On Our "Virtual Route 99" (Special Month-End Edition): On The Education Scene

 

Fewer new international students enroll at U.S. colleges amid Trump restrictions By Michael Burke, EdSource Enrollments of new international students at U.S. colleges declined 17% this fall as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing and created travel restrictions. Read more First look at 2026-27 state budget: Schools and community colleges are fine — for the moment

By John Fensterwald, EdSource

The Legislative Analyst forecasts healthy one-time revenues in 2026-27 but a cooling of AI stocks and a structural state budget deficit signal worry.

Read more

California officials condemn Trump’s plan to break up U.S. Department of Education

By Diana Lambert, EdSource

The Trump administration’s decision to move some programs to other federal agencies has been met with criticism from California state officials and education advocates who argue that it will harm vulnerable students and create confusion and inefficiency.

Read more

In Dan Heath-like spirit of eliminating “guess-a-thons”, this Chief Executive magazine article details how Sheldon Yellon, CEO of BELFOR Property Restoration, has built a multi-billion-dollar firm with 13,000 employees across 550 offices worldwide by staying close to the frontline. Notes Yellon:   Without authentic connections to employees and customers, strategy becomes theoretical,” he writes. “Operational blind spots grow. Morale dips, as teams perceive leadership as detached. And growth without a foundation of care, concern and real connections is ultimately unsustainable.   And I love this additional note from Yellon:   My leadership model offers something deceptively simple: Don’t just drop in dig in… no matter how packed the calendar, CEOs who engage with day-to- day operations are often more grounded, efficient and trusted.   Please invest 3-minutes to learn how Yellon does all this in 5 very practical ways (scroll down the article to the list of 5 if short of time). How much are you in the trenches? Lyft CEO David Risher drives customers and meets with other drivers every  few weeks, giving him insights that have lifted Lyft’s stock from $10 in May to $24 this morning.

Buffett's Farewell Letter – 5 Key Takeaways

Please invest 5 minutes to read Warren Buffett’s farewell letter to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.   And for an excellent summary of 5 key takeaways from his letter, read Fortune’s short blog post. The 5 key headlines:   1) Curb Your Envy 2) Learn From Failure 3) Measure Success Through Impact 4) Ponder Your Legacy 5) Bet on America   These are somewhat meaningless without Fortune’s riff on each – and brought even more to life in Buffett’s own letter. It’s worth investing a few minutes in reading both. And pls note how Buffett opens his letter, something he learned from the godfather of influence, Dr. Robert Cialdini. Start with a perceived negative followed by a “but” (in this case “sort of”) to make the rest of what you have to say more believable.