In a national survey, we dug into how teachers use language to make sense of disparities in student outcomes by race and income level.

The annual issue, now in its eighth year, highlights the work of district leaders who are deploying new ideas to make a difference for their staff and students.

A new mandate under the Every Student Succeeds Act requires a top-to-bottom look at how such districts deploy their money, staff, and the time used to support improvement.

As some districts try to dismantle racist and biased policies and practices, they are creating high-profile positions to lead that public, sometimes hostile, reckoning.

Race, education disparities, school-leader standards, and criminal proceedings (in Atlanta and Chicago) were among the top stories on the District Dossier blog.

The coronavirus crisis has made staffing and hiring decisions more uncertain, but planning needs to start now, writes Terry B. Grier.

Music

WHAT’S a little distancing between us? Go on, stick your nose closer to the page or screen. Let’s snuggle in a little closer.

Disney's CEO said most of the subscribers to Disney+ came from the US. But going forward, the company expects new subscribers to come from foreign markets as the streaming service expands to more European countries and India this March.

Until now desktop users had the option to opt-out of the 2017 interface redesign, but next month you'll be forced to use it (and may also need to upgrade to a new browser).

The court was furnished in blond wood. There were no wigs and the accused man wore a jersey. But the informality was in contrast to the gravity of the charges. An army officer was on trial for a war crime: the killing of 11 innocent women and children in Afghanistan.

The Chester Upland district has faced financial hardship for decades, and for the second time in four years, teachers will be working without pay.

For the first time, the World Health Organization has officially designated "gaming disorder" among its list of mental-health addictive behaviors.

Where is the truly disruptive software? Are we stuck with Microsoft Word until the end of eternity? For now, promising companies are usually just gobbled up by their bigger rivals.

While state school-finance systems have not changed much over time, they are devoting more targeted help to English language learners and student from low-income backgrounds than in the past, a new study finds.

A new version of the federal research site allows users to find research related to specific school populations.

Rooting out teacher bias and focusing on family engagement are some of the steps schools can take to identify more English-language learners for gifted and talented education.

But the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was not unanimous in its support of the findings that students of color were not more likely to commit discipline-worthy offenses.

Race—but not whether a student is enrolled in special education—appears to be a driver of disproportionate suspension rates, finds a new study in the Journal of School Psychology.

Being suspended or expelled from school is more likely to lead students to use drugs later as adolescents or young adults than being arrested, according to a new longitudinal study in the journal Justice Quarterly.

As black-white achievement gaps widen in schools, so, too, do disparities in discipline rates between black and white students, according to a study published Wednesday of 2,000 schools.

Discrimination based on race and disability demands our attention—and action, writes Catherine E. Lhamon, the chair of U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

American adults favor supportive student-discipline solutions, like school climate efforts and training for teachers, over stricter practices like detentions or suspensions, a new survey finds.

In schools that use corporal punishment, students with disabilities and black students are disproportionately more likely to be hit than their peers, finds a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Student misbehavior and discipline is a major source of friction between principals and teachers. Veteran educators share how they build consensus around discipline in their schools.

The 2020 school counselor of the year draws on her previous experience as a counselor for gang members in a prison to reform discipline in her school in an Atlanta suburb. She shares her insights in this Q&A with Education Week.

The Houston school district has settled a federal lawsuit brought by the teacher's union over the school system's controversial teacher evaluation system, which involved a secret algorithm.

The hiring pool improved for schools when the recession squeezed teachers, study finds.

Two OMers were asked to help a church network deliver relief supplies to churches in Kumamoto after two large earthquakes had struck the area.

The extent to which young adults' laboratory-confirmed sexually transmitted disease results and self-reported sexual behaviors are consistent has not been assessed in a nationally representative sample.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether young adults' reports of recent sexual behavior (presence of penile/vaginal sex in the previous 12 months) correspond with the presence of laboratory-confirmed nonviral STDs assessed by nucleic acid amplification testing. (Read the full article)

There have been no previous large studies of congenital heart disease in very low birth weight infants.

This study characterized the frequency, mortality rate, and lesion distribution of serious congenital heart disease in very low birth weight infants by using a large international multicenter database. (Read the full article)

Cardiovascular risk factors predict the development of premature atherosclerosis. As the number of risk factors increases, so does the extent of these lesions. Assessment of cardiovascular risk factors is an accepted practice in adults but is not used in pediatrics.

In this study, the authors discuss how the presence of ≥2 cardiovascular risk factors is associated with vascular changes in adolescents. The findings were compared with the Patholobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth risk score to demonstrate that a simple method of clustering is a reliable tool to use in clinical practice. (Read the full article)

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) has been the initial respiratory support for many preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV) seems to increase the beneficial effects of NCPAP by combining it with ventilatory inflations.

This study suggests that NIPPV, as an intial respiratory support for preterm infants with RDS, is feasible and safe and may have beneficial effects, when compared with NCPAP. (Read the full article)

The efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin and corticosteroid pulse combination therapy for refractory Kawasaki disease has been established. The Egami score can be used to predict which patients are likely to have refractory Kawasaki disease.

As a new strategy for primary treatment, intravenous immunoglobulin and corticosteroid pulse combination therapy is safe and effective for patients predicted to have refractory Kawasaki disease based on the Egami score. (Read the full article)

Gallbladder disease in children is an evolving entity and studies suggest an increasing frequency of symptomatic pediatric gallbladder disease and resultant cholecystectomies.

Hispanic ethnicity and obesity are epidemiologically significant risk factors for symptomatic gallbladder disease in the pediatric population. (Read the full article)

Spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1 (SMARD1) is a progressive, inherited neuromuscular disease manifesting with diaphragmatic paralysis in the first year of life. All patients need mechanical ventilation.

We describe the natural course of SMARD1, developed a scoring system, and defined prognostic values. The clinical outcome of the patients was heterogeneous, and residual enzymatic activity of the IGHMBP2 protein was associated with a more benign disease course. (Read the full article)

Available clinical prediction rules to identify children with cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis at low risk for Lyme meningitis include headache duration, cranial nerve palsy, and percent cerebrospinal fluid mononuclear cells. These rules require independent validation.

These clinical prediction rules accurately identify patients at low risk for Lyme meningitis in our large multicenter cohort. Children at low risk may be considered for outpatient management while awaiting Lyme serology. (Read the full article)

Human rhinovirus infections are common in children. Although historically associated with upper respiratory tract illness, rhinoviruses are increasingly recognized for their role in the exacerbation of asthma. Their role in bronchiolitis and severe lung disease in premature infants is unclear.

The authors of this study prospectively explore the role of rhinoviruses in premature infants using molecular techniques and identify these agents as the most frequent cause of hospitalization in this population. (Read the full article)

Eating disorders are characterized by preoccupation with weight and shape, which is manifested by a refusal to maintain a normal weight. An exact determination of expected body weight (EBW) is critical for diagnosis and clinical management of these disorders.

The McLaren and Moore methods present with several limitations when calculating EBW for adolescents with eating disorders. A commonly agreed upon method for EBW calculation such as the BMI percentile method is recommended for clinical and research purposes. (Read the full article)

The effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment of patients with Kawasaki disease within 9 days of illness has been established. However, the effectiveness of such treatment ≥10 days after illness onset has not yet been clarified.

Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment ≥10 days after illness onset was observed to be effective for achieving inflammation resolution. Patients who are strongly suspected to have Kawasaki disease and demonstrate ongoing inflammation should therefore be treated as soon as possible. (Read the full article)

Mixed prevalence rates of co-occurring psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions have been reported in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD diagnoses remain fairly stable within a continuum, but some do not meet criteria for an ASD diagnosis years after initial diagnosis.

Co-occurring neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions may explain, in part, why the diagnosis of an ASD may change with age. (Read the full article)

Epilepsy/seizure disorder is known to be associated with a range of mental health and neurodevelopmental comorbidities, based on clinical studies, and on population studies largely conducted outside the United States.

In a nationally representative sample of US children, estimated prevalence of reported lifetime epilepsy/seizure disorder was 1%, and of current epilepsy/seizure disorder was 6.3/1000. Developmental, mental health, and physical comorbidities are common, warranting enhanced surveillance, and an integrated service approach. (Read the full article)

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) is a noninvasive ventilatory support that may reduce the need for mechanical ventilation in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome. Heliox, a helium-oxygen mixture, has shown positive effects, especially in obstructive diseases.

NCPAP with heliox reduces the need for mechanical ventilation in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome in comparison with NCPAP with medical air. (Read the full article)

Bronchiolitis is the most common cause for hospital admission in patients aged <1 year. Hypoxia is a common reason for admission. Despite a multitude of studies looking at various treatment strategies, no clear benefit has been found.

With oxygen therapy being the main therapeutic option, home oxygen offers a novel way to manage bronchiolitis. This study shows that home oxygen is a safe and effective way to decrease hospital admissions in a select group of patients. (Read the full article)

The number of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) continues to increase in the United States and other developed countries. Most prevalence estimates indicate that ASD is diagnosed less commonly in Hispanic individuals compared with non-Hispanic (NH) white populations.

Prevalence of ASD in Arizona’s population-based cohort is higher than reported previously. Prevalence in the Hispanic population and NH white population increased significantly over time, with a significant decrease in the gap between Hispanic and NH white prevalence. (Read the full article)