School & District Management

What District Leaders Were Reading This Year: Top 10 Stories

By Stacey Decker — December 21, 2023 2 min read
Blue colorized image of district leader at computer.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

What were the most pressing issues for school district leaders in 2023?

Those working in the central office wanted to know the best ways to teach math, reading, and writing. They also wanted to know how to support stressed-out teachers and how artificial intelligence could upend K-12 education.

That’s according to a scan of the most popular stories among district leaders on edweek.org in 2023. (The ranking below is based on a combination of how many people read the story, how much time they spent reading it, and how often it was shared.)

See Also

Illustration: Hand with pencil aiming for target
DigitalVision Vectors<br/>

Two of the top 10 stories popular with district leaders this year were on gender disparities in educational leadership. In one essay that made the list, Shayla Ewing, an assistant principal from Illinois, reflects on the 2023 blockbuster movie “Barbie” and the lessons it offers for getting more women into leadership roles.

“Unfortunately, not all schools come with a leader Barbie; many come with just Ken,” wrote Ewing.

Here’s the full list of stories that resonated most with district leaders in 2023:

Kids Need to Know Their Math Facts. What Schools Can Do to Help

Illustration of a child in motion jumping easily across number block formations  and equations.

Teachers can optimize how they introduce math facts and teach strategies while not losing sight of conceptual knowledge.

Read the Story


Teachers Need PD on Artificial Intelligence. What It Should Look Like

Photo collage of teacher working at desk with laptop computer.

Schools are just beginning to think about how to integrate AI into teacher professional development.

Read the Story


What ‘Barbie’ Teaches Us About School Leadership (Opinion)

Stylized photo illustration of Barbie dolls with superimposed symbols of graduation and success.

Not all schools come with a leader Barbie; many come with just Ken. Here are three lessons from the hit movie on closing the “dream gap.”

Read the Story


What School Leaders Can Do to Ease Teacher Stress

Instructor Emily Daniels, left, raises her arms while leading a workshop helping teachers find a balance in their curriculum while coping with stress and burnout in the classroom, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Concord, N.H. School districts around the country are starting to invest in programs aimed at address the mental health of teachers. Faced with a shortage of educators and widespread discontentment with the job, districts are hiring more therapist, holding trainings on self-care and setting up system to better respond to a teacher encountering anxiety and stress.

New studies illuminate some factors that can help school leaders prevent or manage teachers’ stress.

Read the Story


4 Ways Reading and Writing Interlock: What the Research Says

v42 19SR Reading Writing 4 Things to Know 1439825899

Here’s a cheat sheet for understanding what research tells us about how the two disciplines connect in literacy instruction.

Read the Story


How Does Writing Fit Into the ‘Science of Reading’?

White and Black elementary girls sitting side by side at their desks and writing in their notebooks while having a class at school. Their classmates are in the  blurred background.

Writing in the early grades is often segmented off from reading. Research suggests teaching them together is both efficient and effective.

Read the Story


There’s a Good Chance Your Superintendent Has One of These 15 Names

Image of male and female professional silhouettes, with a central male figure punched out in color.

A researcher’s findings highlight just how white and male the American superintendency is.

Read the Story


How to Make the ‘Science of Reading’ Work for Teachers (Opinion)

Searching knowledge concept. Men and women stand next to book and find necessary information. Independent training and education.

One state took a different path with good initial results, writes a state chief academic officer.

Read the Story


Kids Understand More From Books Than Screens, But That’s Not Always the Case

ed tech survey march 2023 schwartz

What the research says about the benefits and drawbacks of reading on screens versus printed text.

Read the Story


What Educators Know About Artificial Intelligence, in 3 Charts

Image of AI sources and tools.

Most educators say they have not received any professional development on artificial intelligence.

Read the Story


Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Webinar Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Achievement Webinar
Student Success Strategies: Flexibility, Recovery & More
Join us for Student Success Strategies to explore flexibility, credit recovery & more. Learn how districts keep students on track.
Content provided by Pearson

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Do Students Suffer When a Superintendent Leaves? A New Study Has an Answer
A new study is the first in a while to explore how students fare academically when there's turnover in the district's top office.
5 min read
A man places his hand on top of his head as he looks up at an upwardly pointing arrow turning downward as it turns a corner.
iStock/Getty Images
School & District Management What Latino Superintendents Say It Will Take to Grow Their Ranks
Three Latino superintendents talked about the direct and indirect paths to building a pipeline of future district leaders of color.
4 min read
Vector image of many professionals, diversity, highlighting hispanic.
Liz Yap/Education Week and iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion Your School Needs a Teacher-Mentorship Program
We all know how critical the first few years of teaching are. Here's how to set teachers up for success.
Pamela Slifer
4 min read
Mentorship development of young teachers. School leaders make the teaching profession more sustainable by developing a robust mentoring program in their school.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management School Leaders Rush to Manage Deportation Fears
School and district leaders describe a chaotic time amid changes to federal immigration policies.
9 min read
A line of school children with obscured faces board a school bus on their way to school.
E+/Getty