Coming up next on NewsDepth... How much did we spend on school supplies this year?

Does artificial intelligence belong in the classroom?

Gooooal!

We have the highlights from the FIFA World Cup And we learn about the women's pro sports teams in Ohio.

Have you heard about the Sirens?

NewsDepth is now!

Welcome to the new school year and the new season of NewsDepth.

It is great to be back.

I'm your host, Gabriel Kramer.

I had a great summer.

And I hope you did, too.

But this year we have lots of new friends to meet and lots to learn together.

So let's jump right in.

Do you already have all your school supplies?

A survey from the National Retail Federation reported that this year, shoppers budgeted more than $800 per student for back to school supplies, new clothes and electronics.

A budget is the amount of money you are planning to spend.

Teachers also hit the store aisles before school started spending about $900 in supplies for the classroom, according to Capital One Statistics.

Some families might have noticed that some of the items on your list were more expensive this year.

In today's Consumer Watch, Jenn Sullivan breaks down what students are spending their money on.

Spending on back to school shopping is expected to break records this year, topping $43 billion, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation.

Shoppers plan to spend just over $863 on supplies for students in kindergarten through 12th grade this year.

That's about $5 more than last year, according to the survey.

I think there is definitely an expectation that that prices are going to be higher for certain goods.

Mark Matthews with the NRF says the cost of electronics and shoes is driving up prices this year.

Here's the breakdown of where that money is going.

Electronics about $293.

Clothing $250.

Shoes $174.

And school supplies about $146.

One thing that helps you with is to spread that spending across the entire season, because these are not small sums of money that people are having to spend to get their kids back to school.

College students can expect to spend even more.

Shoppers plan to spend an average of $1,400 on back to school items for college.

That's $111 more than last year.

Matthews says the main reason is computer prices.

If we look at computers, we know that chip prices are incredibly high, and that's pushing some of some of the cost of computers.

And that is a big ticket item.

Thank you for the report, Jenn.

Sticking with school news, let's now visit two school districts that started their school years with opposite strategies regarding technology in the classroom.

Our first stop is a school incorporating AI into their learning.

In California, a school district recently extended its access to artificial intelligence for students second grade or higher.

The teacher we're about to meet says that this approach could help students learn independently and responsibly because when used correctly, it can guide critical thinking and help brainstorming.

And that lines up with what researchers at the University of California Davis say that AI literacy is up to each individual user because it should include understanding human decisions or what you type in and biases behind the technology - understanding where AI gets the information from.

Ai literacy is the skill to know how to use, understand, and analyze artificial intelligence applications.

Reporter Connor McGill takes us inside the classroom using AI.

Number 15, Number six at Del Dayo For Del Dayo elementary teacher Kathleen Record getting ready for a new school year still starts with sharpening pencils.

This year, she's also sharpening her skills with artificial intelligence.

I'm at that point where I'm like, okay, what can I all do here?

You know, and how could I use this with my group of students?

Record helped pilot MagicSchool AI during the 2024-2025 school year.

Now, as San Juan Unified enters its second year, making the platform available to students in second grade and above, she's getting ready for her third year using it in the classroom.

It's our role as educators to make sure our students know how to use AI.

She builds a lesson, adding the prompt, the rubric, and her expectations.

From there, the AI reviews student work against those standards.

MagicSchool CEO Adeel Khan says the platform is designed to be a coach, not a shortcut.

How are you ensuring that the AI doesn't do the students work for them?

It's like you ask our platform to help me write an essay on the Odyssey.

It wouldn't help you write it, but it would help you brainstorm.

It would ask you a few questions about what the topic of the essay should be.

What are the like, the requirements from your teacher?

As AI becomes more common in classrooms, the conversation is also changing.

Researchers at UC Davis say the bigger lesson goes beyond learning how to use AI.

Our work with students show that they're super, super interested in what these technologies are doing in their lives, and they're also worried, right?

So it's not just this mindless adoption like, oh, I don't want to think.

I just want to get this homework off my plate.

It's really not that.

Researchers say AI literacy is about more than writing a good prompt.

It's also about understanding the human decisions, assumptions, and values built into the technology.

For Record, that's the lesson she hopes her students remember.

AI is not very intelligent.

After all, they're only as intelligent as the information that's put into it throughout time.

So having them understand that is crucial, and that every AI interaction needs to start with a human interaction and end with the human interaction.

Thank you, Conor.

Now, this next school district in Mississippi is going analog.

Analog, in this case, is anything that's not digital.

For example, physical books and writing notes with a pen and paper.

Asia Ellis explains how district leaders in Bay St.

Louis are hoping this will facilitate more hands-on learning.

Good morning.

Hi.

Hey, A.J.. The new district wide initiative for the 2026 through 2027 school year puts a greater focus on paper and pencil instruction, hands-on learning, and student engagement while still utilizing technology, but only when it supports the lesson.

We have done a pretty extensive look at the research around excessive screen time for students, and I think we just kind of got to the tipping point where we said, you know, this is not great for kids, and it's certainly not in the best interest of their academic learning.

We are a technologically based society, and we've been very pleasantly surprised that our parents, our community, seems to be in complete support of the initiative to reduce screen time for students.

So we're really anxious to see, as the year goes on, how that plays out.

The district hopes this shift will help students develop stronger foundational skills, encourage more classroom participation, and create a more meaningful learning experience.

I've watched children learn without technology, and now that there has been an increased use of it, I've witnessed a real decline in social and emotional skills in children, especially the young children that I teach, and I think that the implementation will help us to provide more experiences where they have to work together.

They have to communicate with one another.

Now that we heard two different approaches to teaching, we want to know what do you think?

Should artificial intelligence be allowed in the classroom?

Jump over to our poll page to vote.

You could choose between.

Yes, it is a useful tool.

Or No, I prefer to do my own research.

Now, give us your reasoning.

Why or why don't you think AI should have a place in the classroom?

Share your thoughts by filling out the inbox form on our website.

NewsDepth.org Here at NewsDepth, we love to celebrate the great work of all of you, and that's why the A+ Award is one of my favorite segments.

Sorry, Newshound!

The A+ Award is one of the regular segments that allows us to feature an Ohio student or group of students every single episode.

This week's A+ Award not only celebrates the great work of some of our viewers, but it also celebrates the great work of 18 adults in the Greater Cleveland area.

The May Dugan Center, located in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland, runs an adult education program.

In this program, adults who did not graduate from high school can work towards passing the General Education Development Test, also known as the GED, or they can work to improve their literacy skills or to learn English.

Every year, the program holds a graduation ceremony to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the participants, some of whom are from countries like Afghanistan, Uganda and Colombia.

At this year's ceremony, a group of five 10th graders from the Bay High Band in Bay Village formed a wind and brass ensemble to play classic graduation songs for the ceremony.

A wind and brass ensemble is a group of musicians, in this case five, who play music together in a way that complements each other.

The ensemble was made up of Elyse and Dani on the trombone, Clare and Claire on the flute, and Adlyn on the saxophone.

They told us that they really enjoyed playing as a small ensemble because of the teamwork it takes.

They played classic graduation marches like Fanfare and Ceremony by Alfred Reed and Pomp and Circumstance.

March number one by Edward Elgar.

Hamzah from Afghanistan told us that he really enjoyed their performance because it added a touch of formality to the program.

Joy from Uganda was excited about the music because she used to play the clarinet and had brought back good memories from her homeland.

Here's a big congratulations to the recent grads and the Wind and Brass Ensemble for their great work.

We're really proud of the hard work and want you to keep it up.

We also want to send up big thanks to Andy Popvich for sharing those photos.

If you would like to nominate a student or group of students for our A+ award, you can fill out our form online or send us an email to newsdepth@ideastream.org 25 years ago, on September the 11th.

Nearly 3000 people died at the World Trade Center in New York City.

The nation was shocked by the traumatic 9/11 Attack of 2001, when terrorists took control of four airplanes.

Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings in New York, which were nicknamed the Twin Towers.

Another plane was flown into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., which serves as the headquarters of the US Department of Defense.

One last plane crashed in southwest Pennsylvania after passengers overpowered the hijackers to keep the plane from crashing into any other buildings.

First responders rushed into the scenes of the attacks to help those who were hurt and to protect their country.

Unfortunately, many of the brave first responders died and several were injured.

Every September 11th since 2001, sometimes called Patriot Day, Americans across the country take time to honor the lives lost and thank those who came to the rescue, sacrificing their own lives on this monumental day in United States history.

We ended the last school year with some American pride on NewsDepth, with an All-American special, in which we learned about the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or the 250th birthday of the United States.

And we asked you to write in and tell us about your patriotic celebrations.

Let's see what you had to say by opening our inbox.

A seventh grade student from Westlake celebrated by giving back to their community.

I will open up a concession stand for the 4th of July.

I do it every year, but this time will be special.

I'm adding ice cream, chips, popsicles, and more.

I really like running the concession stands, and half of the funds go to homeless people in homeless shelters.

We appreciate the invite to your concession stand, but you're right, we didn't get to see it in time.

Maybe next year.

This fifth grader from Beavercreek created a 250th challenge.

Over ten days, I will go on nature walks and collect 250 items.

Once I collect 250 things, I'll put them all together on my back porch and make them into a big piece of eco-art.

That is a super creative idea.

Send us pictures if you can!

A fifth grader from Cincinnati had the classic American 4th of July.

I plan on celebrating it with my family and friends by hosting a block party.

Sounds like a fun time!

A fourth grader from Perrysburg always coordinates their outfit to the fireworks.

Dear NewsDepth, I'm going to celebrate America 250 by watching the fireworks with red, white and blue glow sticks.

Also, I always wear stuff with red, white and blue.

And last but not least, a fourth grader from Macedonia had a double celebration.

With my parents help, we will be lighting up fireworks in the park.

We're also celebrating my dog's birthday.

Happy birthday to your dog!

On our last episode, we visited Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Guardians, and we talked about America's pastime baseball.

And we want to know what's your favorite sport?

16% of the votes went to basketball.

About 15% of you said you love soccer.

13% said your favorite is baseball.

11% of you prefer to toss the old pigskin and voted for American football.

About 7% of you said you like hockey.

Another 3% voted for track and field.

But the top answer for this poll, with 35% of the votes was a different sport.

I wonder what sports you all have in mind.

My favorite sport is American football.

I can look back at the glory days of playing when I was in school.

But globally, more popular is the original football.

Americans call it soccer.

For those of you who said you love soccer, did you watch the World Cup?

The FIFA World Cup is an international football competition, or a soccer, as we call it, that gathers some of the best players from countries all across the world.

FIFA is French and stands for Federation Internationale de Football Association.

The competition happens every four years.

The first one took place back in 1930, in Uruguay.

Since then, 19 countries have hosted the event over the years.

The US has hosted the World Cup twice, once back in 1994 and now the 2026 season.

The competition consists of tournaments known as knockout rounds, with countries competing against each other until there is one overall winner.

Well, let's hit the pitch with NewsDepth intern Olivia Stein.

This summer.

The 23rd FIFA World Cup was hosted by multiple nations Mexico, United States and Canada.

48 teams competed this year, with Spain ultimately winning against Argentina.

Some players stood out amongst their teams, including Lionel Messi from Argentina, Kylian Mbappe from France, Rodri from Spain, Erling Haaland from Norway and Jude Bellingham from England.

The competition was tight all summer long, with 104 matches played and 297 goals made overall.

They kept us on our toes on who would make it to the finals.

Since the competition began, the United States has never won the World Cup, but that doesn't mean they don't put up a good fight.

The United States competed well this year, making it to round 16 out of the 32 rounds overall.

They were ultimately defeated by Belgium with a final score of 4 to 1.

The finals left fans divided, with dedicated fans of both Argentina and Spain making their predictions.

This was the first time Spain made it to the finals in 16 years, while Argentina won in 2022, making them defending champions.

Spain ultimately took the victory with a final score of 1 to 0.

Fans of Spain celebrated the victory in the streets with parades and plenty of posts to social media.

Many moments from the competition went viral on the internet, making this world uniting competition even more important.

One notable moment includes a mother and son duo walking the streets of Mexico City with their pet duck.

The pet duck was wearing a Mexico football jersey and tiny shoes.

Fans from every country became obsessed with the duck and its fashionable attire.

Another viral moment was international fans traveling to America for the competitions.

Many discovered cultural differences about America that they didn't know about.

Some commented online about the larger portion sizes of food and the free soda refills in restaurants.

They are amazed by free ice and 24 hour stores.

Some noted higher costs of food and other everyday items compared to their country.

In case you were wondering, the duck's name is Merlin, and you can still see him waddling around Mexico City with his family.

Thank you for the special report, Olivia.

Oh, I think I need a little a water break.

As we learn about a different role in the world of professional sports.

In Colorado, the women's soccer team, Denver Summit FC, is in the midst of its inaugural season.

Inaugural means it's their first year playing.

Maggie Wolasnke met up with Kerry Anne Biren, the woman whose voice will be the one that fans here at the stadium.

How's it going, guys?

It's game day for the Denver Summit.

With warm ups on the field and in the booth up above.

Onw, three, six, seven Kerry Anne Biren is in the zone.

Double checking triple checking everything to make sure that we are as perfect as we can be.

She's the voice fans will hear all season long.

I am the official PA announcer for the Denver Summit, a title she's amazed by.

No, it's a total dream come true.

I can't even believe it's real.

So as fans file in... It's incredible just to look around and see once these stands get full, the excitement it's going to bring.

She takes it all in.

It's going to be another great game day.

Her cues come from Maddy Ulrich.

3, 2, 1 Send them The game time rush taking over... Stress.

This is my favorite part.

A weird stress.

Go Kerry Anne.

Sounding off.

And now here are the starting 11.

The starting lineup.

Midfielder number ten Lindsay Heaps Rewriting the playbook.

What we're building for women's sports.

The experiences that we're creating for the next generation of fans.

And it's just a testament.

I mean, the stadium is beautiful and it's built for women, which is really incredible.

Because this... So fun!

is what history sounds like.

That's just incredible to see that the next generation is being inspired by what we're building here as Denver Summit.

Thank you, Maggy.

It is undeniable that women's professional sports have exploded in the United States over the last couple of years.

This momentum has helped establish new franchises across the country.

And I've got great news for you.

This does include Ohio.

Beginning in 2028, Clevelanders will be able to cheer on our WNBA team, the Sirens, and our new soccer team, the Cleveland Astra.

And let's not forget about Columbus own professional volleyball team, the Fury.

Zaria Johnson has a brand new Know Ohio to tell us more.

When people think about professional sports in Ohio, teams like the Browns, Cavaliers, Reds and Guardians often come to mind.

But today, women's professional sports are becoming one of the fastest growing parts of Ohio's sports scene.

Across the state, talented athletes are inspiring fans, breaking barriers and creating new opportunities for future generations.

Let's start right here in Cleveland.

In 2025, the Women's National Basketball Association announced that Cleveland would be getting a new franchise, bringing women's professional basketball back to the city.

The team, known as the Cleveland Sirens, is scheduled to begin playing in 2028 at Rocket Arena.

The sirens will actually be Cleveland's second WNBA team.

The city was previously home to the Cleveland Rockers, who played from 1997 to 2003.

In fact, the rockers are one of the WNBA's original eight teams when the league tipped off in 1997.

Cleveland is also kicking off a new era in women's professional soccer.

The city is preparing to welcome the Cleveland Astra, a women's professional soccer club expected to begin in 2028.

The same year, the sirens take the court for their inaugural season.

The Astro will share a home with the men's club, Forest City Cleveland.

Both teams are expected to play in a new soccer specific stadium being built downtown, just steps from Progressive Field and Rocket Arena.

From scoring goals to serving aces.

Ohio's women's sports now takes us to the volleyball court.

The Columbus Fury is a professional women's volleyball team competing in Major League Volleyball.

The Fury play their home matches at Nationwide Arena and are helping grow the popularity of professional women's volleyball in one of Ohio's largest cities.

Are you ready to fill the arenas where the team colors and cheer on Ohio's professional athletes?

The growth of women's professional sports, not just in Ohio, but across the country, is about more than wins and championships.

It shows young girls that their dreams of playing professional sports can become a reality.

And as new teams take the field, court and volleyball court, Ohio is helping shape the future of women's sports.

Thank you, Zaria.

Soccer is one of the most popular youth sports in America.

But reaching the highest levels can come with a steep price.

New research from the University of Georgia examines how the country's pay-to-play model disadvantages lower income families.

Pay-to-play in sports means that players not only have to try out for the team, they also have to pay a fee.

That means that families with tight budgets cannot pay the team fees or buy the specialized gear, and incredibly talented athletes might be stuck on the bench instead of out on the pitch.

Let's pass the ball over to Ivan Rodriguez to learn more.

Across the country, millions of children grow up playing soccer.

But for those hoping to reach the college, professional or national team level, talent may not be enough.

A University of Georgia study found America's development system is divided among school teams, private clubs and competing elite leagues.

It's sort of a fractured pipeline, and it's hard for players to move up.

Private clubs help fill that development gap, offering professional coaching and higher level competition.

The study found playing at the private club or elite league level can cause families between $1,000 and $10,000 a year after fees, uniforms, equipment and travel.

And money is not the only barrier.

Parents may need to drive to several practices each week and travel long distances for weekend tournaments.

Researchers say that can favor children whose families have more money, time and transportation, while lower income players may never be discovered.

Suggs says communities need more affordable programs, better coaching and a clearer pathway for players who want to advance.

If we can broaden the base of that pyramid and create more very low cost recreational opportunities and good coaching, then we could develop a much stronger system.

The goal: Make sure America's next great player is identified by ability, not by what his or her family can afford.

Okay, now it's time for your favorite NewsDepth segment, Petting Zoo.

Let's check in on NewsHound to see what he found for us this week.

Hey.

NewsHound!

Wait, where are you?

Still on summer break at your grandpawrents house?

But this season already started.

We need you back at NewsDepth headquarters.

Perfect.

Here he comes.

So, what did you find for us for our first episode back?

You brought us two raccoon stories.

You might have heard about Jimothy, the raccoon in Seattle that went viral over the summer for his, let's say, uniquely shaped body.

One local veterinarian believes Jimothy has a congenital spine shortening disease.

It does look quite unusual, but it is a condition that happens in other mammals as well.

And then another raccoon in Texas who was probably just trying to make a sandwich, but got stuck in the mayo jar The raccoon, which was aptly nicknamed Mayonesa by a residents, was spotted for days wandering a Dallas area neighborhood trapped in the tub.

until animal services officials liberated her.

To see how these masked bandits got into some mayhem, Check out the full story on our website and YouTube channel.

Definetly glad to have you back in the newsroom, NewsHound.

Thank you so much.

And that's a wrap for our first episode.

What a great way to start the new season.

I'm so excited about everything we're going to learn this year.

You know, we always like to hear from you, and there are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

You can email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you for joining us I'm Gabriel Kramer.

See you next week!