Can you actually teach kindness?

As it turns out, there’s a free program that is doing just that around the country at schools like Palmer Elementary in Chicago. Just like reading or math, kindness is a muscle you have to build. And like any other skill, kids learn it best when it’s modeled, practiced, and reinforced.

That means encouraging small, everyday gestures like welcoming a new student, saying “please” and “thank you,” and holding the door. But it can also take the form of explicit lessons in empathy, gratitude, or teamwork. Together, these practices create classrooms where kindness becomes the norm—reinforced by clear expectations.

In a moment when 40% of teens report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, focusing on kindness makes sense. But studies also show that students who are taught kindness have better academic outcomes. The manifestations of kindness (like collaboration and communication) also happen to be the very skills employers say they value most.

Of course, these are also skills that strengthen our civic infrastructure, predicting higher rates of voting, volunteering, and community participation. 

Kindness may even be addictive: the brain rewards acts of kindness with a “helper’s high”—endorphins that reduce stress, boost mood and self-image, and sharpen focus.

Spreading kindness through schools is the purpose of Stand For Children’s Teach Kindness program, which provides low-lift, research-backed lessons already used by educators in all 50 states. 

These lessons—available for free thanks to partnerships with UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Second Step, and others—help students build kind character, kind connections, and kind culture, and focus on building altruistic traits like optimism and integrity. As Stand co-founder Jonah Edelman puts it: “Kindness is part of what makes schools thrive. When kindness is taught alongside academics, kids build the skills, confidence, and relationships they need to succeed well beyond the classroom.”

To be sure, students from all backgrounds will have better outcomes when they can, in the words of Dartmouth President Sian Beilock, “sit together, and push at each other,” and investing in kindness may be one of the most powerful ways to shape not just better schools—but stronger communities and citizens.

Want more kindness? Join the growing network of schools earning Teach Kindness’ Kind School Designation, and be sure to check out this award-winning documentary project from my friend and Activist Agency co-founder Greg Suess.

In this week’s edition, we round up the “Top 10 Articles of the Week” and take a closer look at:

  • Q&A with Penny Schwinn: Insights from Inside ED

  • ED Launches New Civics Coalition, Prioritizes ‘Patriotic Education’ in Grants

  • What’s Driving America’s Falling Test Scores? Senate HELP Hearing Digs Into NAEP Results

Top 10 Articles of the Week from W/A’s What We’re Reading Newsletter

  1. Student Test Scores Keep Falling. What’s Really to Blame? [Education Week, subscription model] 

  2. From Passion to P&L: How a Microloan Program Is Helping Build Sustainable Microschools [The Future of Education with Michael Horn]

  3. We're past the AI 'hype,' and that's a good thing [District Administration] 

  4. How Alabama Is Leading the Way in Teaching Data Literacy in Grades 6-12 [The 74] 

  5. Beyond therapy: New ways mental health care is expanding [University Business] 

  6. Colleges Must Embed Career Purpose Throughout Student Journey, New Report Urges [Diverse: Issues in Higher Ed] 

  7. To Attend a College Aligned With Their Politics, Students Would Pay Higher Price [Inside Higher Ed] 

  8. College advising isn’t just an educational imperative; it’s an economic one. [The Hill]

  9. Over half of US healthcare workers plan to switch jobs by next year, survey finds [Reuters] 

  10. CEO says his son is among Gen Zers questioning whether a college degree is worth it: ‘Is this education a scam?’ [Fortune]

What We’re Reading: PK-12 and Higher Education

What We’re Reading: PK-12 and Higher Education

Receive a roundup of the latest early childhood, K-12, and higher education news. Published four times a week, this newsletter provides a curated selection of reports, research, and top stories fro...

Q&A with Penny Schwinn: Insights from Inside ED

Each fall, HolonIQ’s Back to School Summit convenes education leaders from across the public and private sectors to take stock of the challenges and opportunities shaping the year ahead. From AI to chronic absenteeism to literacy, the Summit provides a valuable “pulse check” on whether policymakers, practitioners, and innovators are aligned on the issues that matter most for students.

This year, Whiteboard Advisors’ co-founder Anna Edwards joined the stage to interview Penny Schwinn, Chief Strategy Officer at the U.S. Department of Education. Their conversation ranged from adolescent literacy to workforce pathways to the role of AI in classrooms. What emerged was a candid look at how federal leaders are thinking about accountability, innovation, and the role of states in driving real change.

Read the Q&A

ED Launches New Civics Coalition, Prioritizes ‘Patriotic Education’ in Grants

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is elevating “patriotic education” as a funding priority and launching a new coalition to shape civics programming around the nation’s 250th anniversary. [The Washington Post, subscription model]  

Driving the news: ED announced more than $160 million in new funding for American history and civics grants, while setting patriotic education as a key grantmaking priority.

  • It also introduced the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, led by the America First Policy Institute and including over 40 groups such as Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College, the Heritage Foundation, Moms for Liberty, and PragerU.

  • Planned programming includes a 50-state speaker series, school visits, student competitions, and teacher summits. 

Why it matters: Civics education, historically seen as bipartisan, has become a flashpoint over how U.S. history should be taught. Supporters of the initiative emphasize instilling civic pride and knowledge of the founding documents. Critics caution it could narrow perspectives by focusing on selective narratives of U.S. history. [Education Week, subscription model] 

What They’re Saying

  • In a press release, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said, “we are proud to announce this coalition to ensure every young American understands the beauty of our nation and is equipped with the civic knowledge required to contribute meaningfully to its future.”

  • Louise Dubé, CEO of civics nonprofit iCivics, told Education Week: “We understand that this is an open coalition, and we believe it would be useful to our country to integrate more balance of perspectives so that we can as a nation exercise reflective patriotism at this critical time.”

  • In an interview with The Washington Post, the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Rick Hess said “If a Democratic administration had done this, with an unapologetically progressive organization leading an unapologetically progressive coalition in concert with the Department, Republicans would be livid.”

Last week, W/A teamed up with SETDA on the release of its fourth-annual State EdTech Trends Report. The report examines how state education agencies are navigating rapid technological change—particularly artificial intelligence—at a moment of financial uncertainty.

For the first time, AI emerged as the top state edtech priority, surpassing cybersecurity, which had led the rankings for the past two years. Check out our team’s summary of the report, here.

On September 25, SETDA will unpack the report’s findings in a webinar, featuring:

  • Dr. Melissa Shields, Assistant State Superintendent, Alabama Department of Education 

  • Dorann Avey, Digital Learning Director, Nebraska Department of Education 

  • Jeff Carlson, Head of National Education Partnerships, Clever

  • Ji Soo Song, Director of Projects & Initiatives, SETDA

  • Julia Fallon, Executive Director, SETDA

🗓️ Thursday, September 25 at 2 p.m. ET

RSVP Here

What’s Driving America’s Falling Test Scores? Senate HELP Hearing Digs Into NAEP Results

On September 9, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) released the first post-pandemic results from the Nation’s Report Card for 8th grade science and 12th grade reading and math. The results? Troubling, but not surprising.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a full committee hearing this week, convening experts across the education sector to investigate why scores are falling and explore potential solutions. 

Key Takeaways 

Accountability matters not only within schools, but also in how systems must hold vendors accountable to outcomes. Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education, shared her perspective on outcomes-based contracting:

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“Billions of dollars flow in the education space, and every vendor comes in and says they're the best thing since sliced bread. So, let's have them put their money where their mouth is. We will only pay if a partner helps us deliver outcomes for our students. It's our responsibility to make sure in Indiana, we are getting a return on investment.”

Dr. Scott Muri, Superintendent Emeritus for Ector County Independent School District in West Texas, emphasized:

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“The number one factor that influences academic achievement is the teacher. And so it is helping our teachers develop those engaging strategies to effectively use the classroom.”

Dr. Rebecca Winthrop, author of “The Disengaged Teen,” raised concerns about student engagement and mental health with “unfettered access” to social media and AI:

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“AI enters our world at a time when our social fabric is fraying. Schools must play an essential role in helping develop not just strong academics, but also young people who are willing and able to build strong communities, renew our civic commons, and help repair our divided nation.”

High school transformation through CTE and work-based learning was elevated as an opportunity for both re-engaging students and supporting workforce development.

Go deeper: Read more about the committee hearing from the W/A Research Team on our blog.

Quick Takes

  • The Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce (CEW) released a new report this week, “Falling Behind: How Skills Shortages Threaten Future Jobs,” which revealed that the U.S. will face a skills shortage of 5.25 million workers with at least some college education between 2024 and 2032. Researchers predict that 171 occupations will be impacted and point to the mass retirement of workers with postsecondary degrees as one of several major causes.

  • The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) released a series of papers earlier this month on improving higher ed accountability, including expert voices like W/A Senior Advisor Alison Griffin and Stand Together’s Steve Taylor. In their entries, Griffin and Taylor emphasize the importance of data transparency as a lever to improve program quality and oversight. Maria Toyoda—president and CEO of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a regional accreditor—joined in on this argument, asserting that accreditors have the authority and responsibility to utilize data to ensure accountability and promote evidence-based transformation in higher ed. Read her take in Inside Higher Ed.

  • This week, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) released its third-annual Affordability Gap report, which digs into the disparity between the cost of college in the U.S. and available financial aid in 2022-23—the last full IPEDS data set available. NCAN proposes that to be affordable, the total price of college for an in-state student plus $300 for emergency expenses should not exceed the combined total of grant aid, loans, Federal Work-Study (FWS), an estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and a student’s summer wages. According to their analysis, just 35% of public four-year colleges and fewer than half (48%) of community colleges were financially in reach for students. Additionally, in 14 states, aid sources did not cover the cost of any public four-year studied; five states had zero affordable community colleges in 2022-23.

  • New Leaders appointed Dr. Lisa Herring as its next CEO. Dr. Herring most recently served as president of the PROPEL Center, a national higher ed innovation hub. Prior to the PROPEL Center, Dr. Herring served as strategic advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education during the Biden administration and as Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools.

  • Dr. Holly Smith was named executive director of Reach University’s National Center for the Apprenticeship Degree (NCAD). Dr. Smith has extensive experience in higher ed leadership, having previously served as vice chancellor for academic affairs at University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville and Arkansas State University - Newport. She also previously served as vice president for learning at South Arkansas Community College.

Check out W/A Jobs, which features 3,456 career opportunities from 311 organizations across the education industry. A few roles that caught our eye over the past week:

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