When it comes to education news, 2025 was unprecedented. Within days of President Donald Trump taking office in January, tectonic shifts to education policy and child welfare were set in motion – and at a dizzying pace, impacting both education and philanthropy.

Here at The 74, we chronicled the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education and its cuts to crucial department staffing, education research and funding. We wrote about immigration crackdowns that spurred concerned families to keep children home from school (or leave the country altogether), significant changes in vaccination recommendations, efforts to remove crucial protections for students and a broader push for school choice and religious instruction in schools, among other things for education and philanthropy. And we did much more than just cover that news; our team dug further to help explain what these changes mean to school districts, teachers, parents and – most importantly – children.

At the same time, other storylines were playing out in education and philanthropy. A big one was literacy. Testing data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress painted a dismal picture of America’s children’s ability to read. But there were some encouraging signs, especially in the South. Separately, our team created an interactive database that compares literacy versus poverty rates in 10,000 districts and 42,000 schools to discover where educators are beating the odds. (We will be continuing to feature these Bright Spots in the new year.)

We also took a close look at teacher pay, special education and the challenges teachers and parents face as they grapple with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. And, with the launch of our zero2eight vertical, we expanded our coverage of education and philanthropy to include the crucial issues facing early child care and education.

It has been a busy year and this list only scratches the surface of the great work the team at The 74 produced. We hope you take the time to read (and share) these memorable and impactful stories.

Read the full article about 25 education stories to wrap up 2025 at The 74.