By Julie Schwietert Collazo Artwork by Tara Tassio If you’ve scrolled on Instagram or TikTok recently (and we know you have!), you’ve probably seen them: college admissions influencers who have a lot to say about teen volunteering. They agree with the conventional wisdom that says volunteering is important for teens (and for their college futures), but they have some controversial ...

By Liz Colombini Photography by Gil Vaknin There are animal tracks painted on the pavement at Green Chimneys. Follow them, and they’ll lead you past the gym, past the health center, past the dining hall and straight to the farm. It’s a fitting metaphor for how this extraordinary institution has always operated: if you want to reach a child who ...

The best ways to study, according to the latest neuroscience By Cameron Bly Artwork by Molly McGarvey It’s 10 p.m. You should be asleep, but instead, you’re hunched over your desk, frantically reviewing your notes and completing as many practice problems as you can. You have a math test tomorrow, and you’re underprepared. You know you should have started studying ...

According to experts, no. Post-pandemic, most kids are falling behind, and parents are being kept in the dark. By Gia Miller Artwork by Justin Negard Ready for a head scratcher? According to a report published in February 2025 by researchers at Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research, Stanford’s Educational Opportunity Project and Dartmouth College, students are now further behind in ...

Experts share how schools should prepare students for an AI-oriented workplace. It’s probably not what you think. By Alexa Berman Artwork by Anne Kennedy When it comes to artificial intelligence, most of us fall into three camps: fully onboard, tentatively curious or actively avoiding. Regardless of where you stand, the reality is AI is here to stay, and it’s changing ...

By Anastasia Mills Healy Artwork by Justin Negard We all know overachievers. A National Merit Scholar who pitches for the state champion baseball team while also starring in the school musical, working in the office of an elected official, and discovering an enzyme critical to understanding a disease. This type of multi-talented student is what Lisa Bleich, the author of ...

A sequel to our life skills course. By Ava Elghanayan Artwork by Aeneas Eaton Editor’s Note: Our last education issue (Sept./Oct. 2023) featured a life skills course that encouraged parents to teach teens about essential life skills that aren’t covered in the classroom. We explained how to teach everything from personal finance and grocery shopping to home repairs and job ...

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe By Judy Chinitz and Alex Gorman Artwork by Justin Negard Founders’ note: In our September/October 2023 education issue, we told the remarkable story of Judy Chinitz and Alex Gorman. The article, titled F-O-R-C-E ...

Written by Alexa Berman, Ava Elghanayan, Gia Miller and Elijah Willner Designed by Anne Kennedy Education covers a lot of ground—and it all starts with the basics, just like learning the alphabet. This A–Z guide doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but it will give you a snapshot of key facts, fresh developments and ideas for supporting your own ...

Writing & Photography by Justin Negard What does an idea look like? It might be a crumpled piece of paper on a cluttered desk or a line of code on a computer screen. Or perhaps it’s  a metal filing cabinet with wheels and wires screwed into the bottom or a team discussing and debating someone’s lightbulb moment. Take a walk ...

By Ava Fleisher Congratulations on creating a budget (see the previous pages). Now comes the hard part: sticking to it. If you’re the type of person who tracks every penny in Excel and loves it, then there’s nothing to see here. Move on to the next article with a sense of pride that you’re on top of it. But if ...

By Lindsey Gaynor and Clare McAlpin Artwork by Zoe Stevens We’re a junior and senior in high school who attend different schools. We know we’re not the only ones lost in conversations about money, and other teens share similar questions surrounding financial independence. Neither of us learned about personal finances in school, and it feels like it should be a ...