minnesota has accomplished her goal of having picnic lunches with each of her 32 students. Cindy Miller says sharing an outdoor meal with her students allows them to connect and gives them an opportunity to share what's going on in their lives.

Many students are experiencing the same feelings as adults about killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minnesota and the unrest that has followed, but experts say educators can give students a safe space to express themselves. Howard Stevenson, a clinical psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, says teachers play an important role in having these difficult conversations and helping with "racial socialization and literacy."

Students report a wide range of both positive and negative experiences with remote education during pandemic-related school closures, and experts say execution has varied widely across states and districts. An analysis by the National Association of State Boards of Education found that 20 states had no attendance requirements during the shutdown, whereas 17 specified acceptable durations for remote instruction and 22 asked teachers to hold regular office hours.

Tricia Ebarvia, a high-school English teacher in Pennsylvania, and Kimberly Parker, a literacy organizer, co-founded a blog series to highlight the voices of indigenous, black and other educators of color in May, called #31DaysIBPOC. The program is now in its second year, and the organizers say it is an opportunity to celebrate these educators.

About 24% of educators in Michigan say they are considering leaving their jobs and 7% say they definitely will, according to a survey by the Michigan Education Association. The survey, which drew more than 15,000 responses, revealed that 90% of educators are concerned about health risks associated with reopening schools.

Beckett Haight, NBCT, says that students struggle for a variety of reasons, but working on developing their executive functioning skills could help them excel. Haight writes that schools can and should make this a priority, and there are a number of solutions in order to help them do so. Read on.

A whole community got wrapped up in a penny-based math project started by Jillian Folino, NBCT. In this blog post, Folino writes about how her new role took her in a direction that brought the community together to work on one project. Read more.

What effect will the coronavirus have on STEM and STEAM education? We want to explore this topic at STEM Pathways Summit 2020. We are seeking sessions from educators demonstrating ways to develop students' STEM and STEAM skills in this new reality. What are you doing to foster creativity, risk-taking, problem-solving, communication and collaboration among your learners? How are you teaching them to think differently about STEM and STEAM and how they can use these skills to contribute to the world? Tell us about your practices and programs that are redefining STEM and STEAM education in a COVID-19 world. Submit your proposal.