The controversial Silicon Valley-funded quest to educate the world's poorest kids

Tulsa Public Schools drew on expertise across many sectors and extensive neighborhood input to address the issue of thousands of empty seats in local schools. Through a community-focused process, they were able to mindfully close under-utilized schools and better maximize the community's resources for students.

The Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence in Quebec has expanded rapidly, becoming a model for programs around the world. What sets it apart from projects in Europe and the United States is that it confronts extremism of all stripes — not just Islamist — and focuses on behavior that signals the risk of violence, not just radical ideas, only involving law enforcement as a last resort.

Students in a small town in Michigan are outperforming their peers statewide. Over half of the students are American Indian and many come from low-income families. Because the town's reservation can't be taxed, the school receives additional federal funding. And teachers have put it to good use - by hiring more staff, decreasing class sizes, and frequently evaluating students' progress. One fourth grader offered her own theory: "Well, everyone's accepted here for who they are, no matter if they're Irish, Native, African American or just French."

A Mumbai school located in a remodeled shipping container meets kids on the street where they are at. Signal School results from a collaborative effort between the city and a non-profit, and focuses on bringing education to migrant children, so that they are less likely to be forced into child labor or street begging. Signal School does more than just teach, it also provides meals, works with families to change the cultural perspective that education is an amenity for the privileged, and helps migrant families find permanent housing.

Since Upstart launched in rural Utah in 2009, 30,000 children have completed the online personalized preschool alternative from their homes. Upstart provides participating families with computers and internet access in addition to planned group gatherings intended to simultaneously encourage students' socio-emotional development. Following Utah's success with the program, an additional seven states are now piloting the model.

Online kindergarten readiness certificate programs in several states are offering low-income families, without reliable preschool programs, an alternative to expensive private care centers. Acknowledging criticism of the model, a North Carolina State Representative noted, “We simply don’t have the money to provide a quality pre-K experience to every child in North Carolina, even though I absolutely agree that a face-to-face, high-quality pre-K is the best option. But when it’s not an option for the child, I refuse to ignore that child.”

Unprecedented challenges are frequently popping up with the onset of climate change, so governments too have to adjust their processes and strategies. Some new procurement tools used by several different cities include requests for ideas, competitions, and performance contracts. This article looks at two places using these new and publicly accessible procurement tools—Prince Georges County, MD, and Norfolk, VA—to see how it impacts their success.

Chicago Connected is a $50 million four-year program that has already provided high-speed broadband to over 40,000 households in need, representing around 64,000 Chicago public school students, and plans to expand. On-the-ground community outreach in multiple languages was key to connecting residents to the program quickly, which was needed as school went virtual due to COVID-19. The public schools helped identify eligible low-income students whose parents were then contacted by outreach workers.

With an influx of COVID relief money, the Russellville school district began hiring and certifying more local, Spanish-speaking staff to help teach English language learners. Districtwide, the percentage of students who met their language proficiency goals increased from 46% in 2019 to 61% in 2022.

A data analyst who is a Microsoft-certified trainer uploads videos on social media teaching digital technology skills in the Yorùbá language. The videos are free to watch and break the language barrier that arises with most English-only tech information available online.