In 1969, Woodstock brought together 400,000 people for three days of music and chaos. In 2026, Subject brought together 80 educators for three days of breakout sessions and a mentalist who could read minds.
Okay, not exaaaaactly the same thing, but the vibes were similar (and we definitely had a better bathroom situation…)
Good things happen when you get the right people together, feed them properly, and give them space to think. We proved exactly that at Subject's LA conference.
Here’s what’s on the dashboard this week:
Today’s Deep Dive: What happened in L.A.?
Reading Rainbow: Retention costs, tutoring wins & parent revolts
From Our Desk: We want to see you IRL
Watch of the Week: Young Sherlock: Moody Detective Teen Edition
What Happened in L.A.?
What happens when you lock 80 smart people in a room and tell them to figure things out together?
Last month, Subject ran an experiment. We flew in educators from nine states (California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, New Jersey, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia) and gave them three days at our headquarters in Beverly Hills to swap stories, solve problems, and see what would stick.
The official stats:
13 morning breakout sessions
3 afternoon general sessions
1 mentalist who knew things he shouldn't have known (seriously, watch our day 2 recap)
1 DJ-slash-saxophone combo to kick off night one
1 dinner overlooking West Hollywood at Yamashiro
What people actually remember:
Even with all the official programming, what people keep talking about are the moments in between.
The breakfast conversations where someone from Oregon mentioned a scheduling hack that saved a Michigan principal 40 hours a month. The between-sessions huddles where "wait, you're dealing with that too?" turned into impromptu problem-solving. Texts in group chats that started going out six hours after everyone got home because someone just tried what they learned and it worked.
When schools talk about professional development, they usually mean webinars where everyone's multitasking or half-day workshops that end with "great ideas, now back to reality." But sitting across from someone who's already solved your current nightmare hits different. So does building relationships that turn into late-night email when you need a second opinion three months later.
Sometimes the most efficient thing you can do is slow down, feed people well, and let them actually talk to each other.
When Holding Back Means Falling Behind: A new Texas study found that third graders held back were far less likely to graduate high school or earn strong incomes by age 26, despite initial test score gains. It even costs them a diploma and about $3,500 in annual earnings two decades later. But hey, at least they crushed that retest, right?
Virtual Tutoring: Not Just for Pandemics Anymore: First graders in Massachusetts who spent 15 minutes daily with online tutors stayed on track a year later and gained five additional months of learning. Kids in Texas and Louisiana got nearly three extra months of learning through virtual tutoring too. Looks like the "but what about human connection?" crowd might need to update their talking points…turns out a trained tutor on a screen beats no tutor at all.
The Great Screen Time Rebellion Has Begun: Parents are organizing petitions after discovering their kindergartners are memorizing YouTube ad jingles and asking to "subscribe" after dance performances. But they're aiming at the wrong target. iPads can be incredibly effective learning tools…when they're actually used for learning. But random YouTube videos during snack time just keeps them quiet? That’s babysitting. One costs the same as the other, but only one actually teaches anything.
Restorative Practices Before Things Break: Most educators think restorative practices are for fixing problems after conflict, but the best approach is just being 80% proactive. Who knew? (Actually, we all should’ve known. Preventing fires is easier than putting them out, duh!)
We want to meet you IRL! We’re at the following conferences this month. Reach out to [email protected] for details!
PASA Leadership Forum (March 18-20)
MASA/MOSPRA (March 18-20)
NRCSA Spring Conference (March 18-20)
MACUL (March 18-20)
Spring EDU Congress (March 22-24)
NCASA Education Leadership Conference (March 25-27)
Our pick of the week: Young Sherlock (Amazon Prime)
Why We’re Obsessed: Sherlock Holmes, but as a teen and a bit of bad boy behavior. This is our favorite detective before he became the smug genius we all know—when he was still getting into fistfights and figuring out that maybe listening to his older brother Mycroft might do him some good. Also: his first run-in with Moriarty, which is basically the origin story of the world's most dysfunctional and toxic rivalry (if you can even call it that?!).
Recommended lesson integration:
The power of deduction skills: Have students practice noticing details in their classroom like young Sherlock, and see whether they accuse the class hamster of being a criminal mastermind.
Debate and argumentation: Use Sherlock-inspired logic puzzles to teach kids how to build an evidence-based argument, minus the part where he insults everyone in the room—including the judge.
Character development: Compare the transformation of Sherlock and Moriarty at the beginning of the series to the final episode. And for the older kids, do the same with young vs. adult Sherlock and discuss how trauma shapes personality.
Victorian England: Explore the class systems young Sherlock navigates, which is basically Bridgerton but with more crime and fewer dance sequences. Take it a bit further even with the British Empire’s impact on its world.
Monologue work: Young Sherlock delivers approximately 47 brooding speeches per episode. Your theater kids will eat this up.
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Thank you for joining us for another edition of On The Subject. We’ll see you again in a week, with more stories from the hallways.
The Subject Team
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