School Leadership
School and district leadership, staffing, budgets, operations, implementation, and change management.
New model offers districts same-year teacher turnover signals
An October 2026 working paper uses two decades of district, labor-market, and economic data to estimate current-year turnover and benchmark districts against comparable peers before official numbers arrive.
Tasmania gives The Smith Family live student data for earlier support
ABC reports that The Smith Family can now see real-time attendance and academic indicators for many supported students in Tasmania, with family consent. The case is most useful as an operating model: live signals tied to named staff and a defined menu of supports, though public evidence of impact is still limited.
ClassLink makes Insights available for districts comparing app use and scores
The $2-per-user tool lets school systems compare ClassLink usage data with local assessment growth, but its findings are correlations rather than proof of impact.
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Houston ISD’s gains face a harder test: budget cuts as enrollment falls
Houston ISD says its state-led turnaround sharply improved school ratings and raised teacher pay. But September campus cuts, school closures and continued enrollment losses now put the model’s long-term cost and transferability under closer scrutiny.
Michigan reports another attendance gain and a clearer playbook for schools
Statewide attendance rose to 91.5% in 2025-26, while chronic absenteeism fell to 27.2%. The more useful news for school and district leaders is Michigan’s push to pair public data, early-warning routines, coaching, and family outreach tactics instead of relying on attendance messaging alone.
Texas study suggests special ed formulas miss much of district spending
Analyzing 6,116 Texas district-year observations, researchers found that placement and disability mix do track some special education costs, but explain only a modest share of spending differences, especially across smaller districts.
OpenAI expands ChatGPT for Teachers to 55 more districts
The bigger development for school leaders may be OpenAI’s 16-state National Data Privacy Agreement path, which could reduce contracting friction as districts move teacher AI use into managed, admin-controlled workspaces.
GAO says DoDEA schools need better screening to catch reading and math gaps
A new GAO report found referral bottlenecks, uneven access to student data, and poorly rated training alongside weak screening in DoDEA schools. With new universal screeners planned for later in 2026, the findings offer a practical MTSS audit for district leaders.
Tennessee study: 53% of licensed educators aren't in play for school leadership
The working paper argues districts overstate their principal bench when they count every administrative license holder. Many educators cited stress, family fit, pay, and too few openings as reasons not to pursue principal or assistant principal roles.
Ohio schools start year counting excused absences toward chronic absence
Districts now have to notify families earlier, track missed hours for any reason, and organize tiered support before attendance problems become truancy cases.
Study: Extra ESSER aid near a Title I cutoff got offset by local tax cuts
An NBER working paper found that districts just above a 5% poverty threshold received about $390 more per student, but lower local revenue collections erased any rise in per-pupil spending and left no measurable math or reading gains.
Sacramento City Unified asks state to step into budget fight
After county officials rescinded part of the district’s rescue plan, Sacramento City Unified appealed to the state as mediation begins days before school starts.
New York school pauses robot-teacher pilot as lawmakers seek a ban
Salamanca City Central School District halted its planned fall Realbotix rollout while it works through student privacy terms and community concerns, and New York lawmakers responded with a bill to bar AI-enabled humanoid robots from instructional roles.
San Diego Unified puts its screen-time reset into day-one Chromebook rules
A July 31 family notice spells out what changes on Aug. 10: video streaming on student Chromebooks is off unless teachers enable it for instruction, gaming stays blocked, and TK computer carts are being removed with accommodations preserved.
Chicago board passes CPS budget counting on $150 million not yet approved
The July 30 vote reversed more than 1,000 planned layoffs, but CPS says the added state money is still unenacted, leaving questions about payroll, borrowing, and the start of school.
Mississippi districts roll out new attendance routines for 2026-27
As Senate Bill 2103 takes effect, schools are contacting families after three cumulative absences, referring students after five unlawful absences, and posting district attendance policies and chronic absenteeism plans online.
New Zealand attendance rose after schools adopted absence-response plans
Provisional Term 2 data show 64.2% of students attended regularly, up from 58.4% a year earlier, as schools began using mandatory 5-, 10-, and 15-day absence triggers and documented follow-up.
CPS records show 723 employees disciplined in one year
A WTTW records review found 794 disciplinary cases, including 10 involving allegations of sexual abuse of a student, raising new questions about how Chicago Public Schools tracks and explains misconduct cases.
Lower suspension rates can hide unequal discipline, working paper finds
Using detailed records from one large Southern district, researchers found that schools usually responded to incidents with a single punitive action — and non-suspension consequences were uneven too.