In rural Livingston, Calif., where people are vastly outnumbered by sweet potatoes, something remarkable is happening in the public schools.

In 2023, roughly 1 student out of 4 was chronically absent across the school year. The problem is aligned with historic drops in reading and math scores nationwide.

In some ways, 17-year-old Emma Lenover is a typical teen. She loves Disneyland and dance class. But she has already faced more adversity than some classmates will in a lifetime.

The students at North Community High School in Minneapolis have seen a lot. Some things, morbid curiosities: a bullet, freshly fired, spinning and melting the rubber on the track surrounding the school's football field.

The state's childhood obesity rates have risen to nearly 24% from 21%, reflecting a similar, albeit higher, trajectory than national rates. During the pandemic, the state obesity rate hit a high of more than 26%.

"High-dosage tutoring" is one intervention that experts say is highly effective in closing learning gaps, and many states across the country invested in providing it to all kids who needed it.

It's a sunny March afternoon at Winchester Village Elementary School in Indianapolis, and teacher Natasha Cummings is leading her class in a brand new lesson. It's the first time she's teaching it—and also likely the last.

Learning to identify the growing flood of deepfakes, along with online conspiracy theories, is becoming a rite of passage for students.