Laura Bornfreund
@lbornfreund.bsky.social
Author, policy researcher, educator. Education Policy Fellow at New America. Passionate about transforming kindergarten. I live in Florida. Mom to 2. Go UCF Knights! Education.bornfreund.com
Play or rigor? It's a false choice, and it's costing kids. Our @SXSWEDU panel travels from statehouse to district to classroom to show how kindergarten transformation really happens. Voting closes 8/23 — cast yours here: participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx... #SXSWEDU
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My new post for @newamerica.org on a kindergarten movement to bring back play (via play-based learning) started by parents in Charlotte-Mecklenberg. www.newamerica.org/insights/cha...
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Parents Spur Changes for Kindergarten
Families in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, have just shown what is possible when parents create a movement advocating for playful and joyful kindergarten.
newamerica.org
The Curriculum That Looks Right—But Gets Learning Wrong open.substack.com/pub/susanbne...
In my book Rediscovering #Kindergarten, I talk about incorporating more opportunities for play, exploration, and hands-on learning. K-2 Teachers: What do you need to engage your students in those ways?
It's publication day! Years of classroom visits, conversations with educators, and deep belief that #kindergarten can be so much more than it's become. So grateful to finally share this with you!
Has #kindergarten drifted too far toward rigid academics and too far away from how young children learn best? Join us on June 9 for an engaging conversation on my new book and why play, joy, and relationship-building are essential to helping kids thrive. www.newamerica.org/events/redis...
Rediscovering Kindergarten: Embracing Play and Joy in Learning
newamerica.org
Hope you can join this event. @casamuels.bsky.social and I will discuss my new book, followed by comments from an amazing panel! www.newamerica.org/events/redis...
Rediscovering Kindergarten: Embracing Play and Joy in Learning
newamerica.org
As NAEYC Turns 100, Early Education Leaders Reflect on Progress and Gaps www.the74million.org/zero2eight/a...
As NAEYC Turns 100, Early Education Leaders Reflect on Progress and Gaps
The national nonprofit’s centennial offers a chance for longtime early education leaders to reflect on what has — and hasn’t — changed in the field.
the74million.org
Why Academic Rigor is Becoming a Key Focus in Elementary Education sdvoice.info/why-academic...
Why Academic Rigor is Becoming a Key Focus in Elementary Education
Uncover the reasons academic rigor is becoming essential in elementary education. Understand its impact on young learners and ensure your child thrives.
sdvoice.info
Mom and a former Kinder teacher starts petition for play in K www.wbtv.com/2026/03/25/m...
More play, less screen time: Charlotte-Mecklenburg parents push kindergarten pilot program
The push is driven by concerns that 4, 5 and 6-year-olds aren’t getting enough time for self-directed play and peer interaction during the school day
wbtv.com
Downgrading Education Is a Disastrous Misreading of What Our Country Needs www.the74million.org/article/down... by @lisaguernsey.bsky.social
Downgrading Education Is a Disastrous Misreading of What Our Country Needs
Guernsey: Amid demands to improve reading and integrate AI, do we really want to be a country without a Department of Education in the 21st century?
the74million.org
This is somewhat misleading. Heggerty isn't intended to replace phonics instruction. There are multiple key components of reading, only one of which is phonemic awareness. Also need phonics, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, plus oral language and writing! www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...
A Popular Method for Teaching Phonemic Awareness Doesn't Boost Reading
In a new study, a highly used program didn't lead to improvements in students' word-reading abilities.
edweek.org
Laura Bornfreund I wrote on a role for curricula in bridging preschool and early elementary newamerica.org/education-po... via @NewAmericaEd
High Quality Pre-K Starts with Supported Teachers: A Role for Curricula in Bridging Preschool and Early Elementary
The preschool years need to be followed by meaningful learning in early elementary grades.
newamerica.org
The #Sajaboys definitely opened and run the #Dunkindonuts at #GreatWolfLodge in Naples. Slowly sucking our souls while we wait 45 mins+ for coffee and a single hashbrown.
The Science of Reading and Play Go Hand-in-Hand. Schools Must Make It Happen www.the74million.org/zero2eight/t...
The Science of Reading and Play Go Hand-in-Hand. Schools Must Make It Happen
Roberts & McCormick: Activities like blocks, drawing and dramatic play can make learning feel like a game for young kids. But the gains are real.
the74million.org
Excited to share that my book "Rediscovering Kindergarten: Embracing Play and Joy in Learning" will be published by @GryphonHouse in June 2026! 📚✨
"And in those early days, we didn’t post about literacy, math or anything related to academics. Instead, we focused solely on attendance and getting families to come inside the school as much as possible." www.governing.com/management-a...
How a California Principal Reduced Absenteeism, Raised Reading Scores
By prioritizing caregiver access and opening classrooms to families, Dr. Brittany Daley made real headway on some of her school’s major post-pandemic problems.
governing.com
‘The impact has been profound’: the headteacher bringing play back to the classroom | Teaching | The Guardian share.google/yZ0yETzwefqb...
‘The impact has been profound’: the headteacher bringing play back to the classroom
Tina Farr has put play-based learning at the heart of lessons at her Oxford primary – with ‘phenomenal’ results
share.google
The Trump Administration Is Trying to Unravel One of Our Greatest National Accomplishments www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/o...
Opinion | The Trump Administration Is Trying to Unravel One of Our Greatest National Accomplishments
nytimes.com
Monday morning. Asst. Principal in a training, a number of teachers out, AC not working in 5th grade classrooms, bus late.
Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/u...
Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?
nytimes.com
Lots to learn from here: Kids need playful learning. www.kmuw.org/news/2025-04...
Some Kansas kindergartens are bringing back an old-school concept — free play
As kindergarten becomes more academically intense, some schools in Wichita are incorporating self-directed free play — known among educators as purposeful play — into the daily schedule as a way to en...
kmuw.org
ED is gutted and has a new agenda www.propublica.org/article/educ...
A Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students
The Trump administration is subverting the traditional priorities of the department’s decimated civil rights office by making discrimination investigations practically impossible — instead enforcing i...
propublica.org
When kids are evicted, they often lose both home and school hechingerreport.org/when-kids-ar...
When kids are evicted, they often lose both home and school
Children threatened with eviction are more likely to end up in another district or transfer to another school, often one with less funding, more poverty and lower test scores.
hechingerreport.org
As federal dollars for Head Start slow, rural parents left without other options hechingerreport.org/as-federal-d...
As federal dollars for Head Start slow, rural parents left without other options - The Hechinger Report
In the rural Methow Valley in northeast Washington state, parents have few options for child care. There are only two licensed programs in the community — one of which is a Head Start center. About 40...
hechingerreport.org
My colleagues at @newamerica.org published article after article about why the U.S. Department of Education (ED) matters. Make no mistake, there is much at stake if it were shut down. For insights on why, read more here: www.newamerica.org/education-po...
Defending the Department of Education
New research, analysis, and commentary from New America’s Education & Work teams related to the Department of Education and a push by the Trump administration to shutter it.
newamerica.org
I wonder what Trump thinks the American dream is. #SOTU
