Underlining what matters in higher ed and ed tech: news, vendor updates, and commentary from across the field, in one place.https://theunderline.netlify.app/source/hechinger/https://hechingerreport.org/student-voice-i-turned-down-my-dream-college-for-a-far-more-affordable-state-school-it-still-hurts/https://hechingerreport.org/student-voice-i-turned-down-my-dream-college-for-a-far-more-affordable-state-school-it-still-hurts/I fell in love with Tufts University as soon as I stepped on the campus right outside of Boston. I knew that financial aid was a huge concern, but I decided to take the chance and apply, hoping that the finances would work themselves out. On the day decisions were due, I refreshed my inbox […] The post STUDENT VOICE:…Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:00:00 GMTShir LevensonNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-district-consolidation/https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-district-consolidation/When Mike Huckabee was the Arkansas governor in 2004, he wanted government to be more efficient. He signed a law to shut down tiny school districts with fewer than 350 students. Over the next decade, 85 school districts merged with others, triggering the closure of 105 schools, most of them high schools. Families and…Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:00:00 GMTJill BarshayNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/opinion-higher-education-has-a-trust-problem-and-families-are-right-to-demand-transparency-and-candor/https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-higher-education-has-a-trust-problem-and-families-are-right-to-demand-transparency-and-candor/This opinion piece is the first in a series on trust and transparency in higher education. Higher education runs on trust. A family commits four years and a significant sum of money on faith that the credential earned will hold value, that the institution has their student’s interests at heart and that the promises…Mon, 05 Oct 2026 05:00:00 GMTStephen GreenNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/college-closures-affordable-housing/https://hechingerreport.org/college-closures-affordable-housing/Choosing a college? Check out our tracker to make sure your favorite schools don’t have shaky finances. QUINCY, Mass. — Waist-high weeds climb through cracks in the tennis courts. Ivy snakes across the locked-shut entrance of a redbrick former women’s dormitory. Canada geese graze on the baseball field. Wild turkeys…Sun, 04 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMTJon MarcusNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/in-an-age-of-climate-disaster-more-states-offer-students-a-way-to-show-they-are-climate-literate/https://hechingerreport.org/in-an-age-of-climate-disaster-more-states-offer-students-a-way-to-show-they-are-climate-literate/As a student at a high school not far from Denver’s main airport, Anthony Muñoz wondered whether the jet fuel from airplanes flying above his campus was harming living things. An avid gardener, Muñoz partnered with a local university to create a garden on the campus of his charter school, Vista Academy, filling it…Sun, 04 Oct 2026 05:00:00 GMTNeal MortonNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/child-care-workforce-tax-break/https://hechingerreport.org/child-care-workforce-tax-break/Each year, the early childhood educators at Bluff’s Little Thinkers in western Iowa spend hundreds of dollars of their own money on classroom supplies and materials, including rugs for “cozy corners” where children can spend a quiet moment, special lights to create a calming environment and sensory items that help…Fri, 02 Oct 2026 04:25:00 GMTJackie MaderNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/one-state-bets-on-parents-to-boost-preschool-math-skills/https://hechingerreport.org/one-state-bets-on-parents-to-boost-preschool-math-skills/TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — In an elementary school classroom just outside Salt Lake City, Clarence Ames warmed up an audience of 15 parents, their young children sitting beside them. “Has anybody here ever heard or said, ‘I’m not a math person?’” asked Ames, who leads research and implementation for the Utah STEM Action…Thu, 01 Oct 2026 05:00:00 GMTSteven YoderNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/ai-fear-young-workers-hands-on-jobs/https://hechingerreport.org/ai-fear-young-workers-hands-on-jobs/ChatGPT hit the internet in November 2022 during Keon Davis’ junior year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He used it and grew overreliant, but it also worried him. Davis, who was studying marketing, soon watched it automate tasks he handled in a summer internship, like crafting outreach emails and doing…Wed, 30 Sep 2026 05:00:00 GMTSteven YoderNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/houston-isd-state-takeover-high-costs-enrollment/https://hechingerreport.org/houston-isd-state-takeover-high-costs-enrollment/This story was produced by The Texas Tribune and republished with permission. HOUSTON — Fonville Middle School hired learning coaches to help students falling behind in the classroom. It bought new state-of-the-art technology, such as webcams and smart boards. The school days are longer. All that aggressive change…Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 GMTSneha Dey and Rob ReidNewshttps://hechingerreport.org/texas-sends-kids-to-harsh-daep-alternative-campuses/https://hechingerreport.org/texas-sends-kids-to-harsh-daep-alternative-campuses/The most notable thing about Melissa’s son’s 6th birthday should have been the vacation the family took. Instead, it was the letter waiting for them when they returned home. Her child was assigned to the disciplinary campus in their school district in McKinney, Texas, for 30 days, the April 2024 letter told them, over…Tue, 29 Sep 2026 05:00:00 GMTSarah ButrymowiczNews