Education

After much drama, the Senate finally voted on a student loan bill that would tie the borrower's rate to the 10-year Treasury note on Wednesday. The proposal is a bipartisan compromise and similar both to a House plan and one offered by President Obama.

It’s been nearly a month since a massive brawl involving 400 teens erupted in downtown Greensboro. Soon after, City Council reinstated a curfew ordinance. It bans anyone under the age of 17 from downtown Greensboro between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Those who are caught violating the ordinance could potentially be arrested.

But some community members feel city officials acted to soon without their input.  Instead of a curfew, they want city leaders to provide more venues and activities for teens in the downtown area during the summer months.

District 1 Council member T. Diane Bellamy-Small is hosting a meeting with parents and teens tonight to have an open dialogue about the issue.

The curfew runs through September 1. Large Neon Warning signs have been placed throughout downtown Greensboro to remind teens about the new ordinance.  The city currently offers a Summer Night Lights program for teens, but Bellamy-Small says some of the programs end around 10 p.m.

She says the cost for overtime the city is paying officers to help enforce the new law should also be examined. She would like to see some that money spent on keeping libraries and recreation centers open longer for teen activities.

During the street fight that broke out on June 29, Greensboro police arrested 11 people ranging from 16 to 20 years old. Some reports say officers had to use pepper spray and a stun gun to manage the crowd, and some officers suffered minor injuries.  

Bellamy-Small says she’s concerned that very public fight will create a negative image of African American Youth. 

Bellamy-Small says some city council members are considering making the curfew permanent, but she thinks other ideas and options should be considered first. She plans to take the input from parents and teens and present it to other city council members during their next meeting on August 5.

The curfew meeting with parents and teens will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Central Library on North Church Street in Greensboro.

A summer camp in Winston-Salem is encouraging local youth to pursue NASCAR careers.

The charter school movement turns 21 this year and the latest study shows kids in most charter schools are doing as well or better in reading and math than their counterparts in traditional public schools. But now, leading charter school supporters are questioning that study.

Budget cuts and layoffs are hitting teachers in Philadelphia. But the city and a local developer are hoping to offer some relief: a housing project designed for them. At a similar project in Baltimore, having fellow teachers as neighbors brings support and camaraderie after a tough day at work.

Rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans, which help low and middle-income college students, doubled on July 1. There is now pressure for a deal to undo the increase. NPR's David Greene talks to Matthew Chingos, a fellow at the Brookings Institution's Brown Center on Education Policy.

An increasing number of employers are using Facebook to screen job applicants. But a new study from NC State University says companies who use social media to weed out prospective employees could still be missing the perfect candidate.