This Week’s Highlights: Top story — A seven-year review of federal data shows enrollment declining in both Kansas and Missouri while staffing per student increases. We break down where growth is

This Week's Highlights: Top story — Missouri's literacy infrastructure is in place, but implementation is lagging. New state data shows just 34% of PreK-5 teachers have completed or enrolled in

This Month’s highlights: Top News – Aligned released its 2026 policy priorities, outlining opportunities to strengthen literacy, school finance, data systems, and early learning. Kansas Preview – We

This post is the second in a series exploring literacy within education policy and practice. In the first blog , we introduced the major methods of teaching reading in the U.S. — phonics, whole

This blog post is the first in a series exploring literacy within education policy and practice. Here, we introduce the major methods of teaching reading and the debates surrounding them

Child care is no longer just a family issue. It is a workforce issue. Across the political spectrum, there is growing recognition that the lack of affordable, reliable care is holding back both

This month’s highlights: Top News — Congress passes the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ushering in major tax changes for child care, K–12 education, and workforce training. Missouri Update — The School

Investing Early: Missouri Districts Putting Pre-K Policy into Practice shows what early childhood policy looks like when it’s implemented well — and what it unlocks for kids, families, and communities

In one of Missouri’s smallest and most rural districts, Marquand-Zion R-VI is delivering a high-quality pre-K experience for children facing steep barriers to school readiness, often with limited

Stanberry R-II shows what’s possible when small districts have stable support to sustain and strengthen preschool. Using the Missouri Quality Pre-K (MOQPK) grant, the district reduced pressure on