The Destructive Influence of Imaginary Peers

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/the-destructive-influence-of-imaginary-peers

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

27 March 2013

Text / 1500-3000 Words

People grossly overestimate how much their peers are drinking, having unprotected sex and getting fat. Instead of exaggerating the problem, the best way to get people to take care of themselves is to bust that myth and tell them the truth: most people behave well.

Armed With Data, Fighting More Than Crime

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/armed-with-data-fighting-more-than-crime

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

2 May 2012

Text / 800-1500 Words

CitiStat has show great success in cities like Baltimore, where it has improved city services' efficiency (removing snow, fixing potholes, etc.). Many cities use Stat programs, but Baltimore has been a particular case of success. Looking at how it implemented its CitiStat program holds lessons for other cities.

Boston: There's an App for That

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/boston-theres-an-app-for-that-107661.html#.VYml6PlViko

Ben Schreckinger

Politico

10 June 2014

Text / Over 3000 Words

Boston had a hard time solving civic problems efficiently and holding its leadership accountable. In response, a team in the Mayor's office was charged with "making Boston better through clever, low-cost hacks" such as a mobile app that allows residents to send government service requests to City Hall.

Demystifying the MOOC

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

Jeffrey Selingo

The New York Times

29 October 2014

Text / 800-1500 Words

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.

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.

'From stilettos to steel toes:' Can job training fix prison overcrowding and save Alabama money?

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/life_skills_classes_vocational.html#incart_river

Kelsey Stein

AL.com (Alabama Media Group)

24 June 2014

Text / 800-1500 Words

To decrease the chance of formerly incarcerated individuals relapsing and ending up back in the prison system, the J.F. Ingram State Technical College in Alabama offers correctional education and vocational programs. This training has aided those incarcerated with life skills for after their release, decreasing the likelihood that they will relapse and increasing the likelihood that they will better adjust to their community.

Northfield program shrinks Latino achievement gap

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/12/13/ground-level-latino-connections-torch

Elizabeth Baier

Minnesota Public Radio

12 December 2013

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

Minnesota schools began a comprehensive program aimed at assisting children of minority groups to successfully navigate the college application process and push them towards higher education.

Making the Text-to-Mom Connection

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/making-the-text-to-mom-connection

David Bornstein

The New York Times

11 February 2011

Text / 1500-3000 Words

Text4baby is a free service that sends text messages to pregnant women, and new mothers to provide them with useful tips to keep themselves and their babies healthy. This solution involves many different types of organizations such as for-profit health care providers, nonprofit community groups, wireless carriers, and government agencies. This program shows how you get a country — with all its diverse institutional strengths — to work as a team.

Open Education for a Global Economy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/open-education-for-a-global-economy

David Bornstein

The New York Times

11 July 2012

Text / 1500-3000 Words

An Irish-based company, ALISON, provides free, high-quality e-courses to people around the globe in order to help close the gap between education and workplace skills. Particularly focused on providing access to areas where more traditional forms of education and job training are difficult to get, this approach is helping to change lives and the economy for the better.

Instead of Student Loans, Investing in Futures

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/instead-of-student-loans-investing-in-futures

David Bornstein

The New York Times

30 May 2011

Text / 1500-3000 Words

For millions of students who could succeed in college, the limiting factor is money. Is it possible to finance higher education the way we finance start-up companies? A company called Lumni uses “human capital contracts” to offer loans for students contingent upon 14 percent of the student's salary for 118 months after graduation. There are risks to this approach and not a lot of years or data available to be sure of its efficacy, but results are promising already—with a default rate under 3 percent.