U.S. : Education
Obama girls start school with photographers in tow
(AP)
AP - President-elect Barack Obama's two daughters were whisked into their new schools on Monday past a line of waiting photographers.
AP - Jose Perez often butted heads with his grandfather, who emigrated from Mexico years ago and feared his American-born grandson didn't appreciate the sacrifices his family made. Then the teenager started playing the music of the elder's homeland.
Charter schools help jail inmates graduate
(AP)
AP - Albert Aragon dreams of working in real estate one day, but the 29-year-old jail inmate is a high school dropout who believes employers don't hire people with general equivalency diplomas.
AP - Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation's schools. But educators say his sweeping school modernization program — if he spends enough — could jump-start student achievement.
AP - A letter from Oprah Winfrey last week seemed like the world's best Christmas present — until teacher Ron Clark noticed an extra piece of paper flutter out of the envelope.
California Algebra Requirement Halted
(U.S. News & World Report)
U.S. News & World Report - In Washington, everyone applauds a governor who wants to raise academic standards for all students. Back in his or her home state, a governor who proposes to do just that can get sued. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger learned this lesson not long ago when his plan to require algebra testing for all eighth graders angered the state's school superintendent and some education groups. Two organizations representing school board members and administrators filed a lawsuit to overturn the requirement, and now a judge has temporarily put the brakes on the governor's plan, the Associated Press reports. ...
Ohio schools keep cafeterias open for holidays
(AP)
AP - A school district in Ohio says the economy is so tight it has kept its cafeterias open during Christmas break to provide hot lunches for needy students.
SoCal law school tempts students with free tuition
(AP)
AP - A new law school opening next fall in Southern California is offering a big incentive to top students who might be thinking twice about the cost of a legal education during the recession: free tuition for three years.
U.S. News & World Report - By now, many people are familiar with America's poor academic performance on the international stage. Forty years ago, the United States had the highest high school completion rate in the world. Today, it ranks 18th out of 24 industrialized nations. In 1995, the rate of Americans going to college was among the highest in the world. Since then, 13 other countries boast higher college graduation rates than the United States. What can the United States learn from countries that seem to be doing a better job of preparing students for the 21st-century economy?
Harsh turn at New School for maverick Bob Kerrey
(AP)
AP - Dissent is woven deep into the fabric of the New School, a left-leaning university that was founded as a freethinking experiment and became a haven for intellectuals fleeing persecution in Hitler's Germany.
