Public school enrollment in New England is down during the pandemic. But even when kids are enrolled, it can be a struggle to get some to show up. This week on NEXT, how one district is tackling absenteeism and why doctors are increasingly concerned about youth mental health. Plus, Massachusetts school districts try to cope with a teacher shortage. And when a Vermonter’s business plummeted after COVID hit, she donned an inflatable T-Rex costume and started dancing.

Through a collaboration with Lehigh University, Neag School of Education associate professor Jennifer Freeman will develop an intervention to improve college and career readiness for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. This $500,000 grant is sponsored by the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES). Freeman is a Co-PI with Lee Kern and Chris Liang at Lehigh University.

The COVID pandemic has laid bare the extent of inequalities across Connecticut’s cities, towns, and school districts and the children and families they serve. Connecticut has long been one of our nation’s most racially and economically segregated states, while also one of the wealthiest. In the past decade those inequities have worsened along both economic and racial lines. In 2021, Connecticut continues to face the interrelated challenges of segregation and school funding equity and adequacy. Connecticut must do better.

We may be tired of being asked to look for silver linings, or bright prospects, to the changed education landscape. But here’s why it’s important to check our expectations and consider shifts in how we frame this school year.

To learn more about the man now poised to lead the nation’s schools, Connecticut Public Radio’s Diane Orson spoke with Robert Villanova, director of the Executive Leadership Program at UConn’s Neag School of Education. He said he and Cardona first met when Cardona was principal at Hanover Elementary School in his hometown of Meriden.

Kiplinger contributor (and former Major League Baseball player) Doug Glanville shares insights from years playing the game — and investing.

Connecticut education commissioner Miguel Cardona and Neag School alumnus, a Meriden native who rose through the ranks in the city’s public schools from teacher to principal to administrator, has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden to be the next U.S. education secretary.

President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has selected Miguel A. Cardona, Connecticut’s commissioner of education and a longtime public-school educator, as his nominee for secretary of education. Like many education secretaries before him, Cardona has a background predominantly in elementary and secondary education. According to his online biography, he began his career as an elementary-school teacher before ascending to school principal, assistant superintendent, and statewide commissioner, a post he has held since last year.

Miguel Cardona ’01 MA, ’04 6th Year, ’11 Ed.D., ’12 ELP is President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to be the country’s top education official. If confirmed by the Senate, this would mark the first time a University of Connecticut alum has held a Cabinet-level position in the White House.

Friendships are powerful and positive – especially friendships between members of historically marginalized groups like women, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals. In a paper recently published by the journal Human Resource Development Review, lead author Kristi Kaeppel ’20 Ph.D., a graduate assistant with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning; adjunct professor of philosophy at UConn Stamford and School of Business academic advisor Emma Björngard-Basayne ’15 MA, ’18 Ph.D.; and Grenier argue that workplaces that value and promote friendships can enhance the well-being of their workforce – to the benefits of both the individuals and the institutions.