Detroit Public School Community District gave roughly 12,800 high school students, nearly 84 percent of enrollment, at least one $100 Visa gift card for showing up every day during five-day cycles from January through March. The district's high school chronic absenteeism rate dropped 10 percentage points to 54 percent, down from 64 percent before the program began. The results show financial incentives can move attendance at scale in high-poverty districts, though paying thousands of students hundreds of dollars each raises real questions about long-term sustainability.

A new Learning Policy Institute report finds that district and state leaders tend to treat chronic absenteeism, teacher retention, and falling grades as separate problems while underinvesting in building principals, who sit at the center of all three. Effective principals create conditions that improve student outcomes and teacher retention at the same time, generating a cycle of stability that compounds over time. The findings suggest states are missing one of their most direct levers by not investing more systematically in principal development.

Mayfield High School near Cleveland allows its students to bypass traditional lectures and classroom schedules, instead choosing self-paced independent learning, workplace internships for credit, or conventional classes based on their individual learning preferences. Students can earn credit based on demonstrated mastery rather than seat time, working in a large collaborative space where teachers from multiple subjects provide support during the same class period. The flexible approach reflects a growing movement among high schools to adapt graduation requirements as career demands shift and students face increasing life challenges outside school.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has proposed sweeping technology restrictions in schools, including a near-ban on computer screens for students through second grade and prohibiting student-facing AI in elementary schools entirely. Her plan responds to what she describes as a student attention crisis and puts one of education's most influential union voices at odds with districts that have invested heavily in classroom technology. The proposal pushes district leaders to think more clearly about where AI belongs and where it does not.

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates is cautioning school districts against sweeping screen time restrictions that could harm students with disabilities who rely on technology for learning and communication. Some policies under consideration could violate federal disability rights laws if they do not include individualized accommodations. District leaders weighing screen time limits will need to build in explicit flexibility or risk cutting off students whose access to education depends on digital tools.

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