Education

From California to North Carolina, students staged chants and walkouts over the weekend in protest of Israel's ongoing military offensive in Gaza.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Bryan J. Cook, director of higher education policy at the Urban Institute Center on Education Data and Policy, about how complications with FAFSA affect Black students.

Small pro-Palestinian protests are popping up sporadically as colleges and universities hold commencement services. Among the demonstrations on Saturday were dozens of graduating students at Virginia Commonwealth University who walked out on Gov. Glenn Youngkin's address. While some of the estimated 100 students and family members who left during the Republican governor's speech showed support for Palestinians, others held signs signaling their opposition to Youngkin's education policies, according to WRIC-TV. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a small group of demonstrators staged what appeared to be a silent protest during commencement ceremonies. A campus police spokesperson says no arrests were made. There were also protests in North Carolina and California.

Researchers are learning that handwriting engages the brain in ways typing can't match, raising questions about the costs of ditching this age-old practice, especially for kids.

The school board meeting stretched into early Friday. During the debate, a Black student athlete told the board, "I would have to represent a man that fought for my ancestors to be slaves."