Fewer Public Schools Selling Sugary Drinks

"Fewer elementary school students can buy soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks at school than could a few years ago, according to a new study."

Top 10 Public High Schools

"U.S. News analyzed data from nearly 22,000 public high schools to calculate the 2012 Best High Schools rankings. The top 500 schools earned a gold medal distinction, and the following 10 schools are the best of the best."

Report Calls Education a National Security Issue

"The U.S. educational system is facing 'a national security crisis,' an independent task force from the Council on Foreign Relations warned in a report Tuesday."

Survey Finds Teachers Don't Trust Annual State Skills Tests

"A new online survey of 10,000 U.S. teachers, released Thursday, finds that only 16% believe linking student performance and teacher pay is 'absolutely essential' or "very important" in retaining good teachers. That's down from 28% in 2010."

Schools That Mean Business

"The most important thing is that P-Tech students will graduate with not only a high school diploma but an associate’s degree too. That’s crucial, since 63% of American jobs will require post-secondary training by 2018."

Number of 'Dropout Factory' High Schools in the U.S. Drops, Reports Says

"The number of 'dropout factory' high schools in the United States is decreasing, according to a report from the Building a Grad Nation Summit being held this week in Washington."

Teacher Evaluations Pose Test for States

"Efforts to revamp public education are increasingly focused on evaluating teachers using student test scores, but school districts nationwide are only beginning to deal with the practical challenges of implementing those changes."

Teacher Survey Shows Morale Is at a Low Point

"More than half of teachers expressed at least some reservation about their jobs, their highest level of dissatisfaction since 1989, the survey found."

Why Does America Lead the World in School Shootings?

"School shootings are far more frequent in America than in other countries, although terrible massacres have occurred in Russia, Israel, and several European nations."

A New Leader Helps Heal Atlanta Schools, Scarred by Scandal

"By last spring, Gov. Nathan Deal and Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta knew they had to find someone to clean up the mess. They asked Erroll B. Davis Jr. to become the new superintendent when Dr. Hall left at the end of June."

Crime at US Schools Dropping, Report Says

"Crimes and homicides in public schools nationwide have declined, part of a downward trend seen over the past several years. Data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice show declines across a number of indicators, including thefts, violent crimes, bullying and gang activity."

Kansas City's Failed Schools Leave Students Behind

"On Jan. 1, the Missouri state school board revoked the Kansas City district's accreditation. Now parents have a difficult choice: struggle to afford parochial or private school, move, or keep their children in a system that's been labeled a failure."

Robert Glaser, Who Shaped the Science of Student Testing, Dies at 91

"Robert Glaser, a cognitive psychologist who helped define the terms of the national debate over student testing, and who pioneered ways of measuring not only how students learn but how teachers teach, died on Feb. 4 in Pittsburgh. He was 91."

Seeking Money, Texas Schools Turn to Advertisements

"Districts across Texas are selling advertisements on buses, athletic stadiums and other pieces of school property to help make up for some of the money lost through state budget cuts."

Abuse Cases Put Los Angeles Schools Under Fire

"The spate of accusations has put an intense spotlight on the way the Los Angeles Unified School District monitors its employees and responds to reports of abuse."

Study: U.S. Schools Better Than Rankings Suggest

"The idea that U.S. public schools are falling behind the rest of the world is widely accepted, but a new analysis of international data suggests that using rankings to sort global winners from losers is often misguided, exaggerating tiny differences between countries that may be producing nearly identical results."

Home-Schooling Demographics Change, Expand

"Secular organizations across the country report their numbers are growing. Though government records indicate religion is still the driving force in home schooling, members of these organizations say the face of home schooling is changing, not because of faith, but because of what parents see as shortcomings in public and private schools."

Record Decline in Spending by States, Cities, and School Districts

"States, cities and school districts trimmed spending at the end of 2011 by more than any time in a decade, a USA TODAY analysis finds."

Education Panel Head Rips No Child Left Behind Waivers

"The U.S. House Education Committee chairman accused the Obama administration of forcing its education policies on states through No Child Left Behind waivers."

10 States Freed From Some 'No Child Left Behind' Rules

"Ten states are being granted waivers to free them from parts of the No Child Left Behind law, the White House said Thursday."

Spanking Kids Can Cause Long-Term Harm: Canada Study

"Spanking children can cause long-term developmental damage and may even lower a child's IQ, according to a new Canadian analysis that seeks to shift the ethical debate over corporal punishment into the medical sphere. The study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, reached its conclusion after examining 20 years of published research on the issue."

Are Depressed Kids Bully Magnets?

"A new study, published this week in the journal Child Development, provides some of the strongest evidence to date for a third theory: Kids who cry easily, express negative emotions, and show other signs of depression ultimately suffer socially because they are shunned by their peers and attract the attention of bullies."

Snack Bars and Junk Food Common in Schools: Study

"About half of all elementary school students can buy potato chips, ice cream or similar snacks in vending machines and at snack bars during school, suggests a new study."

City Students at Small Public High Schools Are More Likely to Graduate, Study Says

"A project tracked the academic performance of more than 21,000 New York City students who applied for ninth grade admission at 105 small high schools, mainly in Brooklyn and in the Bronx, from 2005 to 2008."

Atlanta Schools To Repay $363,000 For Cheating

"They also agreed to tutor students affected by the scandal, which could cost around $4 million."

US Economy Losing Competitive Edge: Survey

"The United States is becoming less economically competitive versus other nations, with political gridlock and a weak primary education system seen as the main drag, according to a survey released on Wednesday."

Bankrupt Schools: Studying on a Shoestring

"A financial crisis threatens to shut down schools in the middle of term."

States Weaken Tenure Rights for Teachers

"America's public school teachers are seeing their generations-old tenure protections weakened as states seek flexibility to fire teachers who aren't performing. A few states have essentially nullified tenure protections altogether, according to an analysis being released Wednesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality."

iPad a Solid Education Tool, Study Reports

"In a partnership with Apple, textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt performed a pilot study using an iPad text for Algebra 1 courses, and found that 20% more students (78% compared to 59%) scored 'Proficient' or 'Advanced' in subject comprehension when using tablets rather than paper textbook counterparts."

The Value of Teachers

". . .a landmark new research paper underscores that the difference between a strong teacher and a weak teacher lasts a lifetime."

Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools

"Despite Supreme Court rulings in 1962 and ’63, open prayer and Christian symbols have never really disappeared from some schools."

Grade School Humor

TEACHER: Tommy, why do you always get so dirty?
TOMMY: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
______________

TEACHER: Ellen, give me a sentence starting with "I."
ELLEN: I is...
TEACHER: No, Ellen...Always say, "I am."
ELLEN: All right..."I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."
_____________

TEACHER: "Can anybody give an example of COINCIDENCE?"
JOHNNY: "Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day, same time."
_____________

TEACHER: "George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted doing it. Now do you know why his father didn't punish him?"
JOHNNY: "Because George still had the ax in his hand."
______________

TEACHER: Now, Sam, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SAM: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
_______________

TEACHER: Desmond, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
DESMOND: No, teacher, it's the same dog!
______________

TEACHER: What do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
PUPIL: A teacher.
______________

SILVIA: Dad, can you write in the dark?
FATHER: I think so. What do you want me to write?
SYLVIA: Your name on this report card.

Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain

"Elementary- and middle-school teachers who help raise their students’ standardized-test scores seem to have a wide-ranging, lasting positive effect on those students’ lives beyond academics, including lower teenage-pregnancy rates and greater college matriculation and adult earnings, according to a new study that tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years."

Students of Online Schools Are Lagging

"The number of students in virtual schools run by educational management organizations rose sharply last year, according to a new report being published Friday, and far fewer of them are proving proficient on standardized tests compared with their peers in other privately managed charter schools and in traditional public schools."

Startups Aim to Bring Education Industry Into 21st Century

"For many educational institutions, financials have limited them in bringing technology into classrooms, but some argue the formality and rigidity of these places have created an uphill battle to integrate new technology. A handful of education technology startups are looking to change this. . ."

Profits and Questions at Online Charter Schools

"Agora is one of the largest in a portfolio of similar public schools across the country run by K12. Eight other for-profit companies also run online public elementary and high schools, enrolling a large chunk of the more than 200,000 full-time cyberpupils in the United States."