Education

State Policies Undermine Public School Reform

New Study Provides Recommendations to Remove College Barriers

SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- States are pushing colleges, universities, and K-12 schools to work together, but many state policies work at odds with the reforms needed to improve students' college readiness and success, according to a new study. At a time when the nation must have citizens who have achieved educational success beyond high school, the need for improved transitions from high school to college is urgent.    » read more »

Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge(SM) Starting Its Fourth Consecutive Year

Schools Now Registering For National Vocabulary Competition

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The national competition designed to instill a love of words and language in 4th through 8th grade students is now registering schools for the fourth consecutive year. The Reader's Digest National Word Power Challenge(SM), an outreach program created to promote literacy among children in communities all over the country, awards winners $50,000 in college scholarships and other prizes.    » read more »

ASLA Announces 2005 Student Awards

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has announced the recipients of its 2005 Student Awards. The awards will be presented during the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO, October 7-10, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.    » read more »

More Help for Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Help for Schools connects schools, organizations willing to help hurricane victims

September 6, 2005

[W] today announced another resource in the nation's continuing efforts to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina—Hurricane Help for Schools, a new Web page aimed at getting additional supplies to schools serving students displaced by the hurricane.    » read more »

DOE Provides $4.7 Million to Support Excellence in Automotive Technology Education

August 29, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the selection of eight universities that will receive $4.7 million to be Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Centers of Excellence. The goal of GATE is to train a future workforce of automotive engineering professionals to overcome technology barriers preventing the development and production of cost-effective, high-efficiency vehicles for the U.S. market.    » read more »

Nanotechnology Database Focuses on Health, Safety Questions

Free database integrates scientific literature on nanoparticle impacts

22 August 2005

The International Council on Nanotechnology (ICON) and Rice University August 19 launched the world's first online database of scientific findings related to the benefits and risks of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the science and technology of building electronic circuits, materials and devices from single atoms and molecules. One nanometer is one one-billionth of a meter, or about 60,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair; nanotechnology typically deals with devices smaller than 100 nanometers.    » read more »

Educational Achievement Gap Narrowing in the United States

The ideal of "No Child Left Behind" begins to look attainable

17 August 2005

Some of the best recent news concerning American education has been the latest test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showing that 9-year-old American students earned the highest scores in reading and mathematics ever in the more than 30 years in which the test has been administered. Better yet, in this age group, all subgroups achieved higher scores: boys and girls, black, whites and Hispanics.    » read more »

IRS Says Teachers Should Save Receipts for Educator Expense Deduction

Aug. 16, 2005

WASHINGTON — With back-to-school sales in full swing, the Internal Revenue Service reminds teachers and other educators to save their receipts for purchases of books and classroom supplies. These out-of-pocket expenses may lower their 2005 taxes.    » read more »

Giving Kids The Tools To Learn: Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Providing Free School Supplies

More Than A Million Students Helped By Foundation And Its Partners

DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Sitting in the back of his class, Cordell rarely bothered to fill out his first grade math worksheets. His teacher overheard him say, "If I had an eraser maybe I could do this."    » read more »

Recent Cuts Reversing 50 Years of Progress in School Libraries

CHICAGO, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- As millions of American children prepare to head back to school this fall, more will be attending schools without libraries. While the recent report "Fifty Years of Supporting Children's Learning: A History of Public School Libraries and Federal Legislation from 1953-2000" shows gains to libraries, the American Library Association (ALA) sounds a cautionary note. The once-remarkable nationwide growth of public schools with library media centers (+64%), schools with a librarian (+39%) and pupils in schools with a librarian (+167%) has been undermined in the past five years by substantial cuts to school library funding.    » read more »

Kaplan/Newsweek Guide Reveals 'Hottest Schools' for 2006, How to Interpret New SAT Scores, New Tech Trends on Campus and More

New Guide Offers Latest Advice for College Bound Students and Parents

NEW YORK, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Why is college so competitive now? Has the value of an AP course changed? What's a good score on the new SAT? How do I pay for college? What are the biggest tech trends on campus? How do I prepare for my college interview? What's the latest in roommate matching? For the college-bound, the questions and considerations are vast - and more complicated than they've been for generations before. The answers to these questions and many more can be found in the new 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek College Guide - available on newsstands on August 22nd - which reflects the changing university environment and is designed to help families by illuminating issues and opportunities that line the road ahead. Featuring a list of "America's 25 Hot Schools," this year's guide introduces readers to a collection of colleges that suit a range of tastes and needs - from top liberal arts to best for science to hottest for international studies.    » read more »

Prestigious Scholarly Lecture Material Available for First Time Through Searchable Database in Electronic Format

WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of the world's foremost thinking in natural theology is now available in an easily accessible repository. The Gifford Lectures online database, http://www.giffordlectures.org/, will be formally launched by Templeton Foundation Press during the Edinburgh Book Festival on August 15, 2005. The site will contain a comprehensive record of the highly regarded Gifford Lectures.    » read more »

Red Sox' Johnny Damon Leads Boston Kids in Taking 'I Can Achieve' Pledge

- Damon Says Quality Afterschool Programs Lead to High Achievement
- New Survey: 90% of Young People Say Graduating High School Is Very Important; 44% Say Negative Influence of Peers Is Greatest Challenge to Finishing High School

BOSTON, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Red Sox centerfielder Johnny Damon says quality afterschool programs lead to high achievement in school and life. In an event today at Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Damon led youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston in taking the "I Can Achieve" pledge - a promise to do their best every day and achieve in school. The pledge is part of "Goals for Graduation," an afterschool program offered nationwide by Boys & Girls Clubs of America and created in partnership with the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.    » read more »

Edweek.org Serves as Paid Content Case Study on Media Center Morph Blog

RESTON, Va., July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Media Center, in partnership with the nonprofit publisher of Education Week and Teacher Magazine, has launched an experiment in corporate transparency. Edweek.org will switch from a free- registration site to one where a subscription will be needed to access premium content.    » read more »

Statement by Reg Weaver, President, National Education Association,
on the Teacher Excellence for All Children Act

WASHINGTON – Below is a statement from National Education Association (NEA) President Reg Weaver about the Teacher Excellence for All Children (TEACH) Act of 2005 which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by California Congressman George Miller and in the U.S. Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy:    » read more »