Janaki Mehta

Just days ago, the third largest school district in the country, Miami-Dade County, approved a plan to shut down nine of its schools.

It joins a growing list of districts that are considering similar decisions as schools are faced with declining enrollment and rising costs.

But a study out of Stanford University shows even if a building shuts down and its maintenance costs are reduced...

Schools often try to preserve staff positions by moving people to other locations.

That, combined with the fact that kids end up leaving the school district, often means districts are breaking even while the community is dealt painful consequences.

The study warns that schools should weigh carefully the short-term costs of a closure before shutting its doors.

Janaki Mehta, NPR News.

The Trump administration is launching the first major federal program that'll give taxpayer dollars to parents to spend on private school tuition.

Democrats have historically opposed private school vouchers, arguing they take money away from public schools.

But at least four Democratic state leaders have said they plan to take part.

That includes New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Colorado's Jared Polis.

In an open letter to Democratic governors, the leaders of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association

called the program a Trojan horse that's carrying private school vouchers even into states where voters have rejected them.

The program is set to launch in January.

Janaki Mehta, NPR News.

For nearly four decades, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has tracked the overall well-being of children based on 16 different measures across economics, health and family, community, and education.

The latest report gives a snapshot of how kids fared in 2024.

And unfortunately, three of the four education measures got worse when compared to 2019.

Math and reading proficiency, as well as preschool attendance, all showed declines.

The good news is that more high school students are graduating on time, 87%.