The New York Times
7 April 2011
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Oakland, California, United States
Great minds from Plato to Piaget have recognized the importance of play in healthy child development, but with bullying becoming more prevalent on school playgrounds and increased pressure to maximize school hours to boost performance on standardized tests, schools are struggling to implement meaningful recess. Playworks and other similar non-profit groups provide coaching for adults on how to help structure children's playtime to be healthy, productive, and enjoyable, while allowing children to explore on their own and develop positive relationships.
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.
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/big-ideas-in-social-change-2014
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
11 December 2014
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A overview of 2014's Fixes columns - connecting the dots between 60 or so ways that people are trying to change the world.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/coming-together-to-give-schools-a-boost
David Bornstein
The New York Times
7 March 2011
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A 2006 report noted that Ohio and Kentucky were lagging behind other states in college attainment rates - community leaders were concerned about remaining competitive in a global economy. A group of leaders in the Cincinnati area are improving school systems by using data for progress, not punishment.
http://seattletimes.com/html/education/2024894748_edlabsmallclassesxml.html
John Higgins
The Seattle Times
28 October 2014
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Research in the U.S. suggests that a small class size is not enough but in combination with teacher training it leads to a change in achievement.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/empathy-not-expulsion-for-preschoolers-at-risk
Sara Neufeld
The New York Times
20 February 2015
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Preschoolers in the U.S. who misbehave are increasingly being expelled. In Connecticut, trained counselors educated teachers about how to deal with emotionally traumatized kids which reduced expulsions.
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.
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.
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.
https://digital.vpr.net/post/education-lessons-maine-new-hampshire
Jane Lindholm
Patti Daniels
Vermont Public Radio
7 April 2015
Radio / Over 15 Minutes
As Vermont struggles to create legislation regulating school district management and financial efficiency, the state looks to models in Maine and New Hampshire for guidance. In Maine, school districts have tried to save money and resources through consolidation; in New Hampshire, officials have reworked the way schooling is financed altogether.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/01/busted_unions_and_broken_promi.html
Daniel Simmons-Ritchie
PennLive
12 January 2015
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York schools are considering changing public schools into charter schools, following the example of New Orleans and Michigan, in order to help their crumbling school system. The privatization of these schools can help the facilities become more financially stable, in turn preventing school closures and instability for their students.
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