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This week's newsletter is supported by:
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In today's edition: Early intervention services blocked by low funding and bureaucracy. Three global early ed trends to watch. Book ban complaints dismissed and anti-discrimination policies ended.
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Jaclyn Vasquez credits her daughter’s strong start in school partly to the comprehensive therapies she received as an infant. Credit: Camilla Forte/The Hechinger Report
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Doctors, and science more broadly, have made astounding gains in their capacity to save the lives of extremely premature babies, defined as those born before 28 weeks. In the 1960s, just 5 percent of premature infants with respiratory distress survived; now it’s about 90 percent.
Despite these encouraging gains, there’s an abysmal record across the country, exemplified by Chicago, of helping these babies after they exit the NICU, particularly with access to the therapies that most reduce their risk of needing intensive, and expensive, special education services as schoolchildren. Many children who receive early intervention do not require special education services in kindergarten, including slightly less than half of those with developmental delays, according to one 2007 study.
“We have so much information on early brain development now,” said Alison Liddle, a physical therapist in Chicago who is part of a team that studied access to early intervention in the city. One of the findings was that the system is difficult for parents to navigate. “Support systems have to catch up. We have a critical window to help families.”
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Special report: Math education
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 Christina A. Samuels, deputy managing editor of The Hechinger Report, traveled to New Zealand to visit schools and learn more about math education in that country. The reporting trip, supported in part by the Education Writers Association Reporting Fellowship program, takes you inside classrooms with educators as they work to roll out new math standards.
New Zealand has a problem with mathematics. Can a new strategy make a difference for students?
The government hopes new ‘explicit’ instruction can halt a slide in math achievement, but some teachers and principals aren’t convinced
One country wants to close math achievement gaps by ending academic tracking
New Zealand’s practice of ‘streaming’ students has hurt Māori and Pacific Islander students, advocates say
Mathematics test scores in some countries have been dropping for years, even as the subject grows in importance
Persistence, motivation, and digital device use are among the concerns raised by a survey of students around the world
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A message from this week's sponsor:
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Come together this March at SXSW EDU to join the brightest minds in education. Be part of the innovation creating a new tomorrow for learners everywhere. Get ready to be inspired with bold, new ideas and celebrate 15 years of impact with us March 3-6, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Learn more.
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Clear solutions elude parents, teachers and researchers
Deportations, dismissals of book ban complaints and the removal of anti-discrimination policies are just the beginning
America is about to go over the ‘demographic cliff’
If we don’t let AI ambush the value of curiosity-driven thinking, they will take risks and make discoveries
Without race-conscious admissions, colleges risk erasing the voices and experiences of students of color
⭐ Extra credit! You are allowed to repost or reprint our stories as long as you follow these guidelines. Questions? Email [email protected].
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