Back-to-School, Career Development, and AI’s Influence: Educational News from the End of Summer

A look at the education news from PR Newswire in July and August that you might have missed.

By Toney Palumbo | Published Sept. 5, 2023

While it feels like just yesterday that fresh-faced young achievers of the previous graduating class were sent off into the great unknown, it was indeed two whole months ago that we discussed trending subjects of the 2022-23 school year’s end. Now, with students returning to class, we begin the cycle all over again with “back-to-school” season – and with it, our first trending topic of July and August.

Additional subjects we repeatedly came across during the preceding two months include career development and, returning from our March/April education trends spotlight (okay, okay… it never really went away – we just focused our attention elsewhere last time), the now-ubiquitous artificial intelligence.

Some of the Most Popular Education Releases

In July and August, PR Newswire distributed over 1,300 English-language education press releases to our North American network. Here are three that saw the highest levels of engagement:

• Peloton and the University of Michigan Announce Partnership Reaching Students, Athletes and Alumni
• 2023 Gerald Loeb Award Finalists, Lifetime Honorees and Awards Event in New York City Announced by UCLA Anderson
• Instructure and Khan Academy Announce Partnership to Enhance Teaching and Learning With Khanmigo, the AI Tool for Education

Education News Trends

Here’s a look at a few of the trends we noticed among education-related press releases in July and August, with a few examples of each.

Back-to-School

Perhaps inevitably, “back-to-school” was a popular phrase found among education press releases – the term could be found in both its hyphenated and unhyphenated forms in more than 200 releases distributed in July and August.

While a handful of announcements pertained to new products being rolled out for the start of the academic year, like Pretty Dope Society's "melanin-filled Back to School collection" of everyday products for Black children, and several offered tips for a return to the classroom, the most common “back-to-school” press releases were proud announcements of acts of corporate social responsibility.

Corporate Giving

Donation drives appeared in a number of releases, as companies held events to collect school supplies for both students and teachers, or directly donated items to local communities. Other back-to-school giveaway campaigns included:

• A fundraising campaign by Burlington Stores and AdoptAClassroom.org
• Meijer’s third consecutive teacher coupon offer
• Staples Canada's 18th annual School Supply Drive
• Supply-filled backpacks distributed by L.A. Care Health Plan and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan
  
• Sun-Maid’s combined literacy and healthy-eating campaign with ABCmouse and Little Free Library
• Shane Co. and Kids In Need Foundation’s collaborative effort to provide incoming students in under-resourced schools with new backpacks filled with essential school supplies

Tips for the New School Year

Another subcategory of “back-to-school” press releases included the offering of advice for a return to the classroom. Some releases directed tips to students and others offered guidance to teachers, but there was also a particular emphasis on preparing parents for the start of the school year, as seen in the following announcements:

• Mindpath College Health releases A Parent Guide: 12 Tips to Help the Transition to College
• Norton Preps Parents with Crash Course in Best Back-to-School Practices
• Educators Share 5 Things Parents Can Do to Kick-Start the School Year

A specific focus on health and safety was noted in several stories, including:

• Back to School Wellness: Making Hearing Health a Priority
• College Move-In Day 101: Prepare for Success, Not Injuries
• Germs Be Gone! Lysol® Is Offering Educators Free Resources to Combat Germs and Educate Students on Healthy Habits
• 'Back to School' gets safer for nearly a half million food allergy students in California, thanks to 11-year-old youth Zacky Muñoz

Survey Results

Multiple back-to-school announcements outlined the perspectives of students, parents, and teachers as revealed through surveys about finances and other concerns.

Surveys touched upon multiple subjects, such as:

• Cultivating better study habits through focus and avoiding distractions
• Best sleep practices for schoolchildren
• Teacher recommendations regarding homework routines
• Financial planning for parents of grade school children
• Voter sentiment regarding the quality of public education
• Brand loyalty among back-to-school shoppers

Career Development

Another common subject we saw in education releases during July and August was that of career development, alternatively referred to by various organizations as “workforce training,” “professional development,” and other equivalent phrases. Including several different iterations of this concept, we spotted around 200 releases related to the topic.

Several subcategories emerged within the broader trend. Many announcements pertained to new certification and course offerings, some referred to partnerships between companies and educational institutions, and others described employer initiatives directly providing development opportunities to employees, like the following:

• Denny's Launches Transformative Career Development Initiative
• Hormel Foods Announces Free College Tuition for Team Members
• Stampede Celebrates Tenth Anniversary of World-Class Butcher Certification Program with Game-Changing Expansion, Elevating Skills of 500+ Employees

Other announcements described corporate social responsibility efforts of larger companies and financial institutions to provide scholarships for jobs training in specific fields, like Lowe’s $8 million in grant funds to support skilled trades training throughout the U.S., and PenFed Credit Union establishing a scholarship for young aviators.

A few releases focused on offering training to healthcare workers amidst an ongoing staffing shortage within that industry, including announcements from Emerge Education, ShiftMed, and Dignity Health Global Education.

Other stories outlined diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts to provide career growth opportunities to underrepresented groups, such as:

• V School's collaboration with IMPACT Magazine and Meta to provide over $500K in scholarships for people of color
• Standard Chartered joining the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP)'s DEI Initiative for Treasury and Finance
• HBCU student recipients of The Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI) scholarships
• The ThriveDX BlackGirlsHack Scholars Program launch, aimed at increasing diversity in cybersecurity
• Grosvenor's donation of $250,000 for diverse, economically disadvantaged high school students pursuing careers in commercial real estate

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence, arguably the definitive technological advancement of the moment, continues to maintain a strong presence within the field of education (see our blog summarizing the trends of March and April). Underscoring its significance, AI was the number one issue explored by attendees of global learning technology company D2L’s 20th annual Fusion conference.

In tandem with our “career development” trend, businesses are also using AI to help instruct employees, often on the use of artificial intelligence technologies themselves. After all, as companies and organizations increasingly adopt AI technologies, the need for instructional materials has grown – human users still need to grasp how to use these tools. Deloitte's AI Academy is developing a generative AI curriculum alongside major universities and technology institutes for use among its professionals and clients, and Simplilearn rolled out an AI & Machine Learning upskilling "bootcamp" for the digital workforce.

Many releases announced aids for teaching teachers how to incorporate AI in the classroom, like Course Hero’s “AI Academy,” and "AI 101 for Teachers,” a collaborative effort from the combined forces of Code.org, ETS, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and Khan Academy. Eduscape launched IntegrateAI, which "helps teachers adopt and leverage AI for classroom engagement and instruction.” OpenAI-powered features within HMH's comprehensive writing platform, Writable, and innovations from edtech provider Anthology are designed to help instructors provide targeted feedback to students and create more engaging learning experiences, respectively.

Other new AI products help students study, create personalized reading lessons, or detect threats of violence in and around schools.

The ever-increasing ubiquity of artificial intelligence technologies does not come without its concerns, however. Several press releases we distributed examined the results of surveys and reports exploring the impact of AI on students, teachers, and workers. Some of these studies focused on ethical issues, while others emphasized a need to develop skills among users of AI technologies. Here’s a representative sampling:

• Back to School Survey: 44% of Teens "Likely" to Use AI To Do Their Schoolwork for Them This School Year
• New Study Reveals Alarming Trends in Academic Integrity: 40% of Students Witness Cheating Using AI Tools, 26% More Prone to Consider Cheating
• Ready, Set…AI Not Yet: Majority of HR Professionals Want More Training, Education, and Laws for AI in The Workplace
• Quizlet's State of AI in Education Survey Reveals Teachers Are Surprise AI Champions
• Research highlights the growing need for digital fluency and AI skills at school

Honorable Mention: Supreme Court / Affirmative Action

Just as we were wrapping up the education trends of May and June for our previous blog post, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision ending the longstanding practice of affirmative action in college and university admissions. The Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling came on June 29, with multiple organizations responding within a day.

Eleven press releases from educational institutions and nonprofit organizations were distributed before the end of the month, between June 29-30, responding to the case. This continued into the months of July and August, when a further 17 releases touched on the subject.

While this may not be a numerically significant figure compared to the total number of education releases we distributed, the Supreme Court’s contentious decision has undeniable implications for the future of education in the U.S. and thus warrants a mention in this analysis.

Some expressions of concern released in response to the decision included:

• Statement of the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. on The Court's Decision on Affirmative Action
• A faith-based argument for affirmative action from Pacific School of Religion
• NAMAD Expresses Concern Over Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision, Urges Reevaluation for Fairness and Equity
• The Coalition of Concerned Freedmen™ Issues Four Calls-to-Action in Open Letter to College Presidents Demanding Lineage-Based Affirmative Action for Descendants of U.S. Slaves/Free Negroes

Looking Ahead

With the school year just getting started, we at PR Newswire are eagerly anticipating what trendworthy subjects will emerge within education industry news. We’re sure to see more of artificial intelligence in the coming months – perhaps with a specific area of focus taking shape – but we’re excited to see what else becomes influential as this academic semester unfolds.

About the Author

Toney Palumbo has been a member of the nocturnal Cision PR Newswire team since late 2017. In his leisure time, he is a prodigious consumer (and sporadic creator) of music.