1. This Week’s Highlights from the US
Federal agencies announce major program re-allocations away from the Department of Education
2025-11-18
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced new inter-agency agreements transferring major K–12 grant programs — including components of the Title I low-income schools funding stream — to agencies such as the U.S. Department of Labor and others. The changes affect billions of dollars annually and suggest a significant governance shift in how federal K–12 functions are administered. The implications are broad: states may gain more flexibility, yet the risk remains that long-standing federal oversight structures (particularly around equity and civil-rights protections) may lose cohesion.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/05385ab8931fd0911a44ae8343ffba74
Advocacy groups raise equity concerns as education re-organisation proceeds
2025-11-18
Following the ED’s re-organisation, organisations such as the American Civil Liberties Union warned that dismantling specialised offices may erode protections for students with disabilities and students in underserved communities. The alert underscores how structural change in governance can produce downstream effects on student equity.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/nov/18/education-department-responsibilities-reassigned
State of Pennsylvania announces expanded K–12 funding for school meals, mental-health supports and infrastructure
2025-11-20
The administration of Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania detailed its 2025–26 education budget, which includes dedicated funding for universal free breakfast for K–12, expanded school-based mental-health support, and substantial allocations for repairing and upgrading school facilities. This investment strategy signals an integrated approach to improvement—addressing both student wellbeing and learning environments.
Source: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/education/newsroom/shapiro-administration-highlights-significant-new-investments-in-k-12-education-in-the-2025-26-budget
New data show U.S. school districts are targeting chronic absenteeism more strategically
2025-11-12
A report from SchoolStatus (covering districts serving 1.3 million students) found that outreach to families during the first 20 days of school had the strongest effect on reducing chronic absenteeism. According to Kara Stern (Director of Educational Products at SchoolStatus), timely family engagement correlates with measurable attendance improvements. For school-improvement professionals this offers a sharper tool for intervention design.
Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-reveals-the-most-effective-time-to-reach-families-about-attendance-302612383.html
2. Global Perspectives
CBSE to introduce global curriculum across UAE and other countries from April 2026
India — 2025-11-07
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced that from April 2026 it will roll out its “Global Curriculum” for affiliated schools abroad (for example, in the UAE and other countries). This marks a major expansion of an Indian board’s reach into international schooling and signals growing cross-border schooling and curriculum convergence.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/cbse-to-introduce-global-curriculum-across-uae-and-other-countries-from-april-2026/articleshow/125150517.cms
New curriculum to give young people the skills for life and work (England)
UK — 2025-11-04
The UK Department for Education announced significant revisions to England’s national curriculum that place greater emphasis on digital literacies, life skills, oracy, and improved sequencing in K–12. These reforms reflect a shift toward integrating 21st-century literacies into mainstream schooling.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-curriculum-to-give-young-people-the-skills-for-life-and-work
Africa: Strong school leaders needed for stronger learning outcomes
Sub-Saharan Africa — 2025-10-31
A joint report by UNESCO and the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) found that only one in ten children in Africa complete primary education and reach minimum learning proficiency—and that stronger school leadership is a critical lever for improvement. The policy message: leadership capacity, not just resources, matters deeply.
Source: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/africa-strong-school-leaders-needed-stronger-learning-outcomes
Curriculum review: subject-specific policy proposals (England)
UK — 2025-11-05
In the ongoing curriculum review in England, key recommendations include scrapping the English Baccalaureate suite, mandating citizenship education at primary level, introducing a new computing GCSE covering AI/data, and emphasizing writing and oracy. These steps illustrate how national systems are rethinking subject design in light of digital change.
Source: https://schoolsweek.co.uk/curriculum-review-the-subject-specific-policy-proposals/
Three new African-led initiatives to boost reading & maths at the ADEA Triennale
Africa — 2025-11-04
At the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Triennale held in Accra, Ghana, new continent-wide collaborations were announced to accelerate foundational reading and mathematics through locally-led coalitions. This suggests rising momentum in school improvement reform across the Global South.
Source: https://www.adeanet.org/en/press-releases/reading-maths-unlock-everything-announcement-new-africa-led-collaborations-boost
3. Analysis & Emerging Trends
US Trends
Federal-state governance shift in K–12 oversight
The re-allocation of major federal K–12 programmes from the Department of Education to other agencies reflects a structural governance shift: states and districts may gain greater flexibility and autonomy, but also greater responsibility for oversight, compliance and equity enforcement. School leaders should prepare for changes in funding mechanics, accountability systems and inter-agency coordination frameworks.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/05385ab8931fd0911a44ae8343ffba74
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/nov/18/education-department-responsibilities-reassigned
Attendance is showing early signs of improvement through proactive engagement
New data from SchoolStatus show that districts proactively reaching families in the first 20 days of school year can achieve lower chronic absenteeism rates (about 20.9% in study districts vs national average of ~23.5%) as noted by Kara Stern, Director of Educational Products at SchoolStatus. This suggests that shifting from reactive to proactive attendance strategies may yield measurable gains.
Source:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-reveals-the-most-effective-time-to-reach-families-about-attendance-302612383.html
Career-connected learning and credential-pathway growth continue to expand
Recent reporting (for example by Forbes on Nov 3, 2025) indicates that strategies like dual-enrollment and credentialing are increasingly embedded in high school practice. Students participating in dual credit programmes gain early college experiences and lower-cost credential pathways. For school leaders, this growth means stronger alignment between K–12 and post-secondary/workforce transitions.
Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brunomanno/2025/11/03/dual-enrollment-blends-high-school-and-college-next-step-is-jobs
https://nces.ed.gov
Teacher recruitment pipelines and ‘grow-your-own’ models are becoming more systematized
State education agencies and organisations such as the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) are investing in teacher residency and apprenticeship pipelines, recognising the urgency of stabilising the educator workforce. This means school systems can increasingly partner with higher-education and workforce systems to build teacher supply strategies tailored to high-need areas.
Source:
https://nctresidencies.org
School-based mental-health capacity is gaining increased attention and resources
Recent federal announcements (e.g., the FY 2025 School-Based Mental Health Services Grants) indicate a scaling up of credentialled mental-health staffing in schools. For school leaders, this underscores that student wellbeing is becoming more fully embedded in the core improvement agenda, rather than an add-on.
Source:
https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/grants-birth-grade-12/safe-and-supportive-schools/school-based-mental-health-services-grant-program
Global Trends
Curriculum design is shifting globally toward digital, life-skills and future-readiness
Countries like England are revising K–12 curricula to emphasise oracy, writing, digital literacy (including AI/data), and life skills. The export of India’s CBSE global curriculum further signals how curriculum design is internationalising.
Sources:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-curriculum-to-give-young-people-the-skills-for-life-and-work
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/cbse-to-introduce-global-curriculum-across-uae-and-other-countries-from-april-2026/articleshow/125150517.cms
Leadership capacity and local ownership are becoming central to reform in lower-income regions
In Sub-Saharan Africa, reports from UNESCO/ACSL and the ADEA event in Ghana emphasise that strengthening school leadership and supporting locally-led coalitions are now seen as key to improving foundational learning.
Sources:
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/africa-strong-school-leaders-needed-stronger-learning-outcomes
https://www.adeanet.org/en/press-releases/reading-maths-unlock-everything-announcement-new-africa-led-collaborations-boost
Transnational education and curriculum models are growing in influence
The expansion of foreign-based curriculum networks (such as CBSE’s overseas rollout) and cross-country collaborations for literacy and numeracy signal a shift toward globally networked K–12 systems.
Source:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/cbse-to-introduce-global-curriculum-across-uae-and-other-countries-from-april-2026/articleshow/125150517.cms
