Teach for America, other programs might get stimulus dollars

WASHINGTON — Teach for America and programs like it could benefit from a $650 million competitive grant fund for school reforms pushed by President Barack Obama.

Gates Foundation to focus on educators; seeks initiatives, research to improve teacher quality

SEATTLE — Ever since Americans sent their children to one-room schoolhouses, parents have known what makes a good school: an inspiring, organized, creative teacher. But researchers haven’t been able to quantify what exactly makes a teacher effective and how to tie that to student achievement.

ACT scores hold steady; more students college-ready but most will still need remedial work

Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam held steady for the high school class of 2009, a sign of modest progress considering the pool of students taking the test continues to expand.

States wondering if they’ll have to adopt charter schools to qualify for federal money

SEATTLE — Eleven states have said no to charter schools, one of the education reforms President Barack Obama backs. They may soon be paying a penalty for that choice.

Gingrich & Sharpton, longtime rivals, working with administration on educational problems

WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and civil rights figure Al Sharpton say they’re anxious to start working with Education Secretary Arne Duncan to upgrade failing schools.

Sharpton, Gingrich join education secretary to push cities to fix failing schools

WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Arne Duncan is joining forces with two unlikely allies, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, to push cities to fix failing schools.

NC peace activist can compete with recruiters, steer high schoolers to non-military jobs

RALEIGH, N.C. — A rural North Carolina school district with a proud military tradition is allowing a Quaker peace activist a chance to compete with military recruiters at steering high school students to careers, attorneys said Wednesday.

NC peace activist who wants to warn students about military gets same access as recruiters

RALEIGH, N.C. — A rural North Carolina school district with a proud military tradition is allowing a Quaker peace activist a chance to coax high school students away from careers in the armed forces, attorneys said Wednesday.

ACLU: Peace activist can compete against military recruiters in rural NC school district

RALEIGH, N.C. — A rural North Carolina school district with a proud military tradition has surrendered to a Quaker peace activist’s request for access to high school students so she can warn them about joining the military, attorneys said Wednesday.

Cash-strapped states cut grants to college students despite booming demand for financial aid

MADISON, Wis. — Struggling with budget shortfalls that reach into the billions, several states are making deep cuts in college financial aid programs, including those that provide a vital source of cash for students who most need the money.

Being really smart has its challenges; Reno academy caters to profoundly gifted

RENO, Nev. — Back home in Boise, Rachel was too bright for her own good. She was isolated from girls her own age who only wanted to talk about boys and shopping, and cut off from her teachers who seemed to regard her as an annoying brat.

Census: Public school spending per pupil varies among states in 2007, smallest chunk from feds

HOUSTON — Per pupil spending in public schools varies widely from state to state, but the federal government contributes comparatively little to K-12 education, according to a Census report released Monday.

HARD TIMES: Falling state budgets, rising class sizes at crowded schools when students return

WASHINGTON — Like a seesaw on the school playground, falling state budgets are pushing class sizes higher.

Calif. legislators approve budget deal after all-nighter but warn fix isn’t permanent

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Officials say there’s no guarantee that California’s budget troubles are over for now, even after state lawmakers approved a complex package of spending cuts, raids on local government funding and accounting maneuvers to fill a gigantic budget deficit.

California lawmakers pass budget-balancing plan, send bills to Schwarzenegger

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lawmakers on Friday approved a complex package of spending cuts, accounting maneuvers and raids on local government coffers to fill California’s gigantic budget deficit, providing hope that the state might begin a slow climb out of a deep financial hole.

House boosts health and education spending; permits needle exchange programs

WASHINGTON — The House voted Friday to lift a ban on using taxpayer dollars for needle exchange programs for intravenous drug users intended to prevent the spread of HIV and other diseases.

In these tough times, moms and dads are passing the hat to make up for school budget cuts

SEATTLE — Rachael Bouma calculated the cost of keeping rambunctious kindergartners under control at her son’s school at exactly $227.

W.Va. high school principal fired for jumping on pile of students during cafeteria food fight

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — A high school principal who admitted jumping atop a pile of students during a cafeteria food fight has been fired. The Upshur County Board of Education voted Tuesday to oust Brenda Wells from Buckhannon-Upshur High School. She’d been suspended since late May.

Seventh-grader confronts GOP lawmaker over cuts to Calif. schools, asks why students suffer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Even kids are fed up with California’s budget problems.

NY state, city agree to pay record $540M for false Medicaid bills; whistleblower to get $10M

ALBANY, N.Y. — The state and city of New York agreed Tuesday to pay a record $540 million to settle allegations they helped overbill the federal government for Medicaid services.

Deal to close Calif. deficit shapes up as a temporary fix, unlikely to solve fiscal crisis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s deal to close its $26 billion budget gap may end up doing what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had hoped to avoid: kicking the state’s problems down the road.

Education study finds that improvement for all students helps racial disparity remain

WASHINGTON — Despite unprecedented efforts to improve minority achievement in the past decade, the gap between black and white students remains frustratingly wide, according to an Education Department report released Tuesday.

Many schools, parents look to the ‘10-minute rule’ for the right amount of homework

Christina Harris doesn’t believe kindergarteners should have homework. So at the beginning of her son’s kindergarten year, she flat-out told the teacher he wouldn’t be doing any.

While some parents request kids’ teachers, others believe in staying out of the process

After doing some research, including sitting in on classrooms, Valerie Gilbert thought she knew which third-grade teacher would be perfect for her son, Stanley.

Union chief challenges Obama to keep his promise to work with teachers, not against them

WASHINGTON — A teachers’ union challenged the Obama administration Monday to live up to its promise of working with teachers and not against them.

Calif. board rejects district plan to use summer session to make up class time, avoid losses

CHINO HILLS, Calif. — State education officials on Thursday rejected a plan by a Southern California school district to use summer classes to make up for a scheduling error that could cost the district millions of dollars.

California board rejects 2 schools’ plan to use summer school to make up for lost class time

CHINO HILLS, Calif. — State education officials have given a failing grade to a plan by two Southern California elementary schools to use extended summer sessions to make up for lost class time.

A war and 6 decades later, Greeley man finally awarded high school diploma at age 84

GREELEY, Colo. — There’s at least one guy with a new high school diploma who’s not worrying about getting into college or finding a job.

Georgia could toss suspect math exam results, joining long lists of state with tampered tests

ATLANTA — Georgia could become the latest state to punish schools caught cheating on standardized tests, becoming another example of what some observers call an alarming trend of educators caving under the pressure to meet federal achievement standards.

Virtual college tours offer a low-cost snapshot of campus life

For high school students who have the time and money to travel, visiting a college campus is the best way to get a sense of the students, the faculty, and the feel of the place where they’ll be spending four years (or more).