As you begin your new school year, we, too, have opened a new chapter in our 45-year publication history with the launch of a sleeker, visually rich print edition designed especially with your leadership needs in mind.
Here鈥檚 why we did it.
We knew that our online content resonated strongly across our many robust digital platforms, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It has remained consistently high in the wake of the 2024 presidential election, which ushered in massive changes to federal K-12 education policies.
Given the supercharged pace of online consumption, we paused to consider whether our tabloid print newspaper, with 30 editions a year, still offered the best way to keep loyal print subscribers and attract new ones.
We surveyed subscribers and researched industry trends, examined redesigns of several print magazines with similar digital-first missions, and reviewed our own rich audience data and archives.
What did our subscribers want in print? It was not a surprise: Best practices and solutions. Professional development. Deep coverage of national education policies and practices. Explainers on complex K-12 issues and trends. And strong data and graphics illustrating relevant research.
Not, it turned out, yesterday鈥檚 news, which is more quickly and easily accessible online.
We used these insights to develop Education Week: The Magazine, a monthly print magazine, plus four special themed editions throughout the year. We switched from a tabloid to a weightier, vibrant book.
We aimed to create a magazine you鈥檒l keep on your bookshelf and share long past the publication date鈥攁 reflective reading experience uninterrupted by the constant beep of news alerts.
To fill it, we have curated our newsroom鈥檚 most relevant and instructive stories, analyses, opinion essays, and data and research to inform and inspire you as you lead your districts, schools, and classrooms.
Fittingly, we have anchored this inaugural edition with a deeply reported story that aptly illustrates how tough it can be for a district leader to buck the status quo.
Veteran reporter Alyson Klein traveled to Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, to write about a superintendent who did just that when she proposed to create 鈥渃enter鈥� elementary campuses for grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 from three existing鈥攁nd widely divergent鈥攕chools.
Nicki McCann was convinced her recommendation would raise achievement and provide better opportunities for students in one foundering school and two overcrowded, higher-performing ones. She had data, teacher and parent testimonials, and brimming confidence that her plan would work.
Not everyone in this small, tight community in North Central Louisiana agreed, and the effort exposed simmering fears and rifts not easily mended.
Klein captures McCann鈥檚 passion鈥攁nd struggles鈥攊n her journey to convince supporters and wary foes alike. I won鈥檛 spoil the ending. But Klein鈥檚 tale of the two-year saga, enhanced by the striking photography of Louisiana-based visual journalist L. Kasimo Harris, depicts school district leadership in all its messy glory. You won鈥檛 be able to put the story down.
Along with a monthly Centerpiece such as Klein鈥檚, we also will feature our most resonant work in three standing sections. In this month鈥檚 Teaching and Learning section, for example, Ileana Najarro reports on dual-language programs for less commonly taught languages, such as an Urdu-English immersion program in High Point, N.C. The Leadership section features Sarah Sparks鈥� lively review of Georgia鈥檚 鈥淭each in the Peach鈥� teacher-recruitment initiative aimed at raising the profile of the teaching profession. And as always, our Opinion section offers an array of diverse perspectives and voices. Finally, our Letters to the Editor section remains. We want to hear from you, whether about K-12 topics that rule (or ruin) your work鈥攕ee this month鈥檚 on 鈥渢oxic positivity鈥濃�攁nd your thoughts on our new format.
Let us know what you think!
Beth Frerking
Editor-in-Chief
To our existing subscribers, thank you for supporting our journalism. We think you鈥檒l like what鈥檚 in store. To our new readers, sign up today to experience Education Week, The Magazine firsthand.
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