The most innovative and most equitable districts on gender disparity are creating policies offer adequate childcare, allow for more flexible work hours, foster a family-first culture and explicitly provide mentoring and networking.

About 833,000 fewer students enrolled in public schools in fall 2021 than had been predicted, with the most surprising drops occurring in middle school, according to the latest data, foretelling a drop in the number of high school graduates and, subsequently, college freshmen.

"The ESSER money is a lot, but it’s not as much as everybody thinks," says Bernard McCune, Denver Public School's associate chief of academics. "Everyone thinks that schools are just flush with money and they throw everything at schools without intentionality. What we’ve done is use ESSER as an opportunity to innovate."

A Parents Bill of Rights just introduced by House Republicans seeks to codify many freedoms that families already enjoy when it comes to their schools but could also whittle away at superintendents' decision-making power.