An energy performance contract helps Madison County save energy and reinvest in creating award-winning schools.

TeacherFunder, a new fundraising and social platform, will launch on January 15. It will be a resource for teachers who typically spend their own personal money for supplies, field trips and more.

Some teachers are spending four hours per day commuting, or have relied on charitable funding for mortgage assistance. While several districts have tried to make it easier for teachers to live where they work, their efforts are not always welcomed by local homeowners, opening up new debates over gentrification and what obligations the expanding tech sector has to the cities that host its offices.

As the federal government shutdown heads into its third week, parents in Los Angeles are also bracing for a possible shutdown of the public school system. The school district is hemorrhaging cash and students, but on January 10, the 33,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles plan to go on strike anyway, writes The Wall Street Journal.