The Weekly Connect 8/3/2026

Applied Developmental Psychology: From Early Childhood Adversity to Education at Age 22 Years: Pathways Through Extracurricular Activities and Other High School Experiences
A new study from researchers at Villanova University investigated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later life experiences. The researchers used data from the Future of Families and Child Well-Being study, which measured nearly 5,000 children between ages 1 to twenty-two and their mothers. Children with higher rates of childhood family adversity (e.g., incarceration, depression) and resource adversity (e.g., poverty) were less likely to participate in extracurricular activities and had lower educational attainment at age 22. While extracurricular involvement did not moderate the relationship between early adversity and educational outcomes, this finding may suggest that improving extracurricular activity access could lead to strong benefits for children later in life. The researchers emphasize the importance of reducing barriers that prevent students from engaging in extracurricular activities by creating more low-cost opportunities for children to participate with their peers. 

The Washington Post: Shrinking Student Populations Cause Spike in Public School Closures Across U.S. 
Over the past four years, public school closures have spiked 35%, likely due to lower U.S. birth rates, the increasing popularity of school choice, and the end of pandemic relief funding. The data, released by the National Center for Education Statistics, found that 1,000 schools closed in the 2025-26 school year, compared to 755 in 2021-22. Federal projections indicate that schools will lose nearly 4 million students by 2031. An economist shared that it is difficult to track public school enrollment due to changing immigration patterns and other factors, and that some students have “disappeared” from school data, presumably due to enrollment in home schooling or private microschools, which the government does not fully track. As a result, educators have shared frustrations over the lack of funding in the public education system, which they say will ultimately harm the majority of students across the country. Others indicate that declining public school rates indicate increased opportunity for parents to choose the school that is the best fit for their children.

AP News: Education Department Rescinds Disparate Impact Rule, a Key Tool Used to Assess School Discrimination
The Education Department will no longer consider school policies that harm students as discriminatory unless the discrimination is intentional. The civil rights standard, known as disparate impact, will be removed from regulations that implement Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents race- or nationality-based discrimination. Often, the disparate impact standard has been used to address the application of school discipline policies; for example, Black students are more likely than their peers to receive significant punishments that result in removal from the classroom for similar school infractions. The department says that the change is to ensure that schools can use disciplinary rules as needed, without concern that their decisions could be interpreted by the federal government as favoring or disfavoring a certain student group. Civil rights advocates are worried about the removal of the standard, which reverses decades of protections. It is the latest development in the Administration’s move away from the disparate impact standard, and follows the downsizing and transfer of responsibilities of the Office of Civil Rights, which investigates racial equality cases in education settings. 

K-12 Dive: As Massachusetts Codifies Science of Reading, Experts Expect Results to Take a Few Years
In June, Massachusetts passed science of reading legislation, which requires statewide literacy screening, teacher training, and new accountability measures for student performance. The state has joined 41 others that have passed similar legislation, in a movement to improve student achievement and test scores through phonics-based instruction. Districts must adopt a curriculum approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or be granted a waiver for an alternative curriculum. They also need to create data systems to track results of the curriculum, such as how many students continue to need literacy support over time. A researcher from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research shared that although Massachusetts scores high on national achievement tests, there are still expected gains from the adoption of the new curriculum. The law will go into effect in the 2027-28 school year. 
See also: The Next Literacy Challenge: Teaching Students How to Write

The Wall Street Journal: Recess Is Disappearing. Parents Are Pushing to Bring It Back.
Since the early 2000s, recess across the country has been reduced or eliminated to provide more class time for students to meet state-prescribed instructional hours and work towards improving statewide test scores. In May, the American Academy of Pediatrics released recommendations that schools should have recess at least 20 minutes a day, which research shows improves learning and interpersonal skills. To bring back recess time, parents who have experienced firsthand the impact of the lack of recess on their children have worked to pass legislation alongside state officials. The “Say Yes to Recess” nonprofit, created by a Tennessee parent, helped pass a law requiring at least 40 minutes of recess in the state’s elementary schools. Now, the organization has chapters in 20 states and is working to expand recess to be at least 60 minutes of screen-free time each day. Other legislation, also supported by parents, has recently passed in New Hampshire and Michigan. 

National Public Radio: Meet the Robots Programmed By Kids to Speak Their Indigenous Languages
Many indigenous languages are slowly disappearing. While some Native youth learn these languages in school, it can be hard for them to stay engaged and understand the importance of preserving them. Robotics inventor and youth activist Danielle Boyer created a toy robot, called SkoBot, to help children stay excited and invested in learning these languages. The robots use artificial intelligence built by Boyer to speak. Students can create their own robots and train them on a specific language and certain phrases. The design encourages children to engage in robotics and engineering as well as understand how to use AI ethically. One rising seventh grader in Michigan entered a SkoBot in his school’s science fair, programming it to answer questions in Anishinaabemowin. Explaining his understanding of the intersection of language and culture, he shared, “It is important to protect it, because it’s some people’s way of life. Generation after generation is based around this culture.”