CUNY Colleges to Get Anti-Discrimination Coordinators

CUNY Colleges to Get Anti-Discrimination Coordinators

By: Jonathan Custodio | thecity.nyc THE CITY partners with Open Campus on coverage of the City University of New York. Amid increased pressure from federal and state leaders, New York colleges must designate a staffer by next year to address hate crimes and discrimination under a new law applying to both public and private institutions. […]

Making New York’s Schools Distraction‑Free: A Bold Move for Better Learning

Making New York’s Schools Distraction‑Free: A Bold Move for Better Learning

By: Janet Howard With the 2025–26 school year underway, New York State has launched the nation’s most ambitious bell‑to‑bell smartphone ban in K–12 schools—eliminating distractions and restoring focus to classrooms statewide. This historic Distraction-Free Schools law marks a turning point in American education. Supporters say these phone-free schools help students refocus on academics and wellbeing. […]

Reading at the Root: New York City’s Literacy Crisis and Zohran Mamdani’s Vision for Change

Reading at the Root: New York City’s Literacy Crisis and Zohran Mamdani’s Vision for Change

By Anne Webster New York City stands at a pivotal moment in its educational history, facing a literacy crisis that threatens to undermine the futures of thousands of children—particularly those living in poverty. With nearly two-thirds of low-income students unable to read at grade level, the consequences stretch far beyond the classroom, fueling cycles of […]

Reading from the Beginning: NYC’s Illiteracy Crisis and Andrew Cuomo’s Educational Blueprint

Reading from the Beginning: NYC’s Illiteracy Crisis and Andrew Cuomo’s Educational Blueprint

By: Anne Webster  New York City is grappling with a critical and largely underreported problem: illiteracy. Children are bound to struggle—and entire communities may stagnate—if students cannot master foundational reading skills. As a candidate in the 2025 New York City mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo has introduced an ambitious 25-point education plan meant to reshape literacy […]

Reading at Risk: NYC’s Literacy Crisis and Eric Adams’s Response

Reading at Risk: NYC’s Literacy Crisis and Eric Adams’s Response

By: Anne Webster New York City is in the midst of a profound literacy crisis that threatens the academic and economic futures of its most vulnerable children. Nearly two-thirds of students living in poverty are unable to read at grade level, setting them on a trajectory toward lower graduation rates, limited career prospects, and diminished […]

Educated Abroad, Excelling at Home: Why More American Citizens Are Seeking Superior Pre-College Education Overseas

Educated Abroad, Excelling at Home: Why More American Citizens Are Seeking Superior Pre-College Education Overseas

By Esther Claudette Gittens In recent years, a growing number of American citizens—many of them children of immigrants, middle-class families seeking value, or globally mobile professionals—have turned to international school systems for their pre-college education. From Finland’s egalitarian model to Germany’s tuition-free rigor, from Singapore’s STEM-focused curriculum to France’s classical liberal arts tradition, these American […]

The Global Classroom: Analyzing the Impact and Mythology of American Students Educated Abroad

The Global Classroom: Analyzing the Impact and Mythology of American Students Educated Abroad

By Anne Webster A compelling narrative has begun to capture the American imagination: the idea of millions of U.S. citizens obtaining a superior, often free, pre-college education in other countries, then returning to outperform their peers in American universities. This vision speaks to anxieties about the cost and quality of domestic schooling and the promise […]

Is a Faith-Based Charter School a Threat to Religious Freedom, or a Necessity to Uphold It? The Weighty Decision Lies With the Supreme Court

Is a Faith-Based Charter School a Threat to Religious Freedom, or a Necessity to Uphold It? The Weighty Decision Lies With the Supreme Court

By:Charles J. Russo | Theconversation.com As demonstrators gathered outside, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 30, 2025, about whether Oklahoma can operate the nation’s first faith-based charter school. St. Isidore of Seville would be a virtual, K-12 school run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. Charters are typically public schools […]

Deporting International Students Risks Making the US a Less Attractive Destination, Putting Its Economic Engine at Risk

Deporting International Students Risks Making the US a Less Attractive Destination, Putting Its Economic Engine at Risk

By:David L. Di Maria | Theconversation.com In early April 2025, the Trump administration terminated the immigration statuses of thousands of international students listed in a government database, meaning they no longer had legal permission to be in the country. Some students self-deported instead of facing deportation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced that it would reverse […]

Teachers’ Union Sues Trump Administration for ‘Breaking’ Student Loan Forgiveness System

Teachers’ Union Sues Trump Administration for ‘Breaking’ Student Loan Forgiveness System

By Chris Tobias | Editorial credit: Tada Images / shutterstock.com  In a bold legal move, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, accusing the agency of violating federal law by restricting access to affordable student loan payments and disrupting the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. […]