Education

The president returned from vacation to take to the road, touring college towns in New York and Pennsylvania to talk about higher education. He's proposing a system that would rank colleges' affordability, which could then be tied to federal aid — but in Washington, a budget battle is waiting.

Education is in the forefront in North Carolina as we approach the new school year.

Day 2 of President Obama's education-themed bus tour rolls into Binghamton, N.Y., and then travels to Pennsylvania for a stop in Scranton. On Friday, the president will have more praise for colleges that work hard to keep costs down and degree production up.

Journalist Alison Stewart chronicles the history of Dunbar High School in her new book, First Class. She says the Washington, D.C., school — which has graduated Army generals, Cabinet members and musicians — can serve as a model for urban schools today.

Alberto Carvalho runs the nation's fourth largest school district — Miami Dade Public Schools. Since he took over four years ago, the district's turnaround has been nothing short of "miraculous", or so his supporters say. During his tenure the dropout rate has plummeted. The high school graduation rate has climbed to record levels and test scores for all students are way up. How did Carvalho do it?

Libraries have been digitizing their collections for years, but the materials can be hard to find. Enter the Digital Public Library of America. Worried that Google has an outsized hand in digitizing books, the DPLA is combining, on one site, the digital collections of libraries nationwide — free.

Werner Herzog's latest project is a slight departure for the acclaimed filmmaker: a 35-minute public service announcement on the dangers of texting and driving. Yes, it's long, he says, but the "inner landscape" of great suffering such accidents can cause "can only be shown if you have more time."

More than 100 teachers, parents and community members gathered in Winston-Salem Wednesday to rally against education budget cuts. A similar rally was also held in Greensboro.

Armed with technology know-how, teens and preteens are learning to hack everyday items and find bugs for major tech giants. Their work can pay off, with companies offering rewards for fixes.