Education on fire. Rescue or relapse in the most forgotten classrooms?

The educational gap in marginalized communities of Mexico and the United States has become, in 2025, an unforgiving thermometer of democratic health and regional economic prospects. This is not only about classrooms: it is about social mobility, productivity, and binational cohesion. On both sides of the Rio Grande, governments face a double-edged sword: tangible progress in 2024 and political choices that, this year, may either accelerate—or derail—that momentum.

In Mexico, 2024 ended with mixed yet relevant signs. On one hand, spending on scholarships grew by 14.8% compared to 2023, reaching 9.3% of the national education budget. In practice, two out of ten students in public schools received some form of support, with 5.29 million children benefiting at the basic education level. These numbers matter because family income remains the main determinant of early dropout in rural and Indigenous areas. Equally important, the year brought progress in physical conditions: compared to 2023, schools with handwashing stations rose by 12.6 percentage points, those with functional restrooms increased by 3.5 points, and high schools with electricity improved by 2.7 points. In high-vulnerability settings, having water, restrooms, and electricity is not a luxury—it is the bare minimum for dignified teaching and learning.

In the United States, 2024 was the year of “school ecosystems” that surround students beyond the classroom. The federal Full-Service Community Schools program awarded significant grants, including statewide projects like Florida (University of Central Florida, nearly $50 million) and Kentucky ($47.25 million), alongside supports directed to urban and rural districts that integrate academics, health, and family services on campus. Meanwhile, the Emergency Connectivity Fund wrapped up a cycle that supported more than 11,500 schools and 1,070 libraries, distributing nearly 13 million connected devices to students and teachers—a digital lifeline in areas plagued by poor internet access.

But technology revealed its Achilles’ heel: the Affordable Connectivity Program ended on June 1, 2024, due to lack of federal funds. For hundreds of thousands of low-income households—and their students—this meant losing a crucial discount on their internet bills, precisely when homework, tutoring, and school paperwork had migrated online. U.S. universities and research centers have warned that the digital divide threatens to widen again unless stable mechanisms and clear rules emerge to expand broadband in rural areas.

In 2025, both countries are redesigning their educational roadmaps. Mexico launched the Universal Scholarship “Rita Cetina” for secondary education—1,900 pesos every two months per family, plus 700 pesos for each additional child—and expanded the “Our School” program to high schools, with components such as extended hours, school meals, and infrastructure rehabilitation decided by local school communities. The challenge will be to translate this program architecture into real retention and measurable learning in rural, Indigenous, and peripheral urban areas.

On the U.S. side, the challenge is to sustain and scale what works without the cushion of pandemic-era emergency funds. Evidence from 2024 showed slow recovery in reading and only modest improvements in math. In 2025, the priority must be to turn emergency measures into permanent policies: high-dosage tutoring, quality extended learning time, and targeted investment in high-poverty schools. Some states are moving forward: Ohio announced nearly $105 million to expand community schools; other districts opened school-based health centers funded through federal and local partnerships, strengthening mental health and school attendance. Still, not everything is linear: political tensions over diversity and inclusion have created uncertainty around certain funding streams, showing that education in vulnerable contexts remains exposed to ideological swings.

My outlook for 2025 is clear. First, connectivity is literacy: without a replacement for the ACP in the U.S. and without stable financing for school and community connectivity in Mexico, the gains of 2024 will remain incomplete. Second, “more hours” only matter if they are filled with high-impact practices: high-dosage tutoring, curricula relevant to local contexts, and formative assessment with transparent goals at the municipal and district levels. Research has consistently shown these interventions deliver strong cost-benefit outcomes when focused on the most disadvantaged students. Third, we must shield schools from ideological volatility: basic infrastructure, school health, and digital access are public goods, not partisan trophies. Binational cooperation—through local governments, universities, and private companies—can catalyze replicable pilots: cross-border online tutoring, scholarships linked to attendance and achievement, and open-data centers tracking dropout, attendance, and learning in near real time.

If 2024 proved that investing can move the needle, 2025 forces us to answer the uncomfortable question: will we have the political discipline and budgetary commitment to sustain what works, and the technological audacity to close the gap where it hurts most? In peripheral neighborhoods, Indigenous villages, and Latino barrios on both sides of the border, the clock is already ticking.

Written by: Editorial

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