Summer is winding down and schools are gearing up for another great year of learning! As you head back to your school or classroom, here are five things to help you create deeper learning opportunities for your students.

Today’s Federal Flash covers the FCC’s proposal to alter E-rate funding, why half a million students could lose automatic eligibility for free school lunches, and updates on the appropriations process heating up in Congress.

Think back to your middle school experience. Do the words “awkward,” “angsty,” and “misunderstood,” come to mind? It’s no wonder that adolescence is often considered a difficult and complicated age. But given that adolescents make up nearly one-fourth of the U.S. population, not understanding and serving the needs of young people in this stage of life is not an option.

When teachers work collaboratively to identify specific student skill gaps, they can improve learning for all students more quickly.

Today’s digest highlights a professional learning strategy that encourages teachers to intentionally uncover student learning gaps, steps to help students share their learning in public, a whole school approach to professional learning, and a new podcast on preparing teachers for deeper learning.

Today’s Federal Flash covers a flurry of activity from last week around school safety, gun violence, and school discipline. It also spotlights two new bills in Congress to help students prepare for and complete college.

Today at 9:30 a.m. the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is holding a hearing on state and federal recommendations for enhancing school safety against targeted violence. In the following letter to Committee Chairman Ron Johnson and top Democrat Gary Peters, Alliance for Excellent Education President Deb Delisle outlines our ideas to ensure that students and educators feel safe in schools and are safe in schools.

Memorizing facts doesn’t lead to great scientists. Bringing experiments and projects to life, on the other hand, will not only stick with students longer but ensure they have more fun learning.

Today’s digest highlights real-world application in science teaching, exploring the secret to great teaching, a new podcast on sports and social-emotional development, and how to encourage students to think about how they learn.

In the years after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, school districts turned to busing students to achieve racial diversity. Today, sixty-five years after the Brown decision, did busing work? What do research and advocates say about busing, its impact, and possible solutions for an education system in which many U.S. schools are more segregated today than they were decades ago?

Sports provide a place for young people to grow, learn, and enhance their physical skills, but, with the help of good coaches, they will learn more than how to throw a pitch or perfect a layup.

Building deeper learning in schools means tackling many levels—from classroom instruction, to curriculum, to professional development for educators and leaders.

Today’s digest highlights many approaches of bringing deeper learning to schools, including a charge in Massachusetts led by the state education commissioner, examining teacher preparation programs, what’s working (and not working) in schools across the country, a guide for discussing project-based learning, and more.