180 Days

https://www.pbs.org/show/180-days

Sam Chaltain

PBS

17 March 2015

Broadcast TV News / Over 15 Minutes

Harsville, South Carolina is trying to better its educational program. But first it must change the standard of living in the town to provide greater examples of success for the children to follow.

A Book in Every Home, and Then Some

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/a-book-in-every-home-and-then-some

David Bornstein

The New York Times

16 May 2011

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Lack of reading material is not only a third-world problem – many poor families in the United States lack access to and funds for books. A program that helps get books to into the homes of low-income families can boost literacy, and help publishers, too.

A Boost for the World's Poorest Schools

https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/118675

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

19 January 2012

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How can rural African children learn to read when there are no books in their languages? Save the Children helps kids to create their own books, creating a homemade library for their village.

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.

An Untapped Force in the Fight for Literacy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/an-untapped-force-in-the-fight-for-literacy

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

11 September 2014

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Teaching reading skills to children early is crucial, especially with respect to their educational success later in life. School systems are switching reading programs to help underachieving students have one on one time with a tutor.

Back to School

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/474/back-to-school

Ira Glass

This American Life

14 September 2012

Podcast / Over 15 Minutes

As kids and teachers head back to school, we wanted to turn away from questions about politics and unions and money and all the regular school stuff people argue about, and turn to something more optimistic — an emerging theory about what to teach kids.

In India, Revealing the Children Left Behind

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/in-india-revealing-the-children-left-behind

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

23 October 2014

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Volunteers with the Annual Status of Education Report test children's math and reading skills in villages across India. While 96 percent of Indian children are in school, ASER reveals that many of them are not receiving a real education. "Learning camps", an initiative called Read India, and grouping children by ability, not age, are helping bridge the gap.

Kindergartens Ringing the Bell for Play Inside the Classroom

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/education/out-of-the-books-in-kindergarten-and-into-the-sandbox.html?_r=0

Motoko Rich

The New York Times

9 June 2015

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As American classrooms have focused on raising test scores in math and reading, an outgrowth of the federal No Child Left Behind law and interpretations of the new Common Core standards, even the youngest students have been affected, with more formal lessons and less time in sandboxes. Washington and Minnesota are beginning to train teachers around the state on the importance of so-called purposeful play — when teachers subtly guide children to learning goals through games, art and general fun.

High poverty, high test scores: Auburn school is a shouting success

https://www.seattletimes.com/education/high-poverty-high-test-scores-auburn-school-is-a-shouting-success

Linda Shaw

The Seattle Times

27 April 2014

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As school poverty rates goes up, learning and test scores fall. At Gildo Ray elementary school in Washington state uses a teaching method called director or explicit instruction, in which children learn from a structured approach to teaching with teacher-guided practice. Gildo Ray’s test scores in math and reading are among the highest in the state.

In the Long War on Poverty, Small Victories That Matter

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/in-the-long-war-on-poverty-small-victories-that-matter

David Bornstein

The New York Times

8 January 2014

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A panoply of responses to poverty has emerged to address poverty in the United States and abroad. The responses share in three key tactics: Measuring impact, paying for success, and collaboration.