The NPR Student Podcast Challenge middle school winners Wesley Helmer, Kit Atteberry, Harrison McDonald and Blake Turley at Williams Middle School in Rockwall, Texas. Cooper Neill for NPR The town of Rockwall, Texas, has a few claims to fame: Bonafide Betties Pie Company, where "thick pies save lives"; the mega-sized ...

Tegan Nam won the 2022 Student Podcast Challenge for high school with their story about using humor to process trauma. Elissa Nadworny | NPR Last fall, at the start of their junior year, Teagan Nam experienced a scary situation at school. There was an anonymous tip that a student at ...

"God gave you a voice. Use it," Elizabeth Bonker told her fellow graduates. "And no, the irony of a nonspeaking autistic encouraging you to use your voice is not lost on me." Scott Cook | Rollins College She didn't say a word — and that only made her message resonate ...

LA Johnson | NPR Is it possible to love a stranger? Why do dancers have to wear leotards? How can you track the endangered Preble's meadow jumping mouse when it's difficult to track them with a collar because of their tiny necks?! Kids have the unique ability to ask questions ...

Hannah Barczyk for NPR With so much talk these days of when or whether President Biden will broadly cancel student debt – and with payments and interest on that debt paused for more than two years – it's easy to forget that the federal student loan system remains unchanged. And ...

New research could prompt schools to reexamine their investment in Reading Recovery, one of the world's most widely used reading intervention programs. Gary John Norman | Getty Images One of the world's most widely used reading intervention programs for young children has taken another hit to its credibility. Reading Recovery ...

The University of Southern California has settled lawsuits with 80 former students, mostly gay and bisexual men, who accuse a male former school doctor of sexual misconduct. The agreement for an undisclosed sum follows settlements by the Los Angeles school to pay more than $1 billion to thousands of women ...

LA Johnson | NPR Math textbooks axed for their treatment of race; a viral Twitter account directing ire at LGBTQ teachers; a state law forbidding classroom discussion of sexual identity in younger grades; a board book for babies targeted as "pornographic." Lately it seems there's a new controversy erupting every ...

A teacher walks through an empty classroom at Hazelwood Elementary School in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 11. Jon Cherry | Getty Images Between fights over mask mandates and new legislation dictating how history should be taught, schools have become a battleground for America's culture wars. Recently, the Florida Department of ...

Students attend a pre-K class at P.S. 124 in New York City on Jan 13, 2021. A new report found enrollment drops at state-based preschool programs during the 2020-2021 school year. Michael Loccisano | Getty Images State-based preschool programs suffered big drops in enrollment and state funding in the teeth ...