When dark clouds roll in during a TV show, you know trouble’s coming. You don’t need to be a meteorologist to read that sign.

Absenteeism works the same way. The warning signs are clear and predictable.

Data feels overwhelming when we think of it as complicated spreadsheets. But really, student data is just information, and it can be as obvious a signal as storm clouds.

The Signs Are Consistent

A recent data report shows attendance patterns repeat across schools, states, and student populations.

Chronic absenteeism spikes in sixth grade and continues climbing through high school. The rate more than doubles from fifth grade (14.2%) to twelfth grade (32.1%).

Fridays show higher absence rates than other weekdays. The days immediately before and after breaks become problem zones.

These patterns tell us where to focus our resources before the storm clouds roll in.

Early Warning Signs Tell You Who Needs Help

A single absence is the norm. Two absences in two weeks is a pattern forming. A third is a coach with a bullhorn screaming “defense!”

We know that students who receive outreach after their first few absences improve attendance by 28–40%. But if family engagement doesn’t occur until they’re already chronically absent, improvement rates drop to 10–11%.

About half of students who receive early outreach course-correct without further intervention.

The difference? Timing. Catch the pattern early enough and you change the outcome.

Ask Why Students Are Absent

Most attendance systems tell you which students were absent. Start tracking reasons for these absences: Transportation issue? Illness? Family responsibility? School avoidance?

When conducting attendance tracking, look at reasons for absences across your district. Systemic problems emerge that you can then figure out how to address.

Data is information. No information? No way to solve the problem.

Respond Based on Root Causes

If sixth graders feel anonymous in a bigger building, the solution is advisory programs, morning greeters, and adults who know kids by name.

If Friday absences spike because work feels meaningless, rethink Friday programming. Create student choice, hands-on projects, or community connections that make students want to be there.

If post-vacation absences cluster, communicate with families before breaks about why those boundary days matter. Pair it with engaging programming students want to attend.

Make Early Intervention Manageable

Real-time alerts from your student information system flag students after two or three absences.

Automated outreach sends messages to families via text, email, or phone in their home language. The message should be relational: “We noticed you weren’t here yesterday. We missed you. Is everything okay? How can we help?”

Family engagement data shows that parents respond to text messages 73% of the time, often within minutes. Make it easy for them to reply.

Track whether your interventions work. If a student’s attendance improves after outreach, you know your approach is effective. If it doesn’t, adjust your methods.

Absenteeism is predictable. The signs are there. You just need to know how to read them.

The post Absenteeism Is Predictable. We Must Learn to Read the Patterns. appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

Those were among 95 “facilitators” yielded by a review of previously published research on the subject. Autistic youth are less physically active than their peers, who are already not physically active enough, the researchers said, noting that physical activity could be beneficial to their physical, social, and emotional health.

In their work, the researchers took a strengths-based approach rather than focusing on a deficits-based one.

“This perspective reframes physical activity not as a challenge for autistic children and teenagers to overcome but as an opportunity for them to build confidence, enjoyment, and social connection,” said Mathieu Michaud, a PhD student in kinesiology and co-author of the paper.

“This research has practical implications for families, educators, coaches, and community organizations. For example, physical activity programs can be created and maintained based on what autistic children and teenagers enjoy and do well instead of focusing on what they cannot do,” Michaud added.

Mapped All Available Research

The work was conducted by the McGill Choices in Health, Action, Motivation, Pedagogy and Skills (CHAMPS) Physical Activity Lab, directed by professor William James Harvey, also a co-author of the paper.

The researchers systematically mapped all available research previously published on this topic using six major databases, screening nearly 20,000 entries and ultimately analyzing 43 studies that matched the inclusion criteria.

They then classified the 95 facilitators found during the review into six categories (based on a pre-established health promotion framework): individual, family, social, physical environment, and institutions, as well as community and public policy.

Predictable Routines, Safe Spaces

At the individual level, the review highlights how autistic children are more likely to participate in physical activity if they feel the movements required in the activity fit their skill set, or if it’s an activity they know well and takes the form of a game.

Other examples of positive factors, or facilitators, include supportive peers or good relationships with coaches at the social level, and after-school physical activity opportunities at the institutional level.

The team is already working on applying their research results in real-world settings by developing an intervention in which autistic teenagers select which factors matter most to them, information that then informs what activities are offered.

About the Study

“Facilitating Physical Activity Participation Among Autistic Children and Youth: A Scoping Review” by Mathieu Michaud and William J. Harvey was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada and the Sport Participation Research Initiative. 

About McGill University

Founded in 1821 in Montreal, QC, McGill is Canada’s top ranked medical doctoral university. It is a world-renowned institution of higher learning with 12 faculties, 14 professional schools, 700 programs of study, over 40,000 students, and research activities spanning three campuses. It attracts students from nearly 150 countries around the world, with international students making up 27% of the student body.

The post How to Boost Participation in Physical Activity for Autistic Youth appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

Is going to university still worth it? That’s a question I hear more and more, particularly as families weigh the rising costs of post-secondary education against unclear job prospects and newer generations look to alternate avenues than the typical 9–5 job that you may not need a degree for. The answer increasingly depends on what a student wants from that degree, with many looking to overseas options instead to better fit their needs.

New research shows students are shifting their university expectations. In a recent survey we performed at City St George’s, University of London with Arlington Research, 83% of Canadian students said work experience opportunities were a top priority and placed this higher than prestige or reputation. Another 87% ranked employability skills training among their top five criteria for choosing a university.

The message is clear: today’s students expect their degree to prepare them for life after graduation, and this is what’s ultimately leading high school students’ university search. But not all degrees deliver the same return. Outcomes vary significantly depending on the subject studied, the university attended, and how actively students engage with the experience. This is where high school students and educators need better support.

Too often, post-secondary decisions are based on surface-level factors like course titles or brand recognition. But what about actual career outcomes? What do graduates from that program go on to do? Are they working in professional roles? Earning strong salaries? Are they in jobs aligned with their studies?

In the U.K., we track graduate outcomes 15 months after finishing a degree, but this data isn’t always easy for students or their families to find, let alone interpret. In Canada, there are similar tracking measures in place through Statistics Canada’s National Graduates Survey (NGS), but the issue here is that the survey is conducted roughly every five years, which is a long stretch of time when it comes to employment and employability trends. This lack of real-time access can create significant disadvantages, especially for students without established guidance networks.

To help better prepare students for success with all the information they need to make an informed decision for their future, we must make career outcome data part of the conversation in every high school. Students should feel empowered to ask questions like:

• What percentage of graduates from a particular university course are employed in relevant roles?
• What is their average starting salary?
• What work experience opportunities are embedded in the course?

And teachers should be equipped with the right data and tools they need to answer these questions.

Just as importantly, we need to dispel the myth that a degree alone guarantees success. A degree is not a golden ticket. It’s not the piece of paper that opens doors; it’s what students do with the experience that counts.

Much like joining a gym, value comes from participation. You don’t get fit by signing up and never showing up. The same is true for post-secondary education. The students who get the most out of their university experience are the ones who actively engage. Ones who take advantage of careers support services, join extracurricular activities, pursue internships, and seek out learning beyond the lecture hall.

At City St George’s, University of London, we believe education should unlock opportunity without limits. That’s why we’ve embedded employability throughout our programs, combining rigorous academic study with real-world application. Because in today’s job market, students don’t just need or want knowledge. They are looking for real experience, skills, and the confidence to thrive in a changing world.

The takeaway? Yes, going to university is still worth it for most, but students—and their teachers—need better tools to make informed decisions and ensure their education leads to the future they want.

The post The Data Is Clear: Students Want Job Outcomes and U.K. Universities Are Listening appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

Given the strong link between early math achievement and later academic success, earnings, and careers in sectors such as science, technology, and finance, this decline represents an urgent national challenge, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.

In “Getting Math Instruction Right: Strategies for Improving Achievement in Canada,” Anna Stokke warns that seven provinces declined more than 40 points on the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) since 2003, equivalent to about two years of lost learning, while the share of students performing at the lowest levels in math has more than doubled in most provinces. She urges provincial governments to act, outlining practical, evidence-based solutions to reverse the downward trend and help ensure Canada remains globally competitive.

“Since Canada already spends more per student on education than the OECD average, funding alone is unlikely to improve math achievement,” said Stokke, a math professor at the University of Winnipeg. “For example, Japan spends about 14 percent less per student and gets much better results. Refocusing resources rather than increasing spending is more likely to be effective.”

The report highlights two low-cost, high-impact reforms that provinces can implement immediately: a mandatory multiplication tables check by the end of Grade 4, and universal screening in math for all K–8 students. These measures would identify students who are falling behind before gaps compound, enable early intervention, and send a clear signal that math fact fluency matters for later success.

Stokke recommends engaging experts in the science of learning to ensure instruction is aligned with high-quality research evidence, including prioritizing explicit, teacher-led instruction over inquiry or discovery-based approaches. 

“For too long, teachers have been told that inquiry-based instruction works best in math,” said Stokke. “That claim is not supported by high-quality research. Explicit, teacher-led instruction is most effective, especially for novice learners and students with math difficulties,” said Stokke.

The report further recommends strengthening standardized testing, setting clear evidence standards for instructional programs, directing funding toward programs shown to improve math achievement, improving math curricula, and requiring stronger math content knowledge for K–8 teachers.

Finally, Stokke warns that reforms will fail without leaders willing to change course. “When implementers are invested in maintaining the status quo, they often undermine meaningful reform,” she said. “Governments must appoint leaders who support evidence-based practices and hold them accountable for the results.”

“Our students deserve an education that gives them strong mathematical foundations and prepares them for a wide range of careers in a math-driven economy, and we can’t afford to wait,” said Stokke. “The time to fix math instruction in Canada is now, and it will take committed leadership and evidence-based policies to reverse this decline and set students up for long-term success.”

Read the full report here.

About the C.D. Howe Institute

The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada’s most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is non-partisan, evidence-based, and subject to definitive expert review.

The post Behind Canada’s Declining Math Performance and the Evidence-Based Fix appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

As conversations about education increasingly center on technology and innovation, many teachers across the country are seeking educational environments that foster a sense of connection and calm for students.

Lakeshore Learning’s recent Educator Pulse Survey made this desire clear: 59.2% of respondents identified outdoor learning areas as additional spaces they would like to see available for students, alongside 38.7% of respondents wishing for zen zones and calming corners in their schools. These priorities outweighed technology and media hubs nearly two to one, which only 14.9% of respondents selected in comparison.

As students continue to face a growing sense of disengagement, along with rising mental health concerns, providing spaces for them to unwind, refocus, and collaborate with peers may be one of the most effective, and overlooked, responses.

In the same survey, 56% of educators cited behavioral issues as their top challenge—nearly nine times more frequently than the integration of AI and new technologies. While behavioral challenges are not new, their persistence suggests that current tactics to address them may not be enough.

Creating a zen zone or calming corner can offer the support that students may otherwise lack, offering spaces to reset emotionally and engage with peers in new and more productive ways. Outdoor learning areas similarly encourage hands-on learning and support the improvement of students’ overall well-being by supplying a connection to nature and the world around them.

Classroom rebuilds, renovations, and refurbishment can sound daunting, especially for schools that might be facing budgetary restraints. But meaningful change doesn’t require full-scale renovation, and the size of a budget shouldn’t be a deterrent from creating the best possible environment for the students.

Smaller, intentional upgrades such as adding new flexible furniture, repainting a classroom, or adding a calming corner can significantly impact how students behave and learn in their classroom environment. Providing students with the ability to move around during the school day and with furniture options to choose from impacts their overall engagement.

Investments such as calming corners might be smaller in scale but they provide a space for educators to guide students, building spaces for self-regulation. These changes can be as simple as adding a few pieces of lounge furniture to a classroom, giving students casual spaces to collaborate, innovate, and build community with their peers.

Smaller projects and investments can have just as much of a significant and meaningful impact on students and educators as large ones.

When considering updates for a classroom or the development of an outdoor learning area, student benefits are often the primary consideration. Yet educators benefit from these spaces as well, as they often spark renewed energy in teachers.

The Educator Pulse Survey found that teachers who reported strong leadership support and access to quality learning environments also reported higher energy levels, demonstrating that when teachers feel heard by leadership about the issues that are important to them, they are more likely to feel supported, engaged, and resilient overall.

The needs of educators should not be falling through the cracks. It’s important that, like students, teachers also have dedicated areas to work, build community with their colleagues, and spaces within the school that are dedicated to them. Providing these spaces for educators sends a clear message that they are valued.

This correlation should not come as a surprise, as teachers have been expressing the same needs since schools reopened post-pandemic. While the Educator Pulse Survey shows that teachers’ needs have largely remained the same, schools should continue to check in with educators to determine which types of spaces are of value to them and to keep in mind the importance of other types of spaces that can have an impact on students.

School leaders must approach upgrades and updates in a holistic way, to ensure that both educators and students are supported.

The post Teacher Survey Shows “Zen Zones” Are Far More Desired than AI/Tech Spaces appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

The survey of 1,000 Canadian respondents, conducted by Arlington Research from May 30th to June 6th, 2025, found that employability factors outrank prestige or reputation for Canadian students weighing the decision to choose a U.K education. Among Canadian respondents, the most important features in selecting a university were overwhelmingly career-focused:

• 87% placed employability skills training among their top five criteria
• 83% cited work experience opportunities
• 78% prioritized post-study work options

“Canadian students are sending a clear message: they expect their university to help them build a career, not just award a degree,” said Gemma Kenyon, Director of Employability at City St George’s, University of London. “This is a shift that all of us in higher education need to understand and embrace. The blend of academic excellence and real-world experience is what makes studying in the U.K. such a compelling choice.”

The research also revealed that Canadian students see strong links between curriculum design and workplace readiness. Of those surveyed, 66% said skills and experience in their course content prepared them effectively for employment, while 54% said it helped connect learning to real job market needs.

“We know that Canadian students bring ambition, talent, and a global outlook,” added Kenyon. “They deserve an education that matches those qualities and empowers them to build a future without limits.”

About City St George’s, University of London

In August 2024, City, University of London merged with St George’s, University of London, creating a powerful multi-faculty institution. The combined university—City St George’s, University of London—is now one of the largest suppliers of the health workforce in the capital. It attracts around 27,000 students from more than 150 countries, and has been recognized for its strategic commitment to employability and professional development, combining rigorous academic study with strong partnerships across business, healthcare, law, and technology.

About Arlington Research

Arlington Research are a senior-led insight partner trusted by global brands, agencies, and organisations to deliver intelligent, credible research that drives decisions and tells compelling stories.

The post For Canadian Students, a Career-Focused Degree Could Mean Heading to the U.K. appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

The effect of heat waves on schools has become an urgent issue, with news stories on schools closing due to extreme heat becoming more common all over the United States. Schools now have “high temp” days similar to “snow days,” because their ability to deal with hot weather is limited. 

A 2020 report found that about half of U.S. schools’ HVAC systems needed updates or significant repairs to appropriately deal with rising temperatures and keep school buildings at a comfortable level. These disruptions have impacts on both teaching and learning, and for math in particular, the impact is noteworthy.

In our recent research brief, my colleagues and I at NWEA investigated whether these increasingly common hot school days negatively impacted test scores. Specifically, we analyzed the effect of the maximum outdoor temperature on math and reading using MAP Growth test scores in grades 3–8, while controlling for background characteristics that may also influence outcomes, such as student’s prior achievement, their race and gender, the state they attended school, and the time of day the test was taken.

We found that higher test-day temperatures, specifically above 80°F, detrimentally impacted math scores, while reading scores didn’t meaningfully change. Although the reasons are unclear, other research has found similar differences in results between math and reading scores.

Our study also analyzed whether there are differences in how lower poverty vs. higher poverty schools experienced the effects of high test-day temperatures on math scores. We found that higher poverty schools experienced up to double the impact of test-day heat than low-poverty schools.

Recommendations for School Leaders

Given the findings, testing on hotter days can have meaningful impacts on student scores. With these results in mind, we recommend the following:

• The ability to mitigate outdoor heat inside schools can be unpredictable. If scheduled testing overlaps with a heat wave, prioritize creating more comfortable testing conditions whenever possible. This can include moving testing locations from warmer to cooler areas within a school.
• Testing students in the morning, before afternoon heat is highest, can also help mitigate these effects.
• Investing in resilient facilities for the long term is critical, ensuring infrastructure planning looks at resource allocations, structural improvements, and upgrades that take educational equity into account.

Our findings show that as temperatures continue to rise, disparities in school facilities—such as having appropriate HVAC systems—can deepen existing inequities and make school infrastructure and building conditions significant issues. While funding sources for building improvements and upgrades are often limited and vary by region, prioritizing temperature controls inside schools is a clear must so students can focus on learning and educators on teaching.

The post As Temperatures Rise, Math Scores Drop appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

Many have lamented the growing teacher shortages across our nation, and for good reason. It is estimated that there are currently more than 49,000 vacancies across the U.S. (not counting underqualified personnel). We need sufficient qualified teachers to enable student success across the educational landscape.

Declines in the numbers of educators across the K–12 pipeline stem in large part from a combination of factors, one of which is our focus here: voluntary teacher departures.

To date, the vast majority of studies on teacher resignations have focused on four main reasons why these individuals leave their schools voluntarily: (1) lack of pay; (2) lack of respect; (3) burnout (from a wide range of sources); and (4) poor student behavior. Additional studies and articles have looked at other factors such as out-of-touch administrators, “moral injury,” lack of parental support, and increased workload, including post-Covid when teacher shortages ballooned.

Our goal is to delve wider and deeper into why teachers are leaving their profession, a career choice that by most accounts was pursued in the first place to develop a meaningful, purposeful career. This is not just a workforce development issue, because data demonstrate that teacher departures negatively impact student success. Surely, at the end of the day, improving student success should be a prime goal for all of us. 

The first aim of our efforts is to focus on the whys of departure. Additionally, we want to identify strategies that will foster increased educator retention. If we understand departures in a more nuanced way, we will have added insights into retention—the two are flip sides of the same coin.

The Survey and Demographics

To that end, we conducted a 22-question survey (see the Appendix for the complete list of questions). The survey had 21 closed-end questions measuring respondent agreement/disagreement with proffered questions using a 1–5 Lickert scale. The final survey question was open-ended.

We had 223 valid respondents from across the U.S. The majority of respondents were female (86.1%), and 22% of the respondents were part of a non-white demographic. Active educators constituted 68% of respondents, with 32% of respondents being retired. The average years in teaching among respondents was 16+ and the predominant grade level taught was elementary (36%).

Results

We begin our analysis by looking at the survey questions that had the greatest agreement among the respondents. To determine agreement, we combined respondents’ answers that fell into the “strongly agree/agree” category or, using reverse scoring based on how the questions were worded, fell into the “strongly disagree/disagree” category.

Using a point scoring system, here are the top five questions (from high to low) with scores ranging from 70–87.9%: 

• Q13: Bureaucratic responsibilities, like excessive paperwork and administrative tasks, take time away from meaningful teaching. (87.9%)
• Q5: Decisions and policies made at the district level are often disconnected from the actual needs of children and educators. (81.6%)
• Q9: It is painful to see my students struggle because of a lack of resources or a supportive learning environment. (77.9%)
• Q7: The amount of work I need to complete outside of school hours to be a quality educator feels excessive. (76.2%)
• Q20: I worry that frequent standardized testing interferes with my teaching. (70%)

Our questions were designed to probe a range of departure causes that could be grouped thematically; thus, we were able to identify “themes” in the questions above. 

All five of them fall under the category of what we term “systemic issues.” By this we mean issues that are directed from outside the school building by authority figures, but that impact the day-to-day lives of teachers.

Discussion

Our analysis of these top five questions suggests that issues outside of teachers’ control are impairing their ability to teach to their maximum capacity. Outside decisions and non-classroom obligations, as well as mandated testing, are all problematic among respondents. When looked at based on the demographic data collected, there remains remarkable consensus. Regardless of the gender, ethnicity, years teaching, and grade level taught, respondents had remarkably similar responses to Questions 13, 5, 9, 7 and 20.

If we consider that respondents feel they are not working up to their potential due to paperwork, standardized testing, and non-classroom-based work, then that tells us we would be wise to focus on how to reduce these impediments if we care about teacher retention. These are what we would call “fixable problems.”

Responses to Question 5 and 9 suggest that there is likely a disconnect between schools and those making policy decisions and allocating money. This is not an internal school problem. Teachers appear to be keenly aware of decisions (whether or not related to funding) that deter them from effective classroom work.

Taken together, we can observe that teachers across the K–12 pipeline are troubled by the impact of non-teaching decisions/obligations regarding what happens in their classrooms. While the study did not directly ask whether these systemic factors in the identified questions lead to teacher departures, the identified strong levels of dissatisfaction could be a central contributory factor to teachers leaving their profession.

The foregoing observation is reinforced by the more general literature on why individuals leave their places of employment. When the ability to do one’s job is hampered, then it is more probable that individuals will leave those jobs.

It is high time, then, for us to consider new, additive, and/or creative solutions to teacher dissatisfaction due to systemic issues. We must consider multiple ways to ease administrative burdens. Ponder the use of AI and other technology to reduce administrative tasks including reporting. Reflect on non-standardized measures of student learning assessment, something that was successfully used during the pandemic with online learning, leading to reduced standardized tests. 

We need to increase the engagement between teachers and decision makers, including superintendents and school boards, so there is increased awareness as to what is actually impairing teacher satisfaction. Finally, we need to listen well and often to what teachers are saying; these professionals know what is disruptive to their ability to do their jobs optimally. They can help us find pathways forward.

Conclusions

This is a first in a series of articles sharing the results of the survey and our preliminary solutions. Systemic hurdles are, we assert, part of why teachers depart, and this conclusion gives us hope that we can pursue solutions. It is also our hope that these and other results from our survey will further the conversation about, and provide concrete approaches for, remediating the seemingly intractable problem of teacher departure.

Appendix: Survey Questions

1. I have been asked or expected to implement policies or practices that conflict with my professional and/or personal ethical belief systems.
2. When my students fail to meet mandated academic standards, I feel personally responsible.
3. The structure and policies of the educational system where I work make it difficult for me to effectively do my job.
4. Watching a student continually struggle with a concept despite my best efforts to tailor and teach the content leaves me feeling inadequate as an educator.
5. Decisions and policies made at the district level are often disconnected from the actual needs of children and educators.
6. I feel that my daily teaching tasks have become repetitive and lacking in variety.
7. The amount of work I need to complete outside of school hours to be a quality educator feels excessive.
8. When students show interest and curiosity in the material, it positively impacts my job satisfaction.
9. It is painful to see my students struggle because of a lack of resources or a supportive learning environment.
10. I feel personally responsible when students are disengaged or unmotivated.
11. My salary and financial compensation make it difficult for me to justify staying in the teaching profession long-term.
12. I feel properly trained and prepared for teaching in today’s world, including related to issues involving student wellness.
13. Bureaucratic responsibilities, like excessive paperwork and administrative tasks, take time away from meaningful teaching.
14. The number of students for whom I am responsible in my classes makes it difficult to provide quality instruction.
15. I doubt my ability to teach at least once each week of the school year.
16. I feel like I am making a real difference in the lives of my students with my work.
17. I struggle to keep up with mandated curriculum standards and deadlines imposed by the administration.
18. I have enough autonomy with respect to how I teach my students.
19. My work as a teacher is sufficiently valued by society.
20. I worry that frequent standardized testing interferes with my teaching.
21. I feel the possibility of experiencing physical violence from students while I am teaching my classes or working at my school.
22. If there is anything else you would like to add about why you think teachers are leaving the profession, please share below.

The post New Study Addressing Teacher Departures Probes Causes and Possible Solutions appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

From Hurricane Helene in 2024 to wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year, extreme weather events are disrupting schooling for millions of students across the U.S. In the 2024–25 school year alone, nearly 10,000 schools were forced to temporarily close due to weather-related incidents. These closures and interruptions come at a cost.

According to federal data, there were 27 separate weather-related disasters in 2024 with at least $1 billion in damage each, and that’s just shy of the record-setting 28 events in 2023. The impacts of this damage go beyond just physical destruction and effects on infrastructure. These events can disrupt a multitude of aspects of children’s lives, including academic progress, sense of security, and physical well-being.

With peak hurricane and wildfire season coinciding with back to school for millions of American students, school leaders face growing pressure to plan for weather-related closures and their far-reaching impacts. NWEA researchers examined these impacts in a recently published report that dove into the effects that weather-related disruptions have on schools, teachers, and students.

The report highlighted four key findings:

1. Severe weather strains school budgets and infrastructure, complicating efforts to keep schools safe and operational

As of 2020, more than half of U.S. school districts needed multiple HVAC system updates, and more than 10,000 public schools who did not have cooling systems in 1970 now needed them (at an estimated cost of $40 billion). Given the age and poor conditions of school buildings nationwide, districts must add funding facilities and infrastructure as part of their budget planning.

2. Teachers need support to appropriately address students’ academic and mental health needs following weather-related school disruptions

Teachers play a central role in helping students recover academically and emotionally after a disaster; however, their own needs are often deprioritized as school infrastructure and operational recovery are put at the top of the list.

3. Days missed require more time to catch up

A collection of research into the effects of school closures due to weather disasters found that it’s not a one-to-one equivalent between days missed and days needed to make up the instructional time. Canceled school days can translate to academic losses that are two to four times greater than the missed instructional time itself.

4. No region is low risk

While some areas face known risks, no U.S. region is fully safe from extreme weather and natural disasters. In recent years, historically lower-risk areas—like western North Carolina and Los Angeles suburbs—have experienced major damage from floods and wildfires. While some schools are especially vulnerable, all districts should prepare for severe weather events and their impact on teaching and learning.

Across these findings, the urgency and necessity for school districts to appropriately plan both financially and operationally is clear.

Increasingly, severe weather events are becoming more of a question of when, not if. Now is the time to ensure schools are more resilient to natural disasters so that they can continue to serve students’ needs even during times of unprecedented weather-related disruptions.

The post Severe Weather Disruptions Increasingly Impact U.S. Schools appeared first on TEACH Magazine.

I recently helped analyze survey data from over 1,000 K–12 families about what they want from schools, and this insight stopped me cold: parents are asking for more communication than we’re giving them. They want positive updates about their children, regular information about academic progress, and, crucially, proactive communication about attendance before it becomes a problem.

That last point matters more than we might realize, because attendance is about relationships, not just policy enforcement or automated calls home. When parents and guardians trust that their specific child’s presence matters to their teacher, they will move mountains to get their child to school.

Trust builds through consistent, meaningful communication that shows families you see their child as an individual, not just a name on your roster. As a school leader, I once designed a support program with one struggling student specifically in mind. After months of development and approval, I sent a school-wide email announcing the program. Applications poured in, but that one student’s mom didn’t sign him up.

At the next PTA meeting, she mentioned being disappointed she hadn’t heard about the program. “You received the email,” I said. (I had checked, of course!)

Later, she pulled me aside: “You knew we needed this. You should have called me.” At the time, I was annoyed. In hindsight, she was absolutely right.

Not every communication needs to be personal, but the ones that matter most do. When a child is struggling, when there’s an opportunity that could change their trajectory, when attendance becomes a concern, those moments require human connection, not mass distribution.

This year, instead of waiting for problems to surface, invest in the relationships that prevent problems from starting. Here are some tips on how to do so.

1. Begin with connection

Within the first few days of school, send families a “Welcome to Our Class” newsletter. Share something about yourself, what students will learn this year, and what excites you about teaching. Include a form asking families about their hopes and concerns for the year, what they’d like you to know about their child, and how they prefer to receive updates. Show families their input matters from day one and use their responses to personalize your outreach this year.

2. Educate about attendance like you would any other subject

Most parents and guardians don’t know that attendance patterns established in the first month often persist throughout the year, or that chronic absenteeism (missing just 18 days) can derail academic progress in ways that compound over time. Share this information proactively, the way you’d explain any other aspect of learning. When families understand the stakes, they become partners in solutions.

3. Make positive contact before problems arise

A quick email, text, or call about a student’s insightful comment or improvement on an assignment creates a foundation for harder conversations later. When you eventually need to discuss attendance concerns, you’re building on an established relationship rather than starting from scratch.

Research from Learning Heroes backs this up. Schools with strong family engagement see dramatically better attendance outcomes, with some studies showing around 800 fewer absences when relationships are solid before challenges arise.

Here’s what I wish I’d understood earlier in my career: parents aren’t asking for perfection from us or their children. They’re asking to be included, informed, and treated as partners in their child’s education. When we show them their child’s daily presence matters for belonging, connection, and the small moments that make school meaningful, attendance becomes a shared value.

When families trust that you genuinely care about their child’s success, they’ll do everything in their power to get that child to your classroom. And that’s when the real learning begins.

The post When Parents Trust Schools, Student Attendance Improves appeared first on TEACH Magazine.