Education

Tamara Burney's kindergartners eat lunch in the Hillview Elementary cafeteria in Jefferson County, Ala.

For Many Kids, Winter Break Means Hungry Holidays

6:10pm January 03, 2013

by Dan Carsen

Most kids look forward to their school's winter break. But millions of students in the U.S. get free or reduced-price meals at school, and when school is closed, many of those children eat less until classes are back in session.

Queue Listen Now

Teenager's Faith At Odds With Locator Tags In School IDs

5:17am December 17, 2012

by Wade Goodwyn

A federal court in Texas on Monday will take up the case of a high school student who refuses to wear her location-tracking school ID. The 15-year-old sophomore believes the ID with the tracker is "the mark of the beast" from the Book of Revelation.

Queue Listen Now

Education

Why A Principal Created His Own Currency

2:43pm December 14, 2012

by David Kestenbaum

He created incentives that 11-year-olds could relate to. (Somehow, "Come to school and you'll be better off in 20 years," just wasn't working.)

Queue Listen Now

Alan Alda's Challenge to Scientists: What is Time?

1:03pm December 14, 2012

Alan Alda founded The Flame Challenge last year to promote better science communication, and he started by asking scientists to come up with a kid-friendly explanation for a flame. Now, Alda is back with round two of the popular contest, and kids want to know: What is time?

Queue Listen Now

Eden Full took time off from her studies at Princeton University to work on her startup full time, after being selected for the inaugural class of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship.

Who Needs College? Young Entrepreneuer Bets On Bright Idea For Solar Energy

10:44am December 13, 2012

by Steve Henn

Eden Full dropped out of Princeton to found a startup company that brings the solar panel technology she invented to developing countries as part of a fellowship. The unusual program, funded by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, gives young people $100,000 to skip college and focus on their work and research instead.

Queue Listen Now

High school sophomore Jessica Miller watches her chemistry teacher's lectures on an iPad. Class time is used for working through problems and quizzes, rather than lecturing.

More Teachers 'Flipping' The School Day Upside Down

9:12am December 13, 2012

by Grace Hood

With "classroom flipping," teachers record their classroom lectures online for students to watch at home. Classroom time is then used for problem solving and homework.

Queue Listen Now

A crowd seeks help applying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles in August. Schools have been inundated with requests for the documents needed to qualify.

New Policy For Young Immigrants Creates Paperwork Deluge

6:29pm December 12, 2012

by Karen Grigsby Bates

A new law provides a path to temporary legal status for some youth in the U.S. illegally, but families must produce a bevy of documentation to qualify. In California, some school districts have devised new systems to help manage the high demand for data and school transcripts.

Queue Listen Now

Education

Two Triad School Districts Win Federal Race to the Top Grants

9:38pm December 11, 2012

Two North Carolina school districts are among 16 nationwide to land federal funds in the first federal Race to the Top competitive grants. In all, 372 North Carolina School districts applied for the grants, but only Guilford County and Iredell-Statesville Schools won in the highly competitive process.

Queue Listen Now

Spelman College has dropped NCAA athletics in favor of a comprehensive fitness program. The school now offers classes like Zumba to help encourage all students to exercise more.

To Trim Down, Spelman Trades Sports For Fitness

6:40pm December 06, 2012

by Kathy Lohr

Officials at Spelman College, a historically black women's college in Atlanta, have decided to scrap the school's NCAA program. With few students participating in organized sports, the college has decided to devote those funds to a fitness program designed to reach the entire student body.

Queue Listen Now

Education

Satellite Colleges Setting Up Shop In Phoenix Suburbs

5:41am December 06, 2012

by Peter O'Dowd

Phoenix suburbs are becoming a magnet for small universities. Five schools — Benedictine, Albright, Wilkes, Upper Iowa and Westminster — have announced plans for satellite campuses in downtown Mesa. And at least three more are coming to Peoria.

Queue Listen Now