Bullying, Name-Calling & Put-Downs: Parent Guide 2025

What Is a Magnet School?

A magnet school is a public school of choice—typically within a school district or consortium—that offers a specialized curriculum, theme, or instructional model to attract students from diverse neighborhoods. The term “magnet” reflects the school’s design to pull students across traditional attendance boundaries based on interest or fit. Magnet schools remain part of the public education system—they are tuition-free—but they differ from neighborhood schools by offering distinct programming or pedagogical approaches.

Originally conceived in the 1970s as tools for voluntary desegregation, magnet schools today emphasize educational innovation, specialization, and choice.

In 2025, magnet schools serve roughly 3.5 million students nationwide, operating in around 4,340 institutions—about 4.9% of all public school students.

History and Purpose

Origins in Desegregation

Magnet schools emerged during the desegregation era of the 1970s as a voluntary alternative to court-ordered student reassignment. Districts sought to attract white students into racially diverse schools through special programs (e.g., arts, science, international studies) rather than resorting to mandatory busing.

Federal support began with the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP), which provided grants to districts implementing magnet programs aimed at reducing racial isolation.

Evolving Focus

Over time, many magnet programs have shifted emphasis—from desegregation as the primary goal toward raising achievement, retaining families in public districts, and offering curricular innovation. In some districts, magnet schools effectively compete with charter and

Introduction

Cooperative learning—students working together in structured small groups toward shared goals—has long been a staple in progressive education. Over recent decades, its theoretical foundations, classroom practices, and outcomes have evolved. As of 2025, new research and technological shifts are reshaping how educators implement cooperative learning across K–12 and higher education classrooms.

In this refreshed review, we preserve the core structure and clarity of earlier presentations on cooperative learning, while weaving in the latest evidence, policy trends, and real-world examples. Our goal: to support parents, students, and educators in understanding how cooperative learning works today and how to leverage it for deeper engagement and achievement.

What Is Cooperative Learning?

At its heart, cooperative learning is more than just putting students into groups and having them “work together.” It is a deliberately structured instructional strategy in which a teacher designs learning tasks so that students must cooperate, depend on one another, and hold themselves individually accountable.

Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1998, 2009) popularized a framework often taught in educator preparation programs, which emphasizes five essential elements of effective cooperative learning:

1. Positive interdependence – students perceive that they sink or swim together.

2. Individual accountability – each student contributes and is assessed on their contribution.

3. Promotive (face-to-face) interaction – structured interactions that require dialogue, explanation, and reflection.

4. Social skills

Career Readiness in Public Schools: Teaching Skills Beyond Standardized Tests

In 2025, discussions about education reform increasingly emphasize that career readiness must extend beyond test scores if public schools are to truly prepare students for life after graduation. For many students, success hinges not only on algebra or reading skills, but also on communication, critical thinking, adaptability, and real-world problem solving. To close the “skills gap,” public schools must adopt new approaches and metrics—and equip educators, students, and communities for a future that values more than standardized test performance.

This article explores why career readiness matters, what skills matter most, how public schools can integrate them, and how to evaluate success beyond test results.

Why Move Beyond Standardized Testing?

The Limits of Tests as a Sole Metric

Standardized tests remain deeply embedded in public school accountability systems. Yet as critics and reformers note, overreliance on such tests distorts instruction, narrows curricula, and fails to reflect the full range of student readiness. Education Week+1 The problem is not testing itself, but making tests the final arbiter of success—even when they capture only a fraction of what students must do in life or work.

The Skills Gap & Employer Expectations

Employers routinely report that recent graduates lack key “employability” or “career readiness” skills—communication, teamwork, initiative, digital literacy, self-management. icevonline.com+1 Schools that focus narrowly on test preparation risk leaving students unprepared for their first job or further

How Public Schools Are Responding to Chronic Absenteeism Post-Pandemic

Chronic absenteeism—typically defined as missing 10% or more of school days—has emerged as one of the most persistent challenges for public schools in the post-pandemic era. After spiking during COVID-19, rates have remained elevated, prompting school districts nationwide to renew strategies to reengage students.

This article examines how public schools are confronting chronic absenteeism today: the strategies in use, early outcomes, remaining obstacles, and promising innovations to watch.

The Post-Pandemic Landscape: Why Schools Are Still Wrestling With Absences Elevated Rates and Uneven Recovery

• In the 2024–25 school year, chronic absenteeism in many districts remained above pre-pandemic levels, with some urban districts reporting 30% or more of students missing 10%+ of days. RAND Corporation

• According to AEI data, absenteeism fell modestly (to ~23.5%) in recent years, but still hovers well above the ~15% pre-COVID benchmark.

• Some districts are improving, but many are not on pace to return to pre-pandemic norms, especially in high-poverty or urban settings. The 74 Million+1

Why Does It Persist?

Schools and researchers cite multiple interlocking causes:

1. Habits and norms shifted during the pandemic
   Some students and families adapted to looser structures, remote learning flexibility, or more lenient attendance enforcement, making reentry to rigid in-class