Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Education

Source: Brookings

Date: 1/14/26

A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, prepare, protect

A yearlong study by the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution finds that, given the current trajectory of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its implementation and use, the potential risks to students overshadow the benefits. But it's not too late to bend the arc of AI use to enrich, rather than diminish, student learning and development. The report, "A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, Prepare, Protect" offers a framework for action for all actors from schools to companies and governments to families. This brief provides an overview of the main findings and recommendations of the report.

Teacher Employment and Retention

Source: Bellwether

Date: 1/16/26

Realizing Reimagined Teaching

Every student deserves access to excellent teaching. Yet too often, outdated staffing models leave schools understaffed and teachers overwhelmed. Across the country, many K-12 schools and districts are trying new staffing approaches, but few have the conditions needed to sustain and scale them.

 

Strategic staffing is an approach to mitigate persistent and interconnected challenges in the K-12 teacher workforce. It reimagines how schools organize people, time, and resources to improve instruction and make the teaching role more sustainable. It is not a single model, but a variety of innovative approaches for reimagining the teacher role. Common strategic staffing models involve elements such as team teaching, differentiated roles, distributed leadership, extended reach for high-impact teachers, innovative pay structures, teacher pipelines, and comprehensive professional learning - often combined in the same site.

 

When implemented well, strategic staffing models can transform the teaching role across contexts. This report examines the current landscape of strategic staffing, explores what effective implementation requires, and identifies the conditions that support scale. It serves as a resource for policymakers, practitioners, and partners who are working to make excellent teaching sustainable and accessible to every student.

Teacher Employment and Retention

Source: NCTQ

Date: 1/12/26

State of the States: Investing in Teachers and Families Through Paid Parental Leave

This report explores how states can support paid parental leave for teachers so schools can retain their best teachers and students can benefit from a more stable, supported workforce.

Testing / Higher Education

Source: Fordham

Date: 1/13/26

Ohio State Tests' Link to College Attendance and Completion

The value of annual state testing continues to be subject to debate, with skeptics claiming that the test results provide minimal value. This report examines the predictive value of Ohio's state tests: Are students' test results linked to college attendance and completion?

 

Conducted by Stéphane Lavertu, the analysis finds that test scores are predictive of post-secondary education outcomes.

Review of A State-Level Perspective on School Spending and Educational Outcomes

Source: The Brookings Institution

Reviewed by: Mark Weber, Rutgers University

A large and growing body of high-quality research shows that increased school funding positively affects student outcomes. Yet, as compared to the effect of school funding reported in an authoritative meta-analysis, a new Brookings Institution report examining this relationship finds a much smaller (although still positive) effect.

In his review of A State-Level Perspective on School Spending and Educational Outcomes, Rutgers University lecturer and school finance expert Mark Weber explains how the report's reliance on overly simplistic methods prevents it from credibly estimating the true relationship between funding and student outcomes.

Tracking Trump: How he's dismantling the Education Department and more

By: The Hechinger Report

Just wanted to start the new year but reposting this resource that tracks weekly what the Adminstration is doing in the education space.

Realizing Reimagined Teaching: A Framework for Strategic Staffing Implementation

By: Sophie Zamarripa, David Casalaspi, Titilayo Tinubu Ali, Bellwether

Bellwether's new release "examines the current landscape of strategic staffing across the country, explores what effective implementation requires, and identifies conditions that support scale for policymakers, practitioners, and partners who are working to make excellent teaching sustainable and accessible for every student."

Project 2025 author and top Trump official: Special education protections and funding will remain

By: Erica Meltzer and Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat

"Lindsey Burke spent 17 years at the Heritage Foundation before joining the Education Department last year as deputy chief of staff for policy and programs. She also was the lead author of the education chapter of Project 2025....Burke sat down with Chalkbeat to talk about why the Trump administration is dismantling the Education Department and what's next for funding, special education, research, and more. "

State of the States: Investing in Teachers and Families Through Paid Parental Leave

By: National Council on Teacher Quality

"Paid parental leave for teachers is a smart investment for states. It strengthens families, supports retention, and leads to better outcomes for children."

47 ways Trump has made life less affordable in the last year

By: Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, and Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute

"The 47th president has pursued an agenda that undercuts incomes for all but the wealthiest households, slows job growth, and invites employer exploitation and abuse-including unprecedented attacks on federal workers' collective bargaining rights that make him the biggest union buster in U.S. history. His policies have systematically stripped workers of leverage in the labor market, driving down pay and making it harder for working families to afford the basics."

GreatLakesCenter.org