About Public Schools

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 31 8-year-old children were identified with autism in 2022 across the communities monitored by the CDC. With an increasing number of autistic students across the country, public schools are implementing plans to foster family support and student success.

Since federal law requires that schools provide children with the "least restrictive" environment possible, full inclusion in regular class sizes is often a beneficial pathway for children with autism.

As Abramson of National Public Radio indicates, there are cases of children with autism who are unable to speak as they are entering early elementary school; however, with the development of inclusive programs in public schools, teachers are reporting that children often overcome social problems, speech problems, and behavioral issues while working with teachers, peers, and parental support.

While autistic students need extra help and assistance, progress is evident in public school programs across the country. Ultimately, according to Abramson, research demonstrates that the earlier children receive help with their autism, the higher the probability that they will develop effective communication skills.

The Early Signs of Autism

With autism affecting a significant number of children in the United States, parents are looking to find out more about symptoms and signs of autistic behavior. However, since the development of each child is unique and varies, some professionals often may try to

Affecting 8% to 10% of all school-aged children in the United States, ADHD is a common behavioral disorder that often results in a child's struggle to focus his or her attention both in and outside of school.

While all kids act disruptively at times, ADHD symptoms will persist over an extended period of time, while occurring in a variety of settings. As the Nemours Foundations indicates, ADHD impairs “a child's ability to function socially, academically, and at home." With this rising trend, schools are implementing plans to support students and families to achieve both social and academic success.

This video features psychologists from the Center for Management of ADHD at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia discussing the influence of ADHD on school performance.

Public Schools: Plans for Success with ADHD Students

Federal Requirements and Individual Education Plans

As required by federal law, all public schools must make certain accommodations for any child struggling with a learning or developmental disability—including children diagnosed with ADHD. In some cases, a child may benefit from an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which would require the child, parents, and teachers to work together in planned meetings to set appropriate goals, discuss strategies for success, and implement appropriate accommodations.

While these options are available, there are still steps that must be taken prior to the implementation of any IEP or education plan. According to Doctor David Rabiner, in his article "Obtaining Educational Services

This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.

While the intake of food is vital for proper performance, many of the widely available and popular foods in schools today are actually hindering children’s abilities to learn. Loaded with sugars, caffeine, chemicals, and sodium, many popular menu items are leaving kids tired, unfocused, jittery, and sick, which not only impacts students’ grades and performance, but also influences their behavior and moods.

Lack of Energy and Focus

According to the Society for Neuroscience, studies reveal that diets with high levels of saturated fats actually impair learning and memory. Unfortunately, foods with saturated fats are often the most affordable and widely available in schools. French fries, sugary desserts, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, and other cafeteria staples are filling kids with food that actually lowers their brain power before sending them back to class. For a current look at how cafeterias are adapting to changing nutrition requirements, Public School Review examines Behind the Scenes of Public School Cafeterias.

One of the theories that explains the link between saturated fats and brain power is the effects of glucose and sugars in the higher-fat foods. Essentially, glucose comes from carbohydrates, and while glucose is vital for energy, foods that are too high in glucose actually cause a body’s energy levels to drop. As glucose is ingested, the body releases insulin in order to process the newly acquired foods. Normally, after a healthy meal, glucose levels should rise slightly, and

Should female and male students be taught together in the same classroom? For decades, this debate has enjoyed its equal share of both proponents and opponents. Interestingly, recent research reveals that girls and boys do indeed learn very differently, which adds another level of consideration in the co-ed education debate. In fact, how teachers address the learning discrepancy between the two genders impacts academic performance – a factor critical in the co-ed debate.

The Debate of Cognitive Development

The Recent Academic Data

Indeed, boys and girls face different emotional and physical issues as young students. However, research shows that this difference also delves into the realm of cognitive development. In fact, research has found that boys’ and girls’ cognitive development results in markedly different performance abilities – which partially may be due to the co-ed classroom environment. In recent years, girls have outperformed boys in reading levels assessed on main tests. According to research compiled by educator Sara Mead, while the gap between boys and girls is smaller at the early elementary level, it increases as students reach eighth grade through high school.

When looking at the testing data in science and math, reports once proved that boys’ cognitive performance soared over that of girls’ abilities. While boys are still scoring higher on average than girls in math and science, it has been noted that males “outperform girls only slightly in math and science, in a less drastic proportion than girls’ achievements,” according to Mead.

Learning a language can be a difficult process. Most languages are constantly in flux, with new words regularly added to the lexicon, and old ones are dropping away. Just getting a handle on the vocabulary itself can be overwhelming. Throw into the mix the grammar rules, the punctuation nuances, and even all the slang words, and learning a language can seem as daunting a task as climbing Mount Everest barefoot and blindfolded.

Thankfully, there are increasingly more programs and schools designed to help students who wish to learn a language. Immersion schools are one such program, and they are primarily designed for elementary to high school-aged students. For example, Clark High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, offers a full immersion Chinese school for its students, as well as the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Massachusetts. For some students, full immersion in a new language is the best way to learn. For others, it is simply too difficult to learn a new language without any “references” to the language they already know. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of full immersion schools, and what to expect if your child attends one.

The advantage of immersion programs

Many people believe the best way for a student to excel in a foreign language is an immersion program. Advocates also suggest the younger the child, the better it is to send them to an immersion program, and that’s why full-immersion daycare or preschool is so popular. These can