While schools in the Pittsburgh region have different reasons for considering consolidation, a windfall of school closures could hit districts across the country in coming years.

The Minneapolis district has seen its enrollment drop by nearly 20,000 students since 2000-01. In St. Paul in the last five years, enrollment has fallen by more than 5,000 students and the district, which is the second-largest in Minnesota, currently enrolls 60% of the school-aged children who live in the city.

At Maysville High School in Maysville, Mo., population 1,100, classes can be a little tough for the squeamish. Course work can involve assigned reading and algebra, but also a serious amount of blood and guts.

A substantial number of Black students have the aptitude but not the access to in-demand STEM and CTE fields. This exposure gap is even wider for Black girls, a new report warns.