For all the national and even international debate about the state of American education, public schooling in the U.S. is still a local matter--and the school district remains its hub. As administrators know, there's nothing abstract about the process of getting millions of students into their seats, assuring they receive the instruction they're…

On an Election Day filled with dozens of state races and ballot measures with big implications for the nation's public schools, state teachers' unions and charter school champions had plenty to cheer in the aftermath, even as tax measures that would help pay for schools suffered setbacks in some places. Union efforts were instrumental in…

In an attempt to respond to confusion about--or resistance to--the tutoring requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance outlining what it expects states and school districts to do in supplying the help to needy children. This nonregulatory guidance clarifies the roles of states and school…