A By-the-E-Book Education, for $5 a Month

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/a-by-the-e-book-education-for-5-a-month

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

22 May 2013

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For-profit companies are making good private schools available even to Africa’s poor. They can do it – and can do it on an enormous scale – by hiring neighborhood residents to teach, and scripting out every word of every lesson on an e-reader.

A Team Approach to Get Students College Ready

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/a-team-approach-to-get-students-college-ready

David Bornstein

The New York Times

15 May 2013

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Blue Engine, which places recent college grads as full-time teaching assistants in New York City public schools, is helping poor students thrive in college. They focus on small teacher-student ratios, frequent feedback for teachers, and a concentration on 'gateway' courses associated with success in college.

Closing the Math Gap for Boys

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/intense-tutoring-can-close-the-math-gap.html

David L. Kirp

The New York Times

31 January 2015

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Inner-city kids, generally, fare worst on measures of academic achievement like standardized tests. An intensive tutoring and mentoring program in Chicago has produced big improvements for young boys, pairing them two-on-one with math tutors that offer homework support and educational guidance.

Demystifying the MOOC

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/education/edlife/demystifying-the-mooc.html

Jeffrey J. Selingo

The New York Times

29 October 2014

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The creators of online classes hoped to provide quality education to the disadvantaged but have instead created an international supplement to classroom learning and tool for professional development.

Fighting Bullying With Babies

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/fighting-bullying-with-babies

David Bornstein

The New York Times

8 November 2010

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The Canadian federal government has identified bullying as a national problem. Roots of Empathy, based in Toronto, encourages empathy in elementary kids by having them interact with babies.

For Teenage Smokers, Removing the Allure of the Pack

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/for-teenage-smokers-removing-the-allure-of-the-pack

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

1 August 2012

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Adolescent smoking remains a challenging health problem because of the allure of cigarette branding. Australia is piloting the transformation of cigarette packaging with a generic look that reduces the appeal of smoking. In Florida, the Truth campaign has exposed that cigarette companies targeted teenage consumers and, in response, created a set of new advertisements that presented the cigarette industry with transparency.

Free pre-K: Strong early gains, but long-term questions

http://seattletimes.com/html/education/2024591420_edlabtulsaxml.html

Claudia Rowe

The Seattle Times

20 September 2014

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Preparing the young for elementary education is a priority to nurture reading and social skills. For 16 years, Tulsa Oklahoma has instituted a state funded preschool, staffed with teachers trained in early education. Tulsa’s Pre-K initiative has shown that their children are more prepared for literacy skills and math; however, maintaining the positive results is a long-term challenge.

From slipping through the cracks to the college track

http://www.seattletimes.com/education/from-slipping-through-the-cracks-to-the-college-track

Claudia Rowe

The Seattle Times

14 April 2014

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The Rainier Scholars program in Seattle places fifth graders, who are all minorities, in special coursework through middle and high school, finally offering rigorous college coaching. In Oakland, CA, the National College Advising Corps directs recent graduates into schools to be role models and guides for at-risk students.

Fruit, Not Fries: Lunchroom Makeovers Nudge Kids Toward Better Choices

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/29/175710393/fruit-not-fries-lunchroom-makeovers-nudge-kids-toward-better-choices

Kevin Charles Redmon

NPR

2 April 2013

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With child obesity on the rise, public school students have lacked the motivation and access to eat healthy food. Different programs around the country aim to improve student diet in public schools, including Real Eats for Academics and Life in Los Angeles and Cornell’s Smarter Lunchrooms Movement, by emailing nutrition report cards to parents, presenting the healthy food with aesthetic pleasure, and the arrangement of the food for access.

Hard Times for Recess

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/hard-times-for-recess

David Bornstein

The New York Times

4 April 2011

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Despite strong evidence that school-based physical activity improves children’s cognitive skills, concentration, and behavior, schools under pressure to produce quantitative results and decrease bullying have drastically cut back on recess in recent years. An Oakland-based nonprofit organization called Playworks is working to make healthy play accessible for more children and show schools how productive recess can be to the whole academic world.