Burbio School Tracker 04/07: Accompanying Risks

1. Burbio's foundational datasets include millions of pages of K-12 board meetings. This week we update our keyword analysis and review trends from Q4 2024 to Q4 2025. The analysis covers the same districts for each period to keep the measurement consistent. Notable changes:

• Mentions of enrollment declines almost doubled, rising from 7.1% to 13.9%.
• Artificial Intelligence mentions jumped from 19.5% to 29.2%, a nearly 50% increase.
• Cybersecurity references rose from 14.0% to 19.6%, an almost 40% increase.
• Federal funding references continue to climb, appearing in over 70% of districts.
• Mentions of the Science of Reading and cell phone bans eased slightly.

The parallel rise in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity is particularly notable. As districts accelerate AI adoption, board conversations increasingly include discussions of the accompanying risks, such as AI-powered cyberattacks, data privacy concerns, and deepfakes.

Click here to schedule a short demo to see how Burbio's foundational datasets, district contacts, and customized Signals can power your K-12 business.

2. Burbio has added district-level contact data (name, title, email, phone) to the Intel Hub for client outreach. Below is a profile of how districts designate their top financial official. While Chief Financial Officer is the most common title by a wide margin, it accounts for just under half of designations, with significant variation across districts:

3. Burbio’s Signals Tracker analyzes millions of pages of district school board discussions and delivers clients highly specific insights on district intent. This week we looked at signals from hundreds of districts adopting Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Below are top objectives districts cite for adopting SEL:

• Academic Success and School Readiness: Districts cite prioritizing the "whole child" alongside traditional academic metrics, viewed as a necessary step for improving academic outcomes and addressing achievement gaps.
• Addressing Mental Health: Districts adopt SEL to help students manage emotional stress and social isolation, while integrating it into broader efforts such as suicide prevention, building coping skills, and encouraging help-seeking behavior.
• Reducing Disciplinary Issues: SEL is deployed to proactively prevent student behavioral incidents that disrupt the learning environment.
• Developing Life Skills and Preventing Bullying: SEL is used to build skills like self-regulation, emotional intelligence, empathy, teamwork, and problem-solving, and is often used as the foundation for anti-bullying and personal safety programs.
• Improving Attendance and Engagement: SEL can be used as a strategy to increase students' connection to their schools, boost attendance rates, and combat chronic absenteeism.
• Fostering Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion: Districts rely on SEL to build trust, foster empathy, and create a sense of belonging. Some districts explicitly adopt SEL programs to educate students about issues related to hate speech, bias and racism.

4. Burbio's data is used to “show them you know them," reflecting district expectations that partners have a full understanding of district priorities. Burbio’s District Research and Territory Planning Agent generates sector-specific summaries of a district’s initiatives, priorities, and vendors. The following is an excerpt of a summary for Henrico County Public Schools, VA, for STEM and CTE:

Budget and Funding

• The proposed 2027 budget projects a threefold increase in federal and state grant spending for CTE Resource Center furniture and equipment.
• In 2025-26, an extra $2 million was budgeted for "expanded programmatic costs" at ACE career and technical center. Available seats are set to double between 2020 and 2030.
• Last Fall the district accepted two STEM initiative grants from the Burns and McDonnell Foundation, used to fund robotics kits, 3-D printers, and other STEM materials.

Recent Programs and Initiatives

• With funding from the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation Grant, students in the ACE Center of Hermitage High School were offered three new courses for 2025-26: Senior Home and Mental Health Assistant, Health Assisting Careers, and Patient Care Tech.
• A new cybersecurity course is being piloted in this district, with plans to expand classes in this growing field.
• The 2025-2030 Strategic Plan announces a new "living building" at Wilton Farms, providing space for students in the Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability.

Example Vendors

• The district accepted a grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to fund STEM professional development by James River Associates.
• The board entered into an MOU with Regency Acquisitions for an Adult Education training program in real estate maintenance management.

Click here for the complete Henrico County Public Schools, VA - STEM/CTE Report from Burbio's District Research Agent. Note the DRA generates reports from all K-12 categories, such as mental health, security, transportation, staffing, and more.